II

Calendar No. 551

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 707

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 4, 1999

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

MAY 16, 2000

Reported by Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, without amendment

AN ACT

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize a program for

predisaster mitigation, to streamline the administration

of disaster relief, to control the Federal costs of disaster

assistance, 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 ‘‘Disaster Mitigation

5 and Cost Reduction Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER

2 RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT.

3 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi6 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made

7 to a section or other provision of the Robert T. Stafford

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

9 5121 et seq.).

10 TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD

11 MITIGATION

12 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

14 (1) greater emphasis needs to be placed on

15 identifying and assessing the risks to State and local

16 communities and implementing adequate measures

17 to reduce losses from natural disasters and to ensure

18 that critical facilities and public infrastructure will

19 continue to function after a disaster;

20 (2) expenditures for post-disaster assistance are

21 increasing without commensurate reduction in the

22 likelihood of future losses from such natural disas23 ters;

24 (3) a high priority in the expenditure of Federal

25 funds under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
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1 and Emergency Assistance Act should be to imple2 ment predisaster activities at the local level; and

3 (4) with a unified effort of economic incentives,

4 awareness and education, technical assistance, and

5 demonstrated Federal support, States and local com6 munities will be able to increase their capabilities to

7 form effective community-based partnerships for

8 mitigation purposes, implement effective natural dis9 aster mitigation measures that reduce the risk of fu10 ture damage, hardship, and suffering, ensure contin11 ued functioning of critical facilities and public infra12 structure, leverage additional non-Federal resources

13 into meeting disaster resistance goals, and make

14 commitments to long-term mitigation efforts in new

15 and existing structures.

16 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to estab17 lish a predisaster hazard mitigation program that—

18 (1) reduces the loss of life and property, human

19 suffering, economic disruption, and disaster assist20 ance costs resulting from natural hazards; and

21 (2) provides a source of predisaster hazard

22 mitigation funding that will assist States and local

23 governments in implementing effective mitigation

24 measures that are designed to ensure the continued
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1 functioning of critical facilities and public infrastruc2 ture after a natural disaster.

3 SEC. 102. STATE MITIGATION PROGRAM.

4 Section 201(c) (42 U.S.C. 5131(c)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

6 (1);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(3) set forth, with the ongoing cooperation of

11 local governments and consistent with section 409, a

12 comprehensive and detailed State program for miti13 gating against emergencies and major disasters, in14 cluding provisions for prioritizing mitigation meas15 ures.’’.

16 SEC. 103. DISASTER ASSISTANCE PLANS.

17 Section 201(d) (42 U.S.C. 5131(d)) is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘(d) GRANTS FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND HAZ20 ARD IDENTIFICATION.—The President is authorized to

21 make grants for—

22 ‘‘(1) not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of im23 proving, maintaining, and updating State disaster

24 assistance plans including, consistent with section

25 409, evaluation of natural hazards and development
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1 of the programs and actions required to mitigate

2 such hazards; and

3 ‘‘(2) the development and application of im4 proved floodplain mapping technologies that can be

5 used by Federal, State, and local governments and

6 that the President determines will likely result in

7 substantial savings over current floodplain mapping

8 methods.’’.

9 SEC. 104. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

10 Title II (42 U.S.C. 5131–5132) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The President may es14 tablish a program to provide financial assistance to States

15 and local governments for the purpose of undertaking

16 predisaster hazard mitigation activities that are cost effec17 tive and substantially reduce the risk of future damage,

18 hardship, or suffering from a major disaster.

19 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), a State or local government that receives

22 financial assistance under this section shall use the

23 assistance for funding activities that are cost effec24 tive and substantially reduce the risk of future dam25 age, hardship, or suffering from a major disaster.
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1 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION.—The State or local gov2 ernment may use not more than 10 percent of finan3 cial assistance it receives under this section in a fis4 cal year for funding activities to disseminate infor5 mation regarding cost effective mitigation tech6 nologies (such as preferred construction practices

7 and materials), including establishing and maintain8 ing centers for protection against natural disasters

9 to carry out such dissemination.

10 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The amount of finan11 cial assistance to be made available to a State, including

12 amounts made available to local governments of such

13 State, under this section in a fiscal year shall—

14 ‘‘(1) not be less than the lesser of $500,000 or

15 1.0 percent of the total funds appropriated to carry

16 out this section for such fiscal year; but

17 ‘‘(2) not exceed 15 percent of such total funds.

