I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9750 

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 

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. 

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. 


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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. Use of excess funds for management costs. 

Sec. 11. GAO study on timing of closing out disaster recovery. 

1 SEC. 2. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

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

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

4 seq.) is amended by adding at the end of title IV the fol5 lowing: 

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

7 ‘‘(a) NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY RESERVE

8 FUND.— 

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

10 Treasury of the United States an account to be 

11 known as the Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve 

12 Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). 

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

14 ‘‘(A) any amounts appropriated, and de15 posited in the Fund, for a specific major dis16 aster declared under section 401; and 

17 ‘‘(B) amounts deposited into the Fund 

18 pursuant to paragraph (4). 

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

20 shall be available, pursuant to a declaration of a 

21 major disaster— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to States and Indian tribal govern2 ments for unmet need related to a major dis3 aster is declared under section 401; and 

4 ‘‘(B) with respect to grantees that have 

5 been allocated assistance for such unmet need, 

6 for technical assistance and capacity building 

7 under subsection (c)(2) to facilitate planning 

8 and increase capacity to administer assistance 

9 under this section. 

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

11 available for assistance under this section to grant12 ees remain unexpended on the earlier of— 

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

14 amounts notifies the President that the grantee 

15 has completed all activities; or 

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

17 the expiration of the 6-year period beginning 

18 when the President obligates such amounts to 

19 the grantee, the President shall transfer such 

20 unexpended amounts to the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury for deposit into the Fund, except that 

22 the President may permit the grantee to retain 

23 amounts needed to close out the grant. 

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

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


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1 be extended by not more than 4 years if, before the 

2 expiration of such 6-year period, the President 

3 waives this requirement and submits a written jus4 tification for such waiver to the Committees on Ap5 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Senate that specifies the period of such extension. 

7 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF UNMET NEED.— 

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

9 respect to a major disaster under section, not later 

10 than 90 days after the declaration of such a dis11 aster, the President shall coordinate with other Fed12 eral agencies, as determined appropriate and includ13 ing the Administrator of the Small Business Admin14 istration, to obtain data on all recovery needs and 

15 the amount of such recovery needs that are unmet, 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(A) all data on damage caused by the dis18 aster; 

19 ‘‘(B) information on how any Federal as20 sistance provided in connection with the dis21 aster has been expended; 

22 ‘‘(C) information on the effect of the dis23 aster on education, transportation capabilities 

24 and dependence, housing needs, health care ca25 pacity, and displacement of persons; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the extent of the unmet need remain2 ing in relation to such disaster. 

3 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President 

4 shall make publicly available the data described in 

5 paragraph (1) for any major disaster for which as6 sistance is provided from the Fund under this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFI9 ABLE INFORMATION.—In carrying out this sub10 section, the President and any recipient of funds 

11 under this section shall take such actions as may be 

12 necessary to ensure that personally identifiable in13 formation regarding recipients of assistance provided 

14 under this section is not made publicly available by 

15 any agency with which information is shared pursu16 ant to this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

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

19 government receiving a grant under this section may 

20 use not more than 13 percent of the amount of 

21 grant funds received, or within such other percent22 age as may be established pursuant to subparagraph 

23 (B), for administrative costs, including costs related 

24 to audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and inves25 tigations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DISCRETION TO ESTABLISH SLIDING

2 SCALE.—The President may establish a series of 

3 percentage limitations on the amount of grant funds 

4 received that may be used by a grantee for adminis5 trative costs, but only if— 

6 ‘‘(A) such percentage limitations are based 

7 on the amount of grant funds received by a 

8 grantee; and 

9 ‘‘(B) such series provides that the percent10 age that may be used is lower for grantees re11 ceiving a greater amount of grant funds and 

12 such percentage that may be used is higher for 

13 grantees receiving a lesser amount of grant 

14 funds. 

