IB 

Union Calendar No. 663 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9750 

[Report No. 118–811] 

To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and Indian 

Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 

Mr. ROUZER (for himself and Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

DECEMBER 5, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N and Mr. EDWARDS

DECEMBER 5, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 23, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance 

to States and Indian Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Natural Disaster Recovery Program. 

Sec. 3. Unmet needs assistance. 

Sec. 4. Further considerations for disaster declarations. 

Sec. 5. Repair and rebuilding. 

Sec. 6. FEMA Emergency Home Repair Program. 

Sec. 7. Appeals of individuals and households program benefits. 

Sec. 8. Report to Congress on major disaster declarations. 

Sec. 9. Review by Comptroller General. 

Sec. 10. GAO study on timing of closing out disaster recovery. 

8 SEC. 2. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

10 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 

11 seq.) is amended by adding at the end of title IV the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 431. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY RESERVE

15 FUND.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

17 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 

18 as the Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in 

19 this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). 

20 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—The Fund shall consist of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any amounts appropriated, and depos2 ited in the Fund, for a specific major disaster 

3 declared under section 401; and 

4 ‘‘(B) amounts deposited into the Fund pur5 suant to paragraph (4). 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 

7 shall be available, pursuant to a declaration of a 

8 major disaster— 

9 ‘‘(A) to States and Indian tribal govern10 ments for unmet need related to a major disaster 

11 is declared under section 401; and 

12 ‘‘(B) with respect to grantees that have been 

13 allocated assistance for such unmet need, for 

14 technical assistance and capacity building under 

15 subsection (c)(2) to facilitate planning and in16 crease capacity to administer assistance under 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(4) UNUSED AMOUNTS.—If any amounts made 

19 available for assistance under this section to grantees 

20 remain unexpended on the earlier of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the date that the grantee of such 

22 amounts notifies the President that the grantee 

23 has completed all activities; or 

24 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), 

25 the expiration of the 6-year period beginning 


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1 when the President obligates such amounts to the 

2 grantee, the President shall transfer such unex3 pended amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury 

4 for deposit into the Fund, except that the Presi5 dent may permit the grantee to retain amounts 

6 needed to close out the grant. 

7 ‘‘(5) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR USE OF

8 FUNDS.—The period under paragraph (4)(B) may be 

9 extended by not more than 4 years if, before the expi10 ration of such 6-year period, the President waives this 

11 requirement and submits a written justification for 

12 such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Senate that 

14 specifies the period of such extension. 

15 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF UNMET NEED.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To assess unmet need with 

17 respect to a major disaster under section, not later 

18 than 90 days after the declaration of such a disaster, 

19 the President shall coordinate with other Federal 

20 agencies, as determined appropriate and including 

21 the Administrator of the Small Business Administra22 tion, to obtain data on all recovery needs and the 

23 amount of such recovery needs that are unmet, in24 cluding— 


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1 ‘‘(A) all data on damage caused by the dis2 aster; 

3 ‘‘(B) information on how any Federal as4 sistance provided in connection with the disaster 

5 has been expended; 

6 ‘‘(C) information on the effect of the disaster 

7 on education, transportation capabilities and de8 pendence, housing needs, health care capacity, 

9 and displacement of persons; and 

10 ‘‘(D) the extent of the unmet need remain11 ing in relation to such disaster. 

12 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President shall 

13 make publicly available the data described in para14 graph (1) for any major disaster for which assistance 

15 is provided from the Fund under this section. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE

17 INFORMATION.—In carrying out this subsection, the 

18 President and any recipient of funds under this sec19 tion shall take such actions as may be necessary to 

20 ensure that personally identifiable information re21 garding recipients of assistance provided under this 

22 section is not made publicly available by any agency 

23 with which information is shared pursuant to this 

24 subsection. 

25 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribal 

2 government receiving a grant under this section may 

3 use not more than 13 percent of the amount of grant 

4 funds received, or within such other percentage as 

5 may be established pursuant to subparagraph (B), for 

6 administrative costs, including costs related to audits, 

7 reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations. 

8 ‘‘(2) DISCRETION TO ESTABLISH SLIDING

9 SCALE.—The President may establish a series of per10 centage limitations on the amount of grant funds re11 ceived that may be used by a grantee for administra12 tive costs, but only if— 

13 ‘‘(A) such percentage limitations are based 

14 on the amount of grant funds received by a 

15 grantee; and 

16 ‘‘(B) such series provides that the percent17 age that may be used is lower for grantees receiv18 ing a greater amount of grant funds and such 

19 percentage that may be used is higher for grant20 ees receiving a lesser amount of grant funds. 