18 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA.—Subject to the limitations of sub19 sections (c) and (e), in determining whether to provide as20 sistance to a State or local government under this section

21 and the amount of such assistance, the President shall

22 consider the following criteria:

23 ‘‘(1) The clear identification of prioritized cost24 effective mitigation activities that produce meaning25 ful and definable outcomes.
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1 ‘‘(2) If the State has submitted a mitigation

2 program in cooperation with local governments

3 under section 201(c), the degree to which the activi4 ties identified in paragraph (1) are consistent with

5 the State mitigation program.

6 ‘‘(3) The extent to which assistance will fund

7 activities that mitigate hazards evaluated under sec8 tion 409.

9 ‘‘(4) The opportunity to fund activities that

10 maximize net benefits to society.

11 ‘‘(5) The ability of the State or local govern12 ment to fund mitigation activities.

13 ‘‘(6) The extent to which assistance will fund

14 mitigation activities in small impoverished commu15 nities.

16 ‘‘(7) The level of interest by the private sector

17 to enter into a partnership to promote mitigation.

18 ‘‘(8) Such other criteria as the President estab19 lishes in consultation with State and local govern20 ments.

21 ‘‘(e) STATE NOMINATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of each State

23 may recommend to the President not less than 5

24 local governments to receive assistance under this

25 section. The recommendations shall be submitted to
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1 the President not later than October 1, 1999, and

2 each October 1st thereafter or such later date in the

3 year as the President may establish. In making such

4 recommendations, the Governors shall consider the

5 criteria identified in subsection (d).

6 ‘‘(2) USE.—

7 ‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—In providing as8 sistance to local governments under this sec9 tion, the President shall select from local gov10 ernments recommended by the Governors under

11 this subsection.

12 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—Upon request of a local

13 government, the President may waive the limi14 tation in subparagraph (A) if the President de15 termines that extraordinary circumstances jus16 tify the waiver and that granting the waiver will

17 further the purpose of this section.

18 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO NOMINATE.—If a

19 Governor of a State fails to submit recommendations

20 under this subsection in a timely manner, the Presi21 dent may select, subject to the criteria in subsection

22 (d), any local governments of the State to receive as23 sistance under this section.

24 ‘‘(f) SMALL IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITIES.—For the

25 purpose of this section, the term ‘small impoverished com-
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1 munities’ means communities of 3,000 or fewer individuals

2 that are economically disadvantaged, as determined by the

3 State in which the community is located and based on cri4 teria established by the President.

5 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL SHARE.—Financial assistance pro6 vided under this section may contribute up to 75 percent

7 of the total cost of mitigation activities approved by the

8 President; except that the President may contribute up to

9 90 percent of the total cost of mitigation activities in small

10 impoverished communities.

11 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

13 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $80,000,000 for fis14 cal year 2000.

15 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF SECTION 404 FUNDS.—Ef16 fective October 1, 2000, in addition to amounts appro17 priated under subsection (h) from only appropriations en18 acted after October 1, 2000, the President may use, to

19 carry out this section, funds that are appropriated to carry

20 out section 404 for post-disaster mitigation activities that

21 have not been obligated within 30 months of the disaster

22 declaration upon which the funding availability is based.

23 ‘‘(j) REPORT ON FEDERAL AND STATE ADMINISTRA24 TION.—Not later than 18 months after the date of the

25 enactment of the Disaster Mitigation and Cost Reduction
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1 Act of 1999, the President, in consultation with State and

2 local governments, shall transmit to Congress a report

3 evaluating efforts to implement this section and recom4 mending a process for transferring greater authority and

5 responsibility for administering the assistance program

6 authorized by this section to capable States.’’.

7 SEC. 105. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

8 The President shall establish an interagency task

9 force for the purpose of coordinating the implementation

10 of the predisaster hazard mitigation program authorized

11 by section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

12 and Emergency Assistance Act. The Director of the Fed13 eral Emergency Management Agency shall chair such task

14 force.

15 SEC. 106. MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION FOR MITIGATION

16 COSTS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(a) (42 U.S.C.

18 5170c(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘15 percent’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘20 percent’’.

20 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) shall apply to major disasters declared under

22 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act and Emergency

23 Assistance Act after January 1, 1997.

24 SEC. 107. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

25 The heading for title II is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED2 NESS AND MITIGATION AS3 SISTANCE’’.