15 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; CAPACITY BUILD16 ING.—From funds made available for use under this 

17 section, the President may provide— 

18 ‘‘(A) necessary technical assistance to 

19 grantees to ensure grantees are compliant with 

20 Federal law; and 

21 ‘‘(B) capacity building assistance, includ22 ing assistance regarding contracting and pro23 curement processes, including providing solicita24 tion and contractual templates that conform to 

25 Federal requirements for use by grantees. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION, PROCESS, AND PROCEDURES; CO2 ORDINATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

5 allocate funds under this section proportionally 

6 to grantees based on their level of unmet need 

7 as determined under subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(B) GRANTEE USE OF FUNDS.—Each 

9 grantee— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall be solely responsible for de11 termining how funds provided under this 

12 section are prioritized and expended; and 

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

14 an action or spending plan to the Presi15 dent before or after funds are allocated. 

16 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding sec17 tion 312, a loan shall not— 

18 ‘‘(i) be considered a duplication of 

19 benefits with funds provided by a Federal 

20 agency; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) limit or otherwise impact the 

22 ability of a recipient to receive any other 

23 Federal assistance. 

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

25 An entity awarded a grant under this section shall 


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1 be provided an initial amount that equals 50 percent 

2 of total grant amount allocated under paragraph (1). 

3 To be eligible for the remaining 50 percent of the 

4 allocation, a grantee shall submit to the Committees 

5 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

6 and the Senate, the Committee on Transportation 

7 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, 

8 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern9 mental Affairs of the Senate, and the Inspector Gen10 eral of the United States a report containing— 

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

12 amount was spent; and 

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

14 State or Indian tribal government that none of 

15 the funds were wasted or used inappropriately. 

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

17 tribal government that receives funds under this sec18 tion shall establish or adhere to existing guidelines 

19 for procurement processes and procedures and re20 quire that subgrantees— 

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

22 and require cost or price analysis; 

23 ‘‘(B) specify methods of procurement and 

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1 centage-of cost or percentage-of-construction2 cost methods of procurement; 

3 ‘‘(C) include standards of conduct gov4 erning employees engaged in the award or ad5 ministration of contracts; and 

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

7 contracts include any clauses required by Fed8 eral statute, Executive order, or implementing 

9 regulation. 

10 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Any funds provided under this sec11 tion— 

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

13 other assistance provided by the President or any 

14 other Federal agency in response to a major dis15 aster; and 

16 ‘‘(2) may not be considered a duplication of as17 sistance. 

18 ‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Any Federal agen19 cy or recipient of funds received under this section that 

20 fund or use funds to supplement funds provided under sec21 tion 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 may 

22 adopt, without review or public comment, any environ23 mental review, approval, or permit performed by a Federal 

24 agency. 


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

2 best practices for grantees on issues including developing 

3 action plans, establishing financial controls, building 

4 grantee technical and administrative capacity, procure5 ment, and use of grant funds as local match for other 

6 sources of Federal funding. Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of this section, the President shall 

8 publish a compilation of such identified best practices and 

9 share with all relevant grantees to facilitate a more effi10 cient and effective disaster recovery process. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) STATE AUDITOR.—The term ‘State audi13 tor’ means the individual selected by the Governor or 

14 head of an Indian tribal government to submit a cer15 tification in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii). 

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

17 ‘‘(A) means any necessary expenses for ac18 tivities related to disaster relief, resiliency, long19 term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 

20 housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization 

21 related to a major disaster declared by the 

22 President under section 401; and 

23 ‘‘(B) may include— 

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

25 assistance that has been assessed and 


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1 verified as necessary for a survivor to re2 cover from a major disaster, including 

3 food, clothing, shelter, first aid, emotional 

4 and spiritual care, household items, home 

5 repair, or rebuilding; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) cleaning and removing debris 

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

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

9 appropriations Act that provide funding for any activity 

10 not authorized by law for the program established under 

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

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

13 expended. 

14 SEC. 3. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

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

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

17 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 432. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any major disaster, the Gov21 ernor or the Chief Executive of the Indian tribal govern22 ment may request a grant from the President to provide 

23 assistance to meet unmet needs resulting from a major 

24 disaster. 

