I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2878

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to improve Federal response efforts after a terrorist strike or other 

major disaster affecting homeland security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2003

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. TOWNS, and Mr. MCNULTY) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 

Energy and Commerce and Education and the Workforce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to improve Federal response efforts 

after a terrorist strike or other major disaster affecting 

homeland security, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Protection 

5 and Response Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The Robert T. Stafford Relief and Emer4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) was 

5 established to provide aid and coordinate Federal 

6 disaster relief in response to a major disaster. 

7 (2) The effect of the terrorist attack on Sep8 tember 11, 2001, on New York City, New York, was 

9 declared a major disaster as defined by the Act. 

10 (3) The terrorist attacks on September 11, 

11 2001, brought forth new challenges never dealt with 

12 before in a major disaster. 

13 (4) These new challenges and lack of com14 prehensive authority to deal with them, as defined 

15 by current statute, slowed down and complicated 

16 Federal disaster relief for the New York and Wash17 ington Metropolitan Areas, and exposed weaknesses 

18 in the authorities Federal agencies have to respond 

19 to a homeland security event. 

20 (5) Officials throughout the Administration and 

21 intelligence community assert that another attack is 

22 inevitable so it is imperative to establish new author23 ity to address the inadequacies in the existing sys24 tem of response. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF MAJOR DISASTER. 

2 Section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

3 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘, or explosion’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘, explosion, terrorist attack (including a biological, nu6 clear, chemical, or small arms attack and a cyber-attack 

7 on computer systems), dispersion of radioactive or other 

8 contaminants, dispersion of hazardous substances, or 

9 other catastrophic event’’; 

10 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITY. 

11 Section 102(9) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

12 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(9)) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the 

14 case of a homeland security event, such term also includes 

15 private for-profit telecommunications and phone services 

16 and private for-profit utilities (including power, water (in17 cluding water provided by an irrigation organization or fa18 cility), sewer, and wastewater treatment) except that for19 profit utilities shall be covered only for structures and 

20 property losses that occur during a homeland security 

21 event if such losses are not covered by such utility’s insur22 ance policies. 

23 SEC. 5. HOMELAND SECURITY EVENTS. 

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

25 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is 

26 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 425. HOMELAND SECURITY EVENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Governor 

3 of the affected State, the President may declare that a 

4 major disaster constitutes a homeland security event for 

5 the purposes of this section. Such a request shall be based 

6 on a finding that Federal assistance is necessary because 

7 the event poses a significant risk to the security of the 

8 people and property of the Nation and is of such severity 

9 and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capa10 bility of the affected State and local government. 

11 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—In any homeland secu12 rity event, in addition to providing other assistance made 

13 available under this title in a major disaster, the President 

14 may—

15 ‘‘(1) establish a coordinating office and appoint 

16 a disaster recovery director—

17 ‘‘(A) to work with and coordinate efforts 

18 with the Federal coordinating officer appointed 

19 under section 302; 

20 ‘‘(B) to oversee and coordinate the timely 

21 distribution of Federal compensation to persons 

22 injured in such disaster; 

23 ‘‘(C) to develop methods to expedite claims 

24 for relief and assistance by individuals and 

25 businesses;
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1 ‘‘(D) coordinate long-term recovery efforts 

2 with State and local authorities; and 

3 ‘‘(E) work with Federal agencies to de4 velop more effective methods to assist affected 

5 parties; 

6 ‘‘(2) require that if an office described in para7 graph (1) is established, the disaster recovery direc8 tor—

9 ‘‘(A) shall consult with local officials in de10 veloping a recovery plan; and 

11 ‘‘(B) may appoint an independent claims 

12 manager to assist in providing assistance; 

13 ‘‘(3) in any case in which a Federal official 

14 issues a high security alert after a homeland security 

15 event, provide technical assistance and reimburse16 ment to State and local governments in the disaster 

17 area for expenses incurred related to such alert, in18 cluding overtime for law enforcement officers for a 

19 period of time that the President determines is nec20 essary; 

21 ‘‘(4) provide grants to a local government which 

22 may suffer a substantial loss of tax and other reve23 nues; 

24 ‘‘(5) authorize reimbursement to a school sys25 tem for—
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1 ‘‘(A) providing additional classroom in2 struction time and related activities to students 

3 who lost instructional time as a result of the 

4 homeland security event; 

5 ‘‘(B) providing mental health and trauma 

6 counseling and other appropriate support serv7 ices to students suffering from trauma-related 