21 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; CAPACITY BUILD22 ING.—From funds made available for use under this 

23 section, the President may provide— 


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1 ‘‘(A) necessary technical assistance to grant2 ees to ensure grantees are compliant with Fed3 eral law; and 

4 ‘‘(B) capacity building assistance, including 

5 assistance regarding contracting and procure6 ment processes, including providing solicitation 

7 and contractual templates that conform to Fed8 eral requirements for use by grantees. 

9 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION, PROCESS, AND PROCEDURES; CO10 ORDINATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall al13 locate funds under this section proportionally to 

14 grantees based on their level of unmet need as de15 termined under subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(B) GRANTEE USE OF FUNDS.—Each 

17 grantee— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall be solely responsible for de19 termining how funds provided under this 

20 section are prioritized and expended; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) shall not be required to provide 

22 an action or spending plan to the President 

23 before or after funds are allocated. 

24 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding section 

25 312, a loan shall not— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be considered a duplication of ben2 efits with funds provided by a Federal agen3 cy; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) limit or otherwise impact the 

5 ability of a recipient to receive any other 

6 Federal assistance. 

7 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR PROVISION OF FUNDS.— 

8 An entity awarded a grant under this section shall be 

9 provided an initial amount that equals 50 percent of 

10 total grant amount allocated under paragraph (1). To 

11 be eligible for the remaining 50 percent of the alloca12 tion, a grantee shall submit to the Committees on Ap13 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

14 Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infra15 structure of the House of Representatives, the Com16 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af17 fairs of the Senate, and the Inspector General of the 

18 United States a report containing— 

19 ‘‘(A) a detailed description of how such 

20 amount was spent; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a certification from an auditor of the 

22 State or Indian tribal government that none of 

23 the funds were wasted or used inappropriately. 

24 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State and Indian 

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1 tion shall establish or adhere to existing guidelines for 

2 procurement processes and procedures and require 

3 that subgrantees— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide for full and open competition 

5 and require cost or price analysis; 

6 ‘‘(B) specify methods of procurement and 

7 their applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-per8 centage-of cost or percentage-of-construction-cost 

9 methods of procurement; 

10 ‘‘(C) include standards of conduct governing 

11 employees engaged in the award or administra12 tion of contracts; and 

13 ‘‘(D) ensure that all purchase orders and 

14 contracts include any clauses required by Fed15 eral statute, Executive order, or implementing 

16 regulation. 

17 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Any funds provided under this sec18 tion— 

19 ‘‘(1) shall supplement and not supplant any 

20 other assistance provided by the President or any 

21 other Federal agency in response to a major disaster; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) may not be considered a duplication of as24 sistance. 


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1 ‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Any Federal agency 

2 or recipient of funds received under this section that fund 

3 or use funds to supplement funds provided under section 

4 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 may adopt, 

5 without review or public comment, any environmental re6 view, approval, or permit performed by a Federal agency. 

7 ‘‘(g) BEST PRACTICES.—The President shall identify 

8 best practices for grantees on issues including developing 

9 action plans, establishing financial controls, building 

10 grantee technical and administrative capacity, procure11 ment, and use of grant funds as local match for other 

12 sources of Federal funding. Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this section, the President shall publish 

14 a compilation of such identified best practices and share 

15 with all relevant grantees to facilitate a more efficient and 

16 effective disaster recovery process. 

17 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) STATE AUDITOR.—The term ‘State auditor’ 

19 means the individual selected by the Governor or head 

20 of an Indian tribal government to submit a certifi21 cation in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii). 

22 ‘‘(2) UNMET NEED.—The term ‘unmet need’— 

23 ‘‘(A) means any necessary expenses for ac24 tivities related to disaster relief, resiliency, long25 term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 


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1 housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization 

2 related to a major disaster declared by the Presi3 dent under section 401; and 

4 ‘‘(B) may include— 

5 ‘‘(i) any unresourced item, support, or 

6 assistance that has been assessed and 

7 verified as necessary for a survivor to re8 cover from a major disaster, including food, 

9 clothing, shelter, first aid, emotional and 

10 spiritual care, household items, home re11 pair, or rebuilding; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) cleaning and removing debris 

13 from rivers, creeks, streams, and ditches.’’. 

14 (b) LIMITATION.—No amounts made available by an 

15 appropriations Act that provide funding for any activity 

16 not authorized by law for the program established under 

17 section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

18 Emergency Assistance Act (as added by this Act) may be 

19 expended. 

20 SEC. 3. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 432. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any major disaster, the Gov3 ernor or the Chief Executive of the Indian tribal government 

4 may request a grant from the President to provide assist5 ance to meet unmet needs resulting from a major disaster. 

6 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF FUNDING.—The President may 

8 set aside from the Disaster Relief Fund, with respect 

9 to each major disaster, an amount equal to 10 percent 

10 of the estimated aggregate amount of the grants to be 

11 made pursuant to sections 406 and 408 of the major 

12 disaster in order to provide technical and financial 

13 assistance under this section and such amounts shall 

14 be deemed to be related to activities carried out pur15 suant to major disasters under this Act. 