25 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 


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

2 may set aside from the Disaster Relief Fund, with 

3 respect to each major disaster, an amount equal to 

4 10 percent of the estimated aggregate amount of the 

5 grants to be made pursuant to sections 406 and 408 

6 of the major disaster in order to provide technical 

7 and financial assistance under this section and such 

8 amounts shall be deemed to be related to activities 

9 carried out pursuant to major disasters under this 

10 Act. 

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

12 later than 180 days after each major disaster de13 clared pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggregate 

14 amount of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) 

15 shall be determined by the President and such esti16 mated amount need not be reduced, increased, or 

17 changed due to variations in estimates. 

18 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The 

19 amount set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

20 not reduce the amounts otherwise made available for 

21 sections 403, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 

22 under this Act. 

23 ‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—A State or Indian tribal gov24 ernment may use unmet needs grants to provide assist25 ance, in addition to other assistance made available under 


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1 this Act, for the following unmet needs resulting from a 

2 major disaster: 

3 ‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuild4 ing financial assistance to families for permanent 

5 housing purposes, including in conjunction with eli6 gible expenditures under section 408. 

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

8 who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 

9 other sources. 

10 ‘‘(3) Other disaster-related services that allevi11 ate human suffering and promote the well-being of 

12 disaster victims. 

13 ‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (includ14 ing food and agriculture) after a disaster to imple15 ment post-disaster economic recovery measures, in16 cluding planning and technical assistance for long17 term economic recovery plans, infrastructure im18 provements, business or infrastructure financing, 

19 market or industry research, and other activities au20 thorized under a comprehensive economic develop21 ment strategy. 

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

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

24 after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 

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1 dian tribal government receiving such funds shall 

2 submit to the Administrator a report that includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) the criteria established for deter4 mining how the funds are spent; 

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

6 ‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com7 ment. 

8 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State or In9 dian tribal government that receives funds under 

10 this section may expend not more than 5 percent of 

11 the amount of such funds for the administrative 

12 costs of providing financial assistance to individuals 

13 and households in the State.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend15 ments made by this section shall apply to funds appro16 priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 4. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER DEC18 LARATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In making recommendations to 

20 the President regarding the declaration of a major disaster 

21 or emergency pursuant to section 401 or 501 of the Rob22 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 5191) or the proposed non-Federal 

24 share of the cost of carrying out activities with assistance 

25 provided under such Act, the Administrator of the Federal 


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1 Emergency Management Agency shall give greater weight 

2 and consideration to severe local impact resulting from 

3 such disaster or emergency and, in the 5-year period pre4 ceding such disaster or emergency, whether multiple other 

5 disasters or emergencies have occurred in the affected 

6 area. 

7 (b) REVISIONS TO GUIDANCE, POLICIES, AND REGU8 LATIONS.—The Administrator shall take such actions as 

9 are necessary to revise any policies, guidance, or regula10 tions of the Agency to implement subsection (a). 

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

12 of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall sub13 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc14 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

15 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

16 Senate a report on the implementation of this section and 

17 shall include in such report a description of— 

18 (1) changes made to guidance, policies, or regu19 lations pursuant to subsection (b); and 

20 (2) the number of major disasters and emer21 gencies that have been declared pursuant to section 

22 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

23 Emergency Assistance Act based on the criteria de24 scribed in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 5. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 

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

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 

5 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(2) REPAIRS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR RE9 PAIRS.—The President may provide financial 

10 assistance for the repair of owner-occupied pri11 vate residences, utilities, and residential infra12 structure (such as a private access route) dam13 aged by a major disaster, or with respect to in14 dividuals with disabilities, rendered inaccessible 

15 by a major disaster. 

