II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 219 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2013 

Received 

AN ACT 

To improve and streamline disaster assistance for Hurricane 

Sandy, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Public assistance program alternative procedures. 

Sec. 3. Federal assistance to individuals and households. 

Sec. 4. Hazard mitigation. 

Sec. 5. Dispute resolution pilot program. 

Sec. 6. Unified Federal review. 

Sec. 7. Simplified procedures. 

Sec. 8. Essential assistance. 

Sec. 9. Individual assistance factors. 

Sec. 10. Tribal requests for a major disaster or emergency declaration under 

the Stafford Act. 

Sec. 11. Recommendations for reducing costs of future disasters. 

6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE PRO7 CEDURES. 

8 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

9 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating the second section 425 (re12 lating to essential service providers) as section 427; 

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘SEC. 428. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE 

16 PROCEDURES. 

17 ‘‘(a) APPROVAL OF PROJECTS.—The President, act18 ing through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency, may approve projects under the al20 ternative procedures adopted under this section for any 


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1 major disaster or emergency declared on or after the date 

2 of enactment of this section. The Administrator may also 

3 apply the alternate procedures adopted under this section 

4 to a major disaster or emergency declared before enact5 ment of this Act for which construction has not begun as 

6 of the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 ‘‘(b) ADOPTION.—The Administrator, in coordination 

8 with States, tribal and local governments, and owners or 

9 operators of private nonprofit facilities, may adopt alter10 native procedures to administer assistance provided under 

11 sections 403(a)(3)(A), 406, 407, and 502(a)(5). 

12 ‘‘(c) GOALS OF PROCEDURES.—The alternative pro13 cedures adopted under subsection (a) shall further the 

14 goals of— 

15 ‘‘(1) reducing the costs to the Federal Govern16 ment of providing such assistance; 

17 ‘‘(2) increasing flexibility in the administration 

18 of such assistance; 

19 ‘‘(3) expediting the provision of such assistance 

20 to a State, tribal or local government, or owner or 

21 operator of a private nonprofit facility; and 

22 ‘‘(4) providing financial incentives and disincen23 tives for a State, tribal or local government, or 

24 owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility for 


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1 the timely and cost-effective completion of projects 

2 with such assistance. 

3 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—Participation in the alter4 native procedures adopted under this section shall be at 

5 the election of a State, tribal or local government, or 

6 owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility consistent 

7 with procedures determined by the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(e) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—The alternative pro9 cedures adopted under this section shall include the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(1) For repair, restoration, and replacement of 

12 damaged facilities under section 406— 

13 ‘‘(A) making grants on the basis of fixed 

14 estimates, if the State, tribal or local govern15 ment, or owner or operator of the private non16 profit facility agrees to be responsible for any 

17 actual costs that exceed the estimate; 

18 ‘‘(B) providing an option for a State, tribal 

19 or local government, or owner or operator of a 

20 private nonprofit facility to elect to receive an 

21 in-lieu contribution, without reduction, on the 

22 basis of estimates of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the cost of repair, restoration, re24 construction, or replacement of a public fa25 cility owned or controlled by the State, 


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1 tribal or local government or owner or op2 erator of a private nonprofit facility; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) management expenses; 

4 ‘‘(C) consolidating, to the extent deter5 mined appropriate by the Administrator, the fa6 cilities of a State, tribal or local government, or 

7 owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility 

8 as a single project based upon the estimates 

9 adopted under the procedures; 

10 ‘‘(D) if the actual costs of a project com11 pleted under the procedures are less than the 

12 estimated costs thereof, the Administrator may 

13 permit a grantee or subgrantee to use all or 

14 part of the excess funds for— 

15 ‘‘(i) cost-effective activities that re16 duce the risk of future damage, hardship, 

17 or suffering from a major disaster; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) other activities to improve future 

19 Public Assistance operations or planning; 

20 ‘‘(E) in determining eligible costs under 

21 section 406, the Administrator shall make avail22 able, at an applicant’s request and where the 

23 Administrator or the certified cost estimate pre24 pared by the applicant’s professionally licensed 

25 engineers has estimated an eligible Federal 


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1 share for a project of at least $5,000,000, an 

2 independent expert panel to validate the esti3 mated eligible cost consistent with applicable 

4 regulations and policies implementing this sec5 tion; and 

6 ‘‘(F) in determining eligible costs under 

7 section 406, the Administrator shall, at the ap8 plicant’s request, consider properly conducted 

9 and certified cost estimates prepared by profes10 sionally licensed engineers (mutually agreed 

11 upon by the Administrator and the applicant), 

12 to the extent that such estimates comply with 

13 applicable regulations, policy, and guidance. 