4 TITLE II—STREAMLINING AND

5 COST REDUCTION

6 SEC. 201. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (42 U.S.C. 5141–5164)

8 is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 322. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro11 vision of law (including any administrative rule or guid12 ance), the President shall establish by rule management

13 cost rates for grantees and subgrantees. Such rates shall

14 be used to determine contributions under this Act for

15 management costs.

16 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT COSTS DEFINED.—Management

17 costs include indirect costs, administrative expenses, asso18 ciated expenses, and any other expenses not directly

19 chargeable to a specific project under a major disaster,

20 emergency, or emergency preparedness activity or meas21 ure. Such costs include the necessary costs of requesting,

22 obtaining, and administering Federal assistance and costs

23 incurred by a State for preparation of damage survey re24 ports, final inspection reports, project applications, final

25 audits, and related field inspections by State employees,
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1 including overtime pay and per diem and travel expenses

2 of such employees, but not including pay for regular time

3 of such employees.

4 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The President shall review the man5 agement cost rates established under subsection (a) not

6 later than 3 years after the date of establishment of such

7 rates and periodically thereafter.’’.

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 322 of the Robert T.

9 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

10 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) shall apply

11 as follows:

12 (1) Subsections (a) and (b) of such section 322

13 shall apply to major disasters declared under such

14 Act on or after the date of the enactment of this

15 Act. Until the date on which the President estab16 lishes the management cost rates under such sub17 section, section 406(f) shall be used for establishing

18 such rates.

19 (2) Subsection (c) of such section 322 shall

20 apply to major disasters declared under such Act on

21 or after the date on which the President establishes

22 such rates under subsection (a) of such section 322.
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1 SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR, RESTORE, RECON2 STRUCT, OR REPLACE DAMAGED FACILITIES.

3 (a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 406(a) (42 U.S.C.

4 5172(a)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may make

7 contributions—

8 ‘‘(A) to a State or local government for the

9 repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace10 ment of a public facility which is damaged or

11 destroyed by a major disaster and for associ12 ated expenses incurred by such government;

13 and

14 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), to a person

15 who owns or operates a private nonprofit facil16 ity damaged or destroyed by a major disaster

17 for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re18 placement of such facility and for associated ex19 penses incurred by such person.

20 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO PRIVATE

21 NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may

23 make contributions to a private nonprofit facil24 ity under paragraph (1)(B) only if—
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1 ‘‘(i) the facility provides critical serv2 ices (as defined by the President) in the

3 event of a major disaster; or

4 ‘‘(ii)(I) the owner or operator of the

5 facility has applied for a disaster loan

6 under section 7(b) of the Small Business

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); and

8 ‘‘(II) has been determined to be ineli9 gible for such a loan; or

10 ‘‘(III) has obtained such a loan in the

11 maximum amount for which the Small

12 Business Administration determines the fa13 cility is eligible.

14 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL SERVICES DEFINED.—In

15 this paragraph, the term ‘critical services’ in16 cludes, but is not limited to, power, water,

17 sewer, wastewater treatment, communications,

18 and emergency medical care.’’.

19 (b) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406(b) (42

20 U.S.C. 5172(b)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal

22 share of assistance under this section shall be not less

23 than 75 percent of the eligible cost of repair, restoration,

24 reconstruction, or replacement carried out under this sec25 tion.’’.
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1 (c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

2 406(c) (42 U.S.C. 5172(c)) is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which

6 a State or local government determines that the

7 public welfare would not be best served by re8 pairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing

9 any public facility owned or controlled by such

10 State or local government, the State or local

11 government may elect to receive, in lieu of a

12 contribution under subsection (a)(1)(A), a con13 tribution of 75 percent of the Federal share of

14 the Federal estimate of the cost of repairing,

15 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such fa16 cility and of management expenses.

17 ‘‘(B) AREAS WITH UNSTABLE SOIL.—In

18 any case in which a State or local government

19 determines that the public welfare would not be

20 best served by repairing, restoring, recon21 structing, or replacing any public facility owned

22 or controlled by such State or local government

23 because soil instability in the disaster area

24 makes such repair, restoration, reconstruction,

25 or replacement infeasible, the State or local
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1 government may elect to receive, in lieu of a

2 contribution under subsection (a)(1)(A), a con3 tribution of 90 percent of the Federal share of

4 the Federal estimate of the cost of repairing,

5 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such fa6 cility and of management expenses.

7 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds contributed

8 to a State or local government under this para9 graph may be used to repair, restore, or expand

10 other selected public facilities, to construct new

11 facilities, or to fund hazard mitigation measures

12 which the State or local government determines

13 to be necessary to meet a need for govern14 mental services and functions in the area af15 fected by the major disaster.