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

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President 

18 may provide direct assistance to individuals 

19 and households who are unable to make 

20 use of financial assistance under subpara21 graph (A) and when there is a lack of 

22 available resources, for— 

23 ‘‘(I) the repair of owner-occupied 

24 private residences, utilities, and resi25 dential infrastructure (such as a pri26 vate access route) damaged by a 


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1 major disaster, or with respect to indi2 viduals with disabilities, rendered in3 accessible by a disaster; and 

4 ‘‘(II) eligible hazard mitigation 

5 measures that reduce the likelihood 

6 and future damage to such residences, 

7 utilities, and infrastructure. 

8 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of as9 sistance under this subparagraph shall not 

10 be eligible for assistance under paragraph 

11 (1), unless otherwise determined by the 

12 Administrator. 

13 ‘‘(iii) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AS14 SISTANCE.—Assistance allowed under this 

15 paragraph may be used in coordination 

16 with other sources for the repair and re17 building of an owner-occupied residence. 

18 ‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASSIST19 ANCE.—A recipient of assistance provided 

20 under this paragraph shall not be required to 

21 show that the assistance can be met through 

22 other means, except insurance proceeds.’’; and 

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

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

25 paragraph and inserting ‘‘if the President considers 


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1 it a cost effective alternative to other housing solu2 tions, including the costs associated with temporary 

3 housing provided under this section, and long-term 

4 rebuilding costs associated with section 431.’’. 

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

6 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5174(b)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘rendered uninhabitable’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’; and 

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

11 damage caused by a major disaster’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’. 

13 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend14 ments made by this section shall apply to funds appro15 priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 6. FEMA EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM. 

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

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

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

22 at the end; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (J) by striking the 

24 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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

2 owner-occupied homes damaged by the disaster 

3 in order for survivors to safely shelter in place, 

4 subject to the availability of appropriations.’’; 

5 and 

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

7 ‘‘(5) SHELTERING AND HOUSING OPTIONS.— 

8 Not later than 15 days after a declaration of a 

9 major disaster, the Federal coordinating officer shall 

10 identify all sheltering and housing options available 

11 under this section or section 408 to a State Gov12 ernor, or the designated State coordinating officer. 

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

14 term ‘minor repairs up to habitability’ means the 

15 minimum standards for permanent housing de16 scribed in section 576.403(c) of title 24, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).’’. 

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

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

20 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue final 

21 regulations to implement the amendments made by this 

22 section. 


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1 SEC. 7. APPEALS OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO2 GRAM BENEFITS. 

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

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

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

6 5174(c)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘18-month period’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘24-month period’’. 

8 (b) APPEALS.—The Administrator shall revise sec9 tion 206.115 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

10 require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 

11 provide to any applicant who appeals a determination of 

12 eligibility of assistance— 

13 (1) any documentation used to make such de14 termination, including any inspection documents 

15 that exist; 

16 (2) a description of— 

17 (A) the reasons for such determination; 

18 and 

19 (B) recommended steps that could be 

20 taken to remedy a determination of ineligibility, 

21 including, as applicable, a list of additional doc22 umentation that the applicant may provide; and 

23 (3) any inspection documents that exist not 

24 later than 10 days after the completion of the in25 spection. 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend2 ment made by this section shall apply to funds appro3 priated on 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 Com8 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

9 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

10 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report 

11 containing the following information with respect to each 

12 major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the 

13 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist14 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 5-year period pre15 ceding 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 

21 pursuant to section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 

22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 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 

2 issue a decision regarding eligibility for individual 

3 assistance, disaggregated by each such major dis4 aster. 

5 (5) Information on the use of Disaster Legal 

6 Services and the number of applicants who were eli7 gible for such services. 

8 (6) The total number of Disaster Legal Services 

9 volunteers as of such date of enactment. 

10 (7) The number of such volunteers who were 

11 activated for each such major disaster. 

12 (8) The amount of time taken after the declara13 tion of each such major disaster to set up disaster 

14 recovery centers that provide access to individual as15 sistance. 

16 (9) The number of disaster recovery centers 

17 opened for each such major disaster. 