14 ‘‘(2) For debris removal under sections 

15 403(a)(3)(A), 407, and 502(a)(5)— 

16 ‘‘(A) making grants on the basis of fixed 

17 estimates to provide financial incentives and 

18 disincentives for the timely or cost-effective 

19 completion if the State, tribal or local govern20 ment, or owner or operator of the private non21 profit facility agrees to be responsible to pay for 

22 any actual costs that exceed the estimate; 

23 ‘‘(B) using a sliding scale for determining 

24 the Federal share for removal of debris and 


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1 wreckage based on the time it takes to complete 

2 debris and wreckage removal; 

3 ‘‘(C) allowing use of program income from 

4 recycled debris without offset to the grant 

5 amount; 

6 ‘‘(D) reimbursing base and overtime wages 

7 for employees and extra hires of a State, tribal 

8 or local government, or owner or operator of a 

9 private nonprofit facility performing or admin10 istering debris and wreckage removal; 

11 ‘‘(E) providing incentives to a State or 

12 tribal or local government to have a debris 

13 management plan approved by the Adminis14 trator and have pre-qualified 1 or more debris 

15 and wreckage removal contractors before the 

16 date of declaration of the major disaster; and 

17 ‘‘(F) if the actual costs of projects under 

18 subparagraph (A) are less than the estimated 

19 costs of the project, the Administrator may per20 mit a grantee or subgrantee to use all or part 

21 of the excess funds for— 

22 ‘‘(i) debris management planning; 

23 ‘‘(ii) acquisition of debris management 

24 equipment for current or future use; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) other activities to improve future 

2 debris removal operations, as determined 

3 by the Administrator. 

4 ‘‘(f) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Until such time as the 

5 Administrator promulgates regulations to implement this 

6 section, the Administrator may— 

7 ‘‘(1) waive notice and comment rulemaking, if 

8 the Administrator determines the waiver is necessary 

9 to expeditiously implement this section; and 

10 ‘‘(2) carry out the alternative procedures under 

11 this section as a pilot program. 

12 ‘‘(g) OVERTIME PAYMENTS.—The guidelines for re13 imbursement for costs under subsection (e)(2)(D) shall 

14 ensure that no State or local government is denied reim15 bursement for overtime payments that are required pursu16 ant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

17 201 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘(h) REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 3 years, 

20 and not later than 5 years, after the date of enact21 ment of this section, the Inspector General of the 

22 Department of Homeland Security shall submit to 

23 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern24 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

25 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 


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1 Representatives a report on the alternative proce2 dures for the repair, restoration, and replacement of 

3 damaged facilities under section 406 authorized 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain an 

6 assessment of the effectiveness of the alternative 

7 procedures, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) whether the alternative procedures 

9 helped to improve the general speed of disaster 

10 recovery; 

11 ‘‘(B) the accuracy of the estimates relied 

12 upon; 

13 ‘‘(C) whether the financial incentives and 

14 disincentives were effective; 

15 ‘‘(D) whether the alternative procedures 

16 were cost effective; 

17 ‘‘(E) whether the independent expert panel 

18 described in subsection (e)(1)(E) was effective; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(F) recommendations for whether the al21 ternative procedures should be continued and 

22 any recommendations for changes to the alter23 native procedures.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 

2 HOUSEHOLDS. 

3 Section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis4 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 5174(c)(1)(B)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 

7 clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

8 (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 

9 ‘‘(ii) LEASE AND REPAIR OF RENTAL

10 UNITS FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Presi12 dent, to the extent the President de13 termines it would be a cost-effective 

14 alternative to other temporary housing 

15 options, may— 

16 ‘‘(aa) enter into lease agree17 ments with owners of multifamily 

18 rental property located in areas 

19 covered by a major disaster dec20 laration to house individuals and 

21 households eligible for assistance 

22 under this section; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) make repairs or im24 provements to properties under 

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1 tent necessary to serve as safe 

2 and adequate temporary housing. 