16 ‘‘(2) ESTIMATED AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—Not 

17 later than 180 days after each major disaster declared 

18 pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggregate amount 

19 of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) shall be deter20 mined by the President and such estimated amount 

21 need not be reduced, increased, or changed due to 

22 variations in estimates. 

23 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The amount 

24 set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not reduce 

25 the amounts otherwise made available for sections 

26 403, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—A State or Indian tribal govern2 ment may use unmet needs grants to provide assistance, 

3 in addition to other assistance made available under this 

4 Act, for the following unmet needs resulting from a major 

5 disaster: 

6 ‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding 

7 financial assistance to families for permanent housing 

8 purposes, including in conjunction with eligible ex9 penditures under section 408. 

10 ‘‘(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families 

11 who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 

12 other sources. 

13 ‘‘(3) Other disaster-related services that alleviate 

14 human suffering and promote the well-being of dis15 aster victims. 

16 ‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (including 

17 food and agriculture) after a disaster to implement 

18 post-disaster economic recovery measures, including 

19 planning and technical assistance for long-term eco20 nomic recovery plans, infrastructure improvements, 

21 business or infrastructure financing, market or indus22 try research, and other activities authorized under a 

23 comprehensive economic development strategy. 

24 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING AND FISCAL CONTROLS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

2 after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 

3 until all such funds are expended, each State or In4 dian tribal government receiving such funds shall 

5 submit to the Administrator a report that includes— 

6 ‘‘(A) the criteria established for determining 

7 how the funds are spent; 

8 ‘‘(B) the allocation of such funds; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State or In12 dian tribal government that receives funds under this 

13 section may expend not more than 5 percent of the 

14 amount of such funds for the administrative costs of 

15 providing financial assistance to individuals and 

16 households in the State.’’. 

17 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amendments 

18 made by this section shall apply to funds appropriated on 

19 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 4. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER DEC21 LARATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In making recommendations to the 

23 President regarding the declaration of a major disaster or 

24 emergency pursuant to section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. 

25 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 5170; 5191) or the proposed non-Federal share of 

2 the cost of carrying out activities with assistance provided 

3 under such Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emer4 gency Management Agency shall give greater weight and 

5 consideration to severe local impact resulting from such dis6 aster or emergency and, in the 5-year period preceding such 

7 disaster or emergency, whether multiple other disasters or 

8 emergencies have occurred in the affected area. 

9 (b) REVISIONS TO GUIDANCE, POLICIES, AND REGULA10 TIONS.—The Administrator shall take such actions as are 

11 necessary to revise any policies, guidance, or regulations 

12 of the Agency to implement subsection (a). 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

16 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Home17 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 

18 report on the implementation of this section and shall in19 clude in such report a description of— 

20 (1) changes made to guidance, policies, or regu21 lations pursuant to subsection (b); and 

22 (2) the number of major disasters and emer23 gencies that have been declared pursuant to section 

24 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 


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1 Emergency Assistance Act based on the criteria de2 scribed in subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 5. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(c) of the Robert T. 

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 

7 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(2) REPAIRS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR RE11 PAIRS.—The President may provide financial 

12 assistance for the repair of owner-occupied pri13 vate residences, utilities, and residential infra14 structure (such as a private access route) dam15 aged by a major disaster, or with respect to indi16 viduals with disabilities, rendered inaccessible by 

17 a major disaster. 

18 ‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE FOR REPAIRS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

20 provide direct assistance to individuals and 

21 households who are unable to make use of fi22 nancial assistance under subparagraph (A) 

23 and when there is a lack of available re24 sources, for— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the repair of owner-occupied 

2 private residences, utilities, and resi3 dential infrastructure (such as a pri4 vate access route) damaged by a major 

5 disaster, or with respect to individuals 

6 with disabilities, rendered inaccessible 

7 by a disaster; and 

8 ‘‘(II) eligible hazard mitigation 

9 measures that reduce the likelihood and 

10 future damage to such residences, utili11 ties, and infrastructure. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of as13 sistance under this subparagraph shall not 

14 be eligible for assistance under paragraph 

15 (1), unless otherwise determined by the Ad16 ministrator. 

17 ‘‘(iii) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AS18 SISTANCE.—Assistance allowed under this 

19 paragraph may be used in coordination 

20 with other sources for the repair and re21 building of an owner-occupied residence. 

22 ‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASSIST23 ANCE.—A recipient of assistance provided under 

24 this paragraph shall not be required to show that 


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1 the assistance can be met through other means, 

2 except insurance proceeds.’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘in cases in 

4 which’’ and all that follows through the end of the 

5 paragraph and inserting ‘‘if the President considers it 

6 a cost effective alternative to other housing solutions, 

7 including the costs associated with temporary housing 

8 provided under this section, and long-term rebuilding 

9 costs associated with section 431.’’. 