16 ‘‘(2) FOR PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case where a

18 person who owns or operates a private nonprofit

19 facility determines that the public welfare would

20 not be best served by repairing, restoring, re21 constructing, or replacing such facility, such

22 person may elect to receive, in lieu of a con23 tribution under subsection (a)(1)(B), a con24 tribution of 75 percent of the Federal share of

25 the Federal estimate of the cost of repairing,
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1 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such fa2 cility and of management expenses.

3 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds contributed

4 to a person under this paragraph may be used

5 to repair, restore, or expand other selected pri6 vate nonprofit facilities owned or operated by

7 the person, to construct new private nonprofit

8 facilities to be owned or operated by the person,

9 or to fund hazard mitigation measures that the

10 person determines to be necessary to meet a

11 need for its services and functions in the area

12 affected by the major disaster.

13 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATION OF FEDERAL SHARE.—The

14 President shall modify the Federal share of the cost

15 estimate provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) if the

16 President determines an alternative cost share will

17 likely reduce the total amount of Federal assistance

18 provided under this section. The Federal cost share

19 for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not ex20 ceed 90 percent and shall not be less than 50 per21 cent.’’.

22 (d) ELIGIBLE COST.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406(e) (42 U.S.C.

24 5172(e)) is amended to read as follows:

25 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COST.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this

2 section, the estimate of the cost of repairing, restor3 ing, reconstructing, or replacing a public facility or

4 private nonprofit facility on the basis of the design

5 of such facility as it existed immediately before the

6 major disaster and in conformity with current appli7 cable codes, specifications, and standards (including

8 floodplain management and hazard mitigation cri9 teria required by the President or by the Coastal

10 Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.))

11 shall be treated as the eligible cost of such repair,

12 restoration, reconstruction, or replacement. Subject

13 to paragraph (2), the President shall use the cost es14 timation procedures developed under paragraph (3)

15 to make the estimate under this paragraph.

16 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE COST.—In

17 the event the actual cost of repairing, restoring, re18 constructing, or replacing a facility under this sec19 tion is more than 120 percent or less than 80 per20 cent of the cost estimated under paragraph (1), the

21 President may determine that the eligible cost be the

22 actual cost of such repair, restoration, reconstruc23 tion, or replacement. The government or person re24 ceiving assistance under this section shall reimburse

25 the President for the portion of such assistance that
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1 exceeds the eligible cost of such repair, restoration,

2 reconstruction, or replacement.

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF SURPLUS FUNDS.—In the event

4 the actual cost of repairing, restoring, recon5 structing, or replacing a facility under this section is

6 less than 100 percent but not less than 80 percent

7 of the cost estimated under paragraph (1), the gov8 ernment or person receiving assistance under this

9 section shall use any surplus funds to perform activi10 ties that are cost-effective and reduce the risk of fu11 ture damage, hardship, or suffering from a major

12 disaster.

13 ‘‘(4) EXPERT PANEL.—Not later than 18

14 months after the date of the enactment of the Dis15 aster Mitigation and Cost Reduction Act of 1999,

16 the President, acting through the Director of the

17 Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall es18 tablish an expert panel, including representatives

19 from the construction industry, to develop proce20 dures for estimating the cost of repairing, restoring,

21 reconstructing, or replacing a facility consistent with

22 industry practices.

23 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE.—In any case in which the

24 facility being repaired, restored, reconstructed, or re25 placed under this section was under construction on
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1 the date of the major disaster, the cost of repairing,

2 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such facility

3 shall include, for purposes of this section, only those

4 costs which, under the contract for such construc5 tion, are the owner’s responsibility and not the con6 tractor’s responsibility.’’.

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

8 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the

9 enactment of this Act, and shall only apply to funds

10 appropriated after the date of the enactment of this

11 Act; except that paragraph (1) of section 406(e) of

12 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer13 gency Assistance Act (as amended by paragraph (1)

14 of this subsection) shall take effect on the date that

15 the procedures developed under paragraph (3) of

16 such section take effect.

17 (e) ASSOCIATED EXPENSES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 (42 U.S.C.

19 4172) is amended by striking subsection (f).

20 (2) OTHER ELIGIBLE COSTS.—Section 406(e)

21 (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)), as amended by subsection (d)

22 of this section, is amended by adding at the end the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(6) OTHER ELIGIBLE COSTS.—For purposes of

25 this section, other eligible costs include