3 ‘‘(II) IMPROVEMENTS OR RE4 PAIRS.—Under the terms of any lease 

5 agreement for property entered into 

6 under this subsection, the value of the 

7 improvements or repairs— 

8 ‘‘(aa) shall be deducted from 

9 the value of the lease agreement; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(bb) may not exceed the 

12 value of the lease agreement.’’; 

13 and 

14 (3) in clause (iv) (as so redesignated) by strik15 ing ‘‘clause (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (iii)’’. 

16 SEC. 4. HAZARD MITIGATION. 

17 (a) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES; ADVANCE ASSIST18 ANCE.—Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

19 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) 

20 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of pro23 viding assistance under this section, the President 

24 shall ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) adequate resources are devoted to en2 sure that applicable environmental reviews 

3 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

4 1969 and historic preservation reviews under 

5 the National Historic Preservation Act are com6 pleted on an expeditious basis; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the shortest existing applicable proc8 ess under the National Environmental Policy 

9 Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preser10 vation Act is utilized. 

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY FOR OTHER EXPEDITED PRO12 CEDURES.—The President may utilize expedited pro13 cedures in addition to those required under para14 graph (1) for the purpose of providing assistance 

15 under this section, such as procedures under the 

16 Prototype Programmatic Agreement of the Federal 

17 Emergency Management Agency, for the consider18 ation of multiple structures as a group and for an 

19 analysis of the cost-effectiveness and fulfillment of 

20 cost-share requirements for proposed hazard mitiga21 tion measures. 

22 ‘‘(e) ADVANCE ASSISTANCE.—The President may 

23 provide not more than 25 percent of the amount of the 

24 estimated cost of hazard mitigation measures to a State 


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1 grantee eligible for a grant under this section before eligi2 ble costs are incurred.’’. 

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA RELATING TO AD4 MINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE BY

5 STATES.—Section 404(c)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

7 5170c(c)(2)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘applications 

8 submitted under paragraph (1).’’ the following: ‘‘Until 

9 such time as the Administrator promulgates regulations 

10 to implement this paragraph, the Administrator may 

11 waive notice and comment rulemaking, if the Adminis12 trator determines doing so is necessary to expeditiously 

13 implement this section, and may carry out this section as 

14 a pilot program.’’. 

15 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The authority under the 

16 amendments made by this section shall apply to— 

17 (1) any major disaster or emergency declared 

18 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

19 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 

20 on or after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

21 (2) a major disaster or emergency declared 

22 under that Act before the date of enactment of this 

23 Act for which the period for processing requests for 

24 assistance has not ended as of the date of enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi3 nitions apply: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

6 emergency Management Agency. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

8 assistance’’ means assistance— 

9 (A) under section 403, 406, or 407 of the 

10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer11 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 

12 5173); 

13 (B) for which the legitimate amount in dis14 pute is not less than $1,000,000, which sum the 

15 Administrator shall adjust annually to reflect 

16 changes in the Consumer Price Index for all 

17 Urban Consumers published by the Department 

18 of Labor; 

19 (C) for which the applicant has a non-Fed20 eral share; and 

21 (D) for which the applicant has received a 

22 decision on a first appeal. 

23 (b) PROCEDURES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this section, and in 

26 order to facilitate an efficient recovery from major 


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1 disasters, the Administrator shall establish proce2 dures under which an applicant may request the use 

3 of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitra4 tion by an independent review panel, to resolve dis5 putes relating to eligible assistance. 

6 (2) BINDING EFFECT.—A decision by an inde7 pendent review panel under this section shall be 

8 binding upon the parties to the dispute. 