10 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 408(b)(1) of the Robert T. 

11 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 5174(b)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘rendered uninhabitable’’ and in14 serting ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘uninhabitable, as a result of 

16 damage caused by a major disaster’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’. 

18 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amendments 

19 made by this section shall apply to funds appropriated on 

20 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 6. FEMA EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a) of the Robert T. 

23 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 5170b(a)) is amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (J) by striking the pe4 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(K) minor repairs up to habitability of 

7 owner-occupied homes damaged by the disaster 

8 in order for survivors to safely shelter in place, 

9 subject to the availability of appropriations.’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) SHELTERING AND HOUSING OPTIONS.—Not 

13 later than 15 days after a declaration of a major dis14 aster, the Federal coordinating officer shall identify 

15 all sheltering and housing options available under 

16 this section or section 408 to a State Governor, or the 

17 designated State coordinating officer. 

18 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the term 

19 ‘minor repairs up to habitability’ means the min20 imum standards for permanent housing described in 

21 section 576.403(c) of title 24, Code of Federal Regula22 tions (or successor regulations).’’. 

23 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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1 eral Emergency Management Agency shall issue final regu2 lations to implement the amendments made by this section. 

3 SEC. 7. APPEALS OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO4 GRAM BENEFITS. 

5 (a) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—Clauses (iii) and (iv) 

6 of section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

7 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5174(c)(1)(B)) are amended by striking ‘‘18-month period’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘24-month period’’. 

10 (b) APPEALS.—The Administrator shall revise section 

11 206.115 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to require 

12 the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide to 

13 any applicant who appeals a determination of eligibility 

14 of assistance— 

15 (1) any documentation used to make such deter16 mination, including any inspection documents that 

17 exist; 

18 (2) a description of— 

19 (A) the reasons for such determination; and 

20 (B) recommended steps that could be taken 

21 to remedy a determination of ineligibility, in22 cluding, as applicable, a list of additional docu23 mentation that the applicant may provide; and 

24 (3) any inspection documents that exist not later 

25 than 10 days after the completion of the inspection. 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amendment 

2 made by this section shall apply to funds appropriated on 

3 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MAJOR DISASTER DEC5 LARATIONS. 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 

8 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra10 structure of the House of Representatives a report con11 taining the following information with respect to each 

12 major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Rob13 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 5-year period preceding 

15 such date of enactment: 

16 (1) The process used by the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency to determine individual house18 hold need. 

19 (2) An itemization of the most common reasons 

20 for denial of individual and household assistance pur21 suant to section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis22 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 5174). 

24 (3) The rate of appeals of denial of such assist25 ance. 


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1 (4) The amount of time the Agency takes to issue 

2 a decision regarding eligibility for individual assist3 ance, disaggregated by each such major disaster. 

4 (5) Information on the use of Disaster Legal 

5 Services and the number of applicants who were eligi6 ble for such services. 

7 (6) The total number of Disaster Legal Services 

8 volunteers as of such date of enactment. 

9 (7) The number of such volunteers who were acti10 vated for each such major disaster. 

11 (8) The amount of time taken after the declara12 tion of each such major disaster to set up disaster re13 covery centers that provide access to individual assist14 ance. 

15 (9) The number of disaster recovery centers 

16 opened for each such major disaster. 

17 (10) The process used for selecting the location of 

18 such disaster recovery centers. 

19 (11) The average amount of time disaster recov20 ery centers remained open. 

21 (12) The average amount of time individual sur22 vivors spend at such centers. 

23 (13) A description of outreach efforts in low-in24 come, rural, and underserved communities regarding 

25 the availability of assistance provided by the Federal 


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1 Emergency Management Agency under the Robert T. 

2 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

3 Act. 

4 SEC. 9. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

5 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall— 

8 (1) conduct a review of the fiscal controls of 

9 States that receive assistance under section 432 of the 

10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As11 sistance Act, as added by section 3; and 

12 (2) make recommendations regarding the pro13 gram established under such section to the Committee 

14 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

15 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

16 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

17 SEC. 10. GAO STUDY ON TIMING OF CLOSING OUT DIS18 ASTER RECOVERY. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

21 submit to Congress a report on how long it takes the Admin22 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 

23 officially close out each major disaster declared under the 

24 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist25 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) pursuant to section 705 


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1 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

2 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205). 


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Union Calendar No. 663 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9750 

[Report No. 118–811] 

A BILL 

To authorize the President to provide disaster aspurposes. major disaster recovery program, and for other sistance to States and Indian Tribes under a 

DECEMBER 5, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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