U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

89–010 

" ! SENATE 116TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2019

116–60 

Calendar No. 159 

TO AMEND SECTION 327 OF THE 

ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF 

AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT TO 

CLARIFY THAT NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH 

AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM TASK 

FORCES MAY INCLUDE FEDERAL 

EMPLOYEES 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1521 

JULY 22, 2019.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MITT ROMNEY, Utah 

RICK SCOTT, Florida 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona 

JACKY ROSEN, Nevada 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Staff Director 

JOSEPH C. FOLIO, III, Chief Counsel 

BARRETT F. PERCIVAL, Professional Staff Member 

DAVID M. WEINBERG, Minority Staff Director 

ZACHARY I. SCHRAM, Minority Chief Counsel 

CHRISTOPHER J. MULKINS, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 159 

116TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 116–60 

AMENDING SECTION 327 OF THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF 

AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT TO CLARIFY THAT NATIONAL 

URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM TASK FORCES MAY INCLUDE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

JULY 22, 2019.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1521] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 1521) to amend section 327 of the 

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to 

clarify that National Urban Search and Rescue Response System 

task forces may include Federal employees, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 2 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 3 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 3 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 3 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 5 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of S. 1521 is to clarify that National Urban Search 

and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal employees. 


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1 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Pub. L. 93–288, § 327, 88 

Stat. 143 (1974). 2Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency, Fact Sheet (2015), https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/ 

1440617086863-f6489d2de59dddeba8bebc9b4d419009/USAR_July_2015.pdf. 3Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency, Fact Sheet (2015), https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/ 

1440617086863-f6489d2de59dddeba8bebc9b4d419009/USAR_July_2015.pdf. 4 Id. 

5 Id. 

6 National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act, 2016, Pub. L. 114–326; Kevin 

Durby, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley Team Up on FEMA Policy Reform, Sunshine State News (May 

18, 2019, 8:45 AM), http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/rick-scott-josh-hawley-team-femapolicy-reform. 7 National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act, 2016, Pub. L. 114–326. 

8 Email from Office of External Affairs, Congressional Affairs Division, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, to S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Affairs (May 9, 2019). 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

S. 1521 is a technical correction that amends section 327 of the 

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

(the Stafford Act).1 In 1989 the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) established the National Urban Search & Rescue 

Response System, which is a framework for organizing and integrating Federal disaster response task forces.2 The task force system consists of 28 multi-disciplined teams, known as Urban Search 

& Rescue (US&R) task forces made up of Federal, state and local 

partners.3 These task forces can be deployed or pre-positioned by 

FEMA in response to a variety of man-made and natural disasters.4 The US&R task forces offer an organized system of personnel 

and resources to locate, extricate, and provide immediate medical 

treatment to victims trapped in collapsed structures along with 

conducting other life-saving operations.5

Following the enactment of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act in 2016, which amended the Stafford Act 

by codifying the operational requirements of the system, FEMA interpreted provisions within the legislation as expressly prohibiting 

Federal employees from participating on the task forces.6 In section 

327(a)(8) of the Act, the definition of ‘‘System Member’’ was 

changed to ‘‘an individual who is not a full-time employee of the 

Federal Government and who serves on a task force or on a System 

management or other technical team.’’ 7 This change affected approximately 50 full-time Federal employees who were previously 

active members, and as a result, some task forces could potentially 

be determined to be non-mission capable because they would be unable to fill key positions.8

Participation by Federal employees on US&R task forces will better position FEMA to mobilize and deploy necessary resources to 

disaster relief efforts. To clarify congressional intent, this bill explicitly states that the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal employees. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Josh Hawley (R–MO) introduced S. 1521 on May 16, 

2019, with Senators Roy Blunt (R–MO), Rick Scott (R–FL), and 

Margaret Wood Hassan (D–NH). The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on May 16, 

2019. 

The Committee considered S. 1521 at a business meeting on 

June 19, 2019. S. 1521 was reported favorably en bloc by voice vote. 


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Senators Johnson, Portman, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, 

Hawley, Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, and Rosen were present 

for the vote. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Federal employees and National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces 

This section clarifies that Federal employees are not to be excluded from National Urban Search and Rescue Response System 

task forces. It further clarifies that if a Federal employee is detailed to a task force, the Federal employee’s sponsoring agency is 

required to enter into an agreement with the employing Federal 

agency. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill and determined that the bill will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 8, 2019. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1521, a bill to amend section 

327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal employees. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl. 

Sincerely, 

PHILLIP L. SWAGEL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 


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S. 1521 would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that federal employees may 

serve on task forces under the National Urban Search and Rescue 

Response System. That system consists of about 5,700 personnel— 

mostly state and local government employees—who serve on 28 

task forces across the country and which are coordinated by the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There are currently 60 federal employees serving on task forces. 

Using information from FEMA, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase the number of federal employees 

serving on task forces and also would enhance the retention of 

those employees. Under current law, FEMA reimburses state and 

local governments, as well as federal employees serving on task 

forces, for the costs of activating members for federal service. Because the bill would not increase the total number of personnel 

serving on task forces who are compensated by the federal government—only the mix of federal and nonfederal employees—CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would not increase federal spending on task forces. Federal agencies could incur costs to 

cover the regular activities of their employees while they are deployed on task forces, but CBO estimates that those costs would 

not be significant. 

On March 12, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

639, a bill to amend section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that National 

Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal employees, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on February 27, 2019. 

The two bills are similar and CBO’s estimates of their costs are the 

same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 


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VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1521 as 

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 68—DISASTER RELIEF 

* * * * * * * 

Subchapter III—Major Disaster and Emergency Assistance 

Administration 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5165f. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM 

* * * * * * * 

(a) 

* * * * * * * 

(p) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that a task force may not include Federal employees. 

In the case of a Federal employee detailed to task force, the sponsoring agency shall enter into an agreement with the relevant employing Federal agency. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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