9 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The procedures estab10 lished under this section shall— 

11 (A) allow a party of a dispute relating to 

12 eligible assistance to request an independent re13 view panel for the review; 

14 (B) require a party requesting an inde15 pendent review panel as described in subpara16 graph (A) to agree to forgo rights to any fur17 ther appeal of the dispute relating to any eligi18 ble assistance; 

19 (C) require that the sponsor of an inde20 pendent review panel for any alternative dispute 

21 resolution under this section be— 

22 (i) an individual or entity unaffiliated 

23 with the dispute (which may include a 

24 Federal agency, an administrative law 

25 judge, or a reemployed annuitant who was 


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1 an employee of the Federal Government) 

2 selected by the Administrator; and 

3 (ii) responsible for identifying and 

4 maintaining an adequate number of inde5 pendent experts qualified to review and re6 solve disputes under this section; 

7 (D) require an independent review panel 

8 to— 

9 (i) resolve any remaining disputed 

10 issue in accordance with all applicable 

11 laws, regulations, and Agency interpreta12 tions of those laws through its published 

13 policies and guidance; 

14 (ii) consider only evidence contained 

15 in the administrative record, as it existed 

16 at the time at which the Agency made its 

17 initial decision; 

18 (iii) only set aside a decision of the 

19 Agency found to be arbitrary, capricious, 

20 an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in 

21 accordance with law; and 

22 (iv) in the case of a finding of mate23 rial fact adverse to the claimant made on 

24 first appeal, only set aside or reverse such 

25 finding if the finding is clearly erroneous; 


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1 (E) require an independent review panel to 

2 expeditiously issue a written decision for any al3 ternative dispute resolution under this section; 

4 and 

5 (F) direct that if an independent review 

6 panel for any alternative dispute resolution 

7 under this section determines that the basis 

8 upon which a party submits a request for alter9 native dispute resolution is frivolous, the inde10 pendent review panel shall direct the party to 

11 pay the reasonable costs to the Federal Emer12 gency Management Agency relating to the re13 view by the independent review panel. Any 

14 funds received by the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency under the authority of this sec16 tion shall be deposited to the credit of the ap17 propriation or appropriations available for the 

18 eligible assistance in dispute on the date on 

19 which the funds are received. 

20 (c) SUNSET.—A request for review by an independent 

21 review panel under this section may not be made after De22 cember 31, 2015. 

23 (d) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

25 after the termination of authority under this section 


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1 under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the 

2 United States shall submit to the Committee on 

3 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

4 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

5 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a re6 port analyzing the effectiveness of the program 

7 under this section. 

8 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

9 paragraph (1) shall include— 

10 (A) a determination of the availability of 

11 data required to complete the report; 

12 (B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

13 the program under this section, including an as14 sessment of whether the program expedited or 

15 delayed the disaster recovery process; 

16 (C) an assessment of whether the program 

17 increased or decreased costs to administer sec18 tion 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 

19 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; 

20 (D) an assessment of the procedures and 

21 safeguards that the independent review panels 

22 established to ensure objectivity and accuracy, 

23 and the extent to which they followed those pro24 cedures and safeguards; 


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1 (E) a recommendation as to whether any 

2 aspect of the program under this section should 

3 be made a permanent authority; and 

4 (F) recommendations for any modifications 

5 to the authority or the administration of the 

6 authority under this section in order to improve 

7 the disaster recovery process. 

8 SEC. 6. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 

9 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

10 Emergency Assistance Act (as amended by this Act) is 

11 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 429. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

14 the date of enactment of this section, and in consultation 

15 with the Council on Environmental Quality and the Advi16 sory Council on Historic Preservation, the President shall 

17 establish an expedited and unified interagency review 

18 process to ensure compliance with environmental and his19 toric requirements under Federal law relating to disaster 

20 recovery projects, in order to expedite the recovery proc21 ess, consistent with applicable law. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The review process established 

23 under this section shall include mechanisms to expedi24 tiously address delays that may occur during the recovery 


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1 from a major disaster and be updated, as appropriate, 

2 consistent with applicable law.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES. 