8 disorders resulting from the homeland security 

9 event; 

10 ‘‘(C) providing guidance and grief coun11 seling and mental health services, including 

12 overtime payment for counselors and mental 

13 health professionals, for students and school 

14 staff; 

15 ‘‘(D) clean up and structural inspections 

16 and repairs of school facilities; 

17 ‘‘(E) textbooks and other school supplies 

18 and equipment used to support the relocation of 

19 students from schools in the disaster area; 

20 ‘‘(F) the cost of relocating students, in21 cluding transportation of students to temporary 

22 school facilities; and 

23 ‘‘(G) loss of perishable food stock and rev24 enue lost from food services; and 
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1 ‘‘(6) provide grants, equipment, supplies, and 

2 personnel, to any non-profit medical facility that 

3 has—

4 ‘‘(A) lost equipment or revenue due to a 

5 major disaster; 

6 ‘‘(B) incurred additional costs for security 

7 enhancements in anticipation of a homeland se8 curity event; 

9 ‘‘(C) purchased emergency supplies, medi10 cine, or equipment, or contracted with medical 

11 specialists, in order to respond to casualties ex12 pected to be treated as a result of a major dis13 aster; or 

14 ‘‘(D) complied with Federal and state re15 quirements concerning maintenance of health 

16 service treatment procedures (such as dialysis 

17 facilities) that may not be used as a result of 

18 a major disaster; and 

19 ‘‘(7) authorize and direct the Administrator of 

20 the Environmental Protection Agency to perform all 

21 testing of indoor air quality deemed necessary by the 

22 Administrator and to undertake such remedial ac23 tions as may be necessary, in the discretion of the 

24 Administrator, to protect human health and safety 
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1 from the contamination of indoor air quality fol2 lowing any such event.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. CRITICAL SERVICES. 

4 Section 406(a)(3)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis5 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 5172(a)(3)(B)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘emergency’’; and 

8 (2) by inserting before the period the following: 

9 ‘‘, education systems, providers of counseling assist10 ance, and providers of assistance to the homeless’’. 

11 SEC. 7. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 

12 HOUSEHOLDS. 

13 Section 408(a)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

15 5174(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘direct’’ each place 

16 it appears. 

17 SEC. 8. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS. 

18 (a) AMOUNT.—Section 417(b) of the Robert T. Staf19 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 5184(b)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘, shall not exceed’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘and shall not exceed’’; and 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘, and shall not exceed 

24 $5,000,000’’.
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1 (b) MAJOR DISASTERS CAUSED BY TERRORIST AT2 TACKS.—Section 417 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(e) INTEREST FORGIVENESS IN CERTAIN CASES.—

5 The President shall not require the payment of any inter6 est on a loan made under this section to a local govern7 ment which may suffer a substantial loss of tax and other 

8 revenues as a result of a homeland security event.’’. 

9 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

10 section shall apply with respect to any major disaster oc11 curring on or after October 30, 2000. 

12 SEC. 9. STANDARDS AND REPORTING. 

13 The Director of the Office of Management and Budg14 et shall—

15 (1) establish standards for reporting informa16 tion regarding disaster efforts made by each agency 

17 that assists in providing relief in a disaster that the 

18 President has determined constitutes a homeland se19 curity event under section 425 of the Robert T. 

20 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); 

22 (2) collect data from each such agency regard23 ing the efforts of such agency for each major dis24 aster described in paragraph (1) not less than once 

25 each year; and 
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1 (3) report such data to the appropriate commit2 tees of Congress annually. 

3 SEC. 10. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO REVIEW 

4 AIR QUALITY. 

5 The President shall appoint a special commission to 

6 undertake a study of the authorities available to the Envi7 ronmental Protection Agency following a major disaster 

8 that the President determines constitutes a homeland se9 curity event under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Dis10 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 5170 and following), particularly a terrorist attack using 

12 chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. The Commission 

13 shall examine the agency’s authorities to—

14 (1) monitor the environment; 

15 (2) evaluate health risks associated with air pol16 lutants that may be released into the environment as 

17 result of such a disaster; and 

18 (3) communicate with affected communities and 

19 first responders. 