18 (10) The process used for selecting the location 

19 of such disaster recovery centers. 

20 (11) The average amount of time disaster re21 covery centers remained open. 

22 (12) The average amount of time individual 

23 survivors spend at such centers. 

24 (13) A description of outreach efforts in low-in25 come, rural, and underserved communities regarding 


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1 the availability of assistance provided by the Federal 

2 Emergency Management Agency under the Robert 

3 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist4 ance Act. 

5 SEC. 9. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

6 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

8 shall— 

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

10 States that receive assistance under section 431 of 

11 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer12 gency Assistance Act, as added by section 3; and 

13 (2) make recommendations regarding the pro14 gram established under such section to the Com15 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af16 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor17 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent18 atives. 

19 SEC. 10. USE OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT COSTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Robert T. 

21 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 5165b) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

2 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 

3 adjusting the margins accordingly; and 

4 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i), as 

5 so redesignated, by striking ‘‘provide the fol6 lowing percentage rates’’ and inserting ‘‘pro7 vide— 

8 ‘‘(A) excess funds for management costs as 

9 described in subsection (c); and 

10 ‘‘(B) the following percentage rates’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub12 section (d); and 

13 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT

16 COSTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

18 ‘excess funds for management costs’ means the dif19 ference between— 

20 ‘‘(A) the amount of the applicable specific 

21 management costs authorized under subsection 

22 (b)(1) and subsection (b)(2)(B); and 

23 ‘‘(B) as of the date on which the grant 

24 award is closed, the amount of funding for 

25 management costs activities expended by the 


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1 grantee or subgrantee receiving the financial as2 sistance for costs described in subparagraph 

3 (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR

5 MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The President may make 

6 available to a grantee or subgrantee receiving finan7 cial assistance under section 403, 404, 406, 407, or 

8 502 any excess funds for management costs. 

9 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Excess funds for man10 agement costs made available to a grantee or sub11 grantee under paragraph (2) may be used for— 

12 ‘‘(A) activities associated with building ca13 pacity to prepare for, recover from, or mitigate 

14 the impacts of a major disaster or emergency 

15 declared under section 401 or 501, respectively; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) management costs associated with 

18 any— 

19 ‘‘(i) major disaster; 

20 ‘‘(ii) emergency; 

21 ‘‘(iii) disaster preparedness measure; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(iv) mitigation activity or measure 

24 authorized under section 203, 204, 205, or 

25 404. 


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1 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Excess funds for manage2 ment costs made available to a grantee or sub3 grantee under paragraph (2) shall remain available 

4 to the grantee or subgrantee until the date that is 

5 5 years after the date on which the excess funds for 

6 management costs are made available under para7 graph (2).’’. 

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub9 section (a) shall apply with respect to any grant award 

10 in relation to a major disaster or emergency declared 

11 under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191)— 

14 (1) the declaration of which is made on or after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

16 (2) that is funded with amounts appropriated 

17 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

20 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

21 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen22 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc23 ture of the House of Representatives a report— 

24 (1) on the actual management costs described 

25 in section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 


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•HR 9750 IH

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

2 5165b) during the period of a major disaster dec3 laration under section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 5170) to determine whether the amount set aside for 

5 those management costs after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act is appropriate; and 

7 (2) that includes the management costs de8 scribed in section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis9 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 5165b) for each disaster declared under dur11 ing the period of a major disaster declaration under 

12 section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 

13 5-year period preceding the date of the report, the 

14 amount set aside for those management costs, the 

15 use of those management costs, the length of each 

16 disaster, and the reason for the length of each dis17 aster. 

18 (d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—No additional funds 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the amend20 ments made by subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 11. GAO STUDY ON TIMING OF CLOSING OUT DIS22 ASTER RECOVERY. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

25 shall submit to Congress a report on how long it takes 


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•HR 9750 IH

1 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency to officially close out each major disaster declared 

3 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) pursuant 

5 to section 705 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205). 

Æ 


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