4 Section 422 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

5 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘If the Federal estimate’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Federal esti9 mate’’; 

10 (2) by inserting ‘‘(or, if the Administrator has 

11 established a threshold under subsection (b), the 

12 amount established under subsection (b))’’ after 

13 ‘‘$35,000’’ the first place it appears; 

14 (3) by inserting ‘‘or, if applicable, the amount 

15 established under subsection (b),’’ after ‘‘$35,000 

16 amount’’ the second place it appears; and 

17 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(b) THRESHOLD.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this subsection, the President, 

21 acting through the Administrator of the Federal 

22 Emergency Management Agency (in this section re23 ferred to as the ‘Administrator’), shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) complete an analysis to determine 

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1 bility under subsection (a) is appropriate, which 

2 shall include consideration of cost-effectiveness, 

3 speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past 

4 performance, and accountability measures; and 

5 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Trans6 portation and Infrastructure of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Home8 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

9 Senate a report regarding the analysis con10 ducted under subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—After the Administrator sub12 mits the report required under paragraph (1), the 

13 President shall direct the Administrator to— 

14 ‘‘(A) immediately establish a threshold for 

15 eligibility under this section in an appropriate 

16 amount, without regard to chapter 5 of title 5, 

17 United States Code; and 

18 ‘‘(B) adjust the threshold annually to re19 flect changes in the Consumer Price Index for 

20 all Urban Consumers published by the Depart21 ment of Labor. 

22 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 3 years after the 

23 date on which the Administrator establishes a 

24 threshold under paragraph (2), and every 3 years 

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1 istrator, shall review the threshold for eligibility 

2 under this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) OTHER NEEDS ASSISTANCE.—Section 408(e)(1) 

5 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

6 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the paragraph heading by inserting 

8 ‘‘CHILD CARE,’’ after ‘‘DENTAL,’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘child care,’’ after ‘‘dental,’’. 

10 (b) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.—Section 403 of the 

11 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist12 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the President declares a 

16 major disaster or emergency for an area within the 

17 jurisdiction of a State, tribal, or local government, 

18 the President may reimburse the State, tribal, or 

19 local government for costs relating to— 

20 ‘‘(A) basic pay and benefits for permanent 

21 employees of the State, tribal, or local govern22 ment conducting emergency protective measures 

23 under this section, if— 

24 ‘‘(i) the work is not typically per25 formed by the employees; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the type of work may otherwise 

2 be carried out by contract or agreement 

3 with private organizations, firms, or indi4 viduals.; or 

5 ‘‘(B) overtime and hazardous duty com6 pensation for permanent employees of the 

7 State, tribal, or local government conducting 

8 emergency protective measures under this sec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(2) OVERTIME.—The guidelines for reimburse11 ment for costs under paragraph (1) shall ensure that 

12 no State, tribal, or local government is denied reim13 bursement for overtime payments that are required 

14 pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

15 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON MUTUAL AID PACTS.— 

17 Nothing in this subsection shall affect the ability of 

18 the President to reimburse labor force expenses pro19 vided pursuant to an authorized mutual aid pact.’’. 

20 SEC. 9. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE FACTORS. 

21 In order to provide more objective criteria for evalu22 ating the need for assistance to individuals, to clarify the 

23 threshold for eligibility and to speed a declaration of a 

24 major disaster or emergency under the Robert T. Stafford 

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


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1 5121 et seq.), not later than 1 year after the date of enact2 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emer3 gency Management Agency, in cooperation with represent4 atives of State, tribal, and local emergency management 

5 agencies, shall review, update, and revise through rule6 making the factors considered under section 206.48 of 

7 title 44, Code of Federal Regulations (including section 

8 206.48(b)(2) of such title relating to trauma and the spe9 cific conditions or losses that contribute to trauma), to 

10 measure the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster. 

11 SEC. 10. TRIBAL REQUESTS FOR A MAJOR DISASTER OR 

12 EMERGENCY DECLARATION UNDER THE 

13 STAFFORD ACT. 

14 (a) MAJOR DISASTER REQUESTS.—Section 401 of 

15 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘All requests for a declaration’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All requests for a 

19 declaration’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(b) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT REQUESTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive of an 

23 affected Indian tribal government may submit a re24 quest for a declaration by the President that a 


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1 major disaster exists consistent with the require2 ments of subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—In implementing assist4 ance authorized by the President under this Act in 

5 response to a request of the Chief Executive of an 

6 affected Indian tribal government for a major dis7 aster declaration, any reference in this title or title 

8 III (except sections 310 and 326) to a State or the 

9 Governor of a State is deemed to refer to an affected 

10 Indian tribal government or the Chief Executive of 

11 an affected Indian tribal government, as appro12 priate. 