20 The Commission shall submit a report to the President 

21 and to the Congress containing the results of such study 

22 and including any recommendations of the special commis23 sion regarding the clarification and recommendation of 

24 Environmental Protection Agency authorities in such situ25 ations.
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1 SEC. 11. ACUTELY AND SUB-ACUTELY TOXIC CHEMICAL, BI2 OLOGICAL, AND RADIOACTIVE EXPOSURE 

3 GUIDELINES. 

4 The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

5 Agency shall promulgate guidelines regarding the health 

6 risks of short-, medium-, or long-term exposure to acutely 

7 or sub-actuely toxic chemical, biological, and radioactive 

8 materials that may be released into the environment as 

9 a consequence of a major disaster that the President de10 termines constitutes a homeland security event under title 

11 IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer12 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and following). The 

13 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven14 tion shall provide the Administrator with such information 

15 and analysis as may be necessary for the Administrator 

16 to promulgate guidelines under this section in the case of 

17 biological materials. 

18 SEC. 12. EPA AUTHORITIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONI19 TORING AND ANALYSIS. 

20 In order to provide for standardized and rapid data 

21 collection and analysis and communication regarding envi22 ronmental risks following any major disaster that the 

23 President determines constitutes a homeland security 

24 event under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

25 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 

26 and following), the President shall designate the Adminis-
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1 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the Di2 rector of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

3 (in the case of a release of biological agents) to coordinate 

4 all data collection and monitoring and dissemination of 

5 analysis regarding the release of pollutants and contami6 nants (including biological agents) into the environment 

7 by reason of any such disaster. 

8 SEC. 13. DATA COLLECTION DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 

9 EMERGENCIES; RESEARCH ON ASSISTING 

10 VICTIMS; ADVANCED PREPARATION. 

11 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec13 tion 319K the following section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 319L. DATA COLLECTION DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 

15 EMERGENCIES; RESEARCH ON ASSISTING 

16 VICTIMS; ADVANCED PREPARATION. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make awards 

18 of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to public 

19 and nonprofit private entities for the purpose of collecting 

20 public health data during and in the aftermath of public 

21 health emergencies, and conducting research with respect 

22 to such data, in order to develop medical therapies and 

23 other public health strategies for assisting victims of such 

24 emergencies in recovering from the emergencies. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ADVANCE PREPARATION FOR EMERGENCY

2 EVENTS.—The Secretary shall provide for the approval of 

3 applications for awards under subsection (a) in advance 

4 of public health emergencies in order that, upon the occur5 rence of such an emergency, the Secretary can promptly 

6 begin disbursing amounts from the awards and the recipi7 ents of the awards can promptly begin carrying out the 

8 purpose described in subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

10 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

11 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

12 each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2007, in addition 

13 to other authorizations of appropriations that are available 

14 for such purpose. Amounts appropriated under the pre15 ceding sentence are available until expended.’’. 

16 SEC. 14. DISASTER RELIEF GRANTS FOR LOCAL EDU17 CATIONAL AGENCIES. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education 

19 may make grants for disaster relief to local educational 

20 agencies located in any area for which the President has 

21 declared a major disaster pursuant to the Robert T. Staf22 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

24 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may not make 

25 a grant under this section unless the applicant involved 
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1 agrees to use the grant as reimbursement or payment for 

2 expenses resulting from a major disaster described in sub3 section (a) that occurred after September 10, 2001. Such 

4 expenses may include any of the following: 

5 (1) Additional classroom instruction time and 

6 related activities for students who lost instructional 

7 time as a result of the disaster. 

8 (2) Mental health and trauma counseling and 

9 other appropriate support services to students suf10 fering from long-term or short-term trauma-related 

11 disorders resulting from the disaster. 

12 (3) Guidance and grief counseling and mental 

13 health services, including overtime payment for 

14 counselors and mental health professionals, for stu15 dents and school staff. 

16 (4) Textbooks and other school supplies and 

17 equipment damaged or destroyed as a result of the 

18 disaster, or used to support the relocation of stu19 dents from schools in the disaster area. 

20 (5) Relocating students, including transpor21 tation of students to temporary school facilities. 

22 (6) Loss of perishable food stock and revenue 

23 lost from food services. 

24 (7) Renting or leasing alternate temporary fa25 cilities or transportation. 
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1 (c) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec2 tion, a local educational agency shall submit an application 

3 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con4 taining such information as the Secretary reasonably re5 quires. 

6 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

7 shall be construed as prohibiting or exempting the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Agency from its obligation to 

9 provide assistance to local educational agencies in connec10 tion with a major disaster, including debris removal and 

11 cleanup, and restoration of facilities to their predisaster 

12 condition. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

14 (1) The term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has 

15 the meaning given to that term in section 9101 of 

16 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

18 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Education.

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