13 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub14 section shall prohibit an Indian tribal government 

15 from receiving assistance under this title through a 

16 declaration made by the President at the request of 

17 a State under subsection (a) if the President does 

18 not make a declaration under this subsection for the 

19 same incident. 

20 ‘‘(c) COST SHARE ADJUSTMENTS FOR INDIAN TRIB21 AL GOVERNMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing assistance to 

23 an Indian tribal government under this title, the 

24 President may waive or adjust any payment of a 


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1 non-Federal contribution with respect to the assist2 ance if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the President has the authority to 

4 waive or adjust the payment under another pro5 vision of this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the President determines that the 

7 waiver or adjustment is necessary and appro8 priate. 

9 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR MAKING DETERMINA10 TIONS.—The President shall establish criteria for 

11 making determinations under paragraph (1)(B).’’. 

12 (b) EMERGENCY REQUESTS.—Section 501 of the 

13 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist14 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191) is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT REQUESTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive of an 

18 affected Indian tribal government may submit a re19 quest for a declaration by the President that an 

20 emergency exists consistent with the requirements of 

21 subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—In implementing assist23 ance authorized by the President under this title in 

24 response to a request of the Chief Executive of an 

25 affected Indian tribal government for an emergency 


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1 declaration, any reference in this title or title III 

2 (except sections 310 and 326) to a State or the Gov3 ernor of a State is deemed to refer to an affected 

4 Indian tribal government or the Chief Executive of 

5 an affected Indian tribal government, as appro6 priate. 

7 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub8 section shall prohibit an Indian tribal government 

9 from receiving assistance under this title through a 

10 declaration made by the President at the request of 

11 a State under subsection (a) if the President does 

12 not make a declaration under this subsection for the 

13 same incident.’’. 

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

15 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘, that is not an Indian tribal government 

19 as defined in paragraph (6); and’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

21 (10) as paragraphs (7) through (11), respectively; 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

25 ‘Indian tribal government’ means the governing body 


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1 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

2 pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of 

3 the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe 

4 under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 

5 Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.).’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(12) CHIEF EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘Chief Ex8 ecutive’ means the person who is the Chief, Chair9 man, Governor, President, or similar executive offi10 cial of an Indian tribal government.’’. 

11 (d) REFERENCES.—Title I of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

13 5121 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 102 the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 103. REFERENCES. 

16 ‘‘Except as otherwise specifically provided, any ref17 erence in this Act to ‘State and local’, ‘State or local’, 

18 ‘State, and local’, ‘State, or local’, or ‘State, local’ (includ19 ing plurals) with respect to governments or officials and 

20 any reference to a ‘local government’ in sections 406(d)(3) 

21 and 417 is deemed to refer also to Indian tribal govern22 ments and officials, as appropriate.’’. 

23 (e) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) ISSUANCE.—The President shall issue regu2 lations to carry out the amendments made by this 

3 section. 

4 (2) FACTORS.—In issuing the regulations, the 

5 President shall consider the unique conditions that 

6 affect the general welfare of Indian tribal govern7 ments. 

8 SEC. 11. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REDUCING COSTS OF 

9 FUTURE DISASTERS. 

10 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

12 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall sub13 mit to Congress recommendations for the development of 

14 a national strategy for reducing future costs, loss of life, 

15 and injuries associated with extreme disaster events in vul16 nerable areas of the United States. 

17 (b) NATIONAL STRATEGY.—The national strategy 

18 should— 

19 (1) respect the constitutional role and respon20 sibilities of Federal, State, and local governments 

21 and the private sector; 

22 (2) consider the vulnerability of the United 

23 States to damage from flooding, severe weather 

24 events, and other hazards; 


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1 (3) analyze gaps and duplication of emergency 

2 preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation 

3 measures provided by Federal, State, and local enti4 ties; and 

5 (4) include recommendations on how to improve 

6 the resiliency of local communities and States for 

7 the purpose of lowering future costs of disaster re8 sponse and recovery. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 14, 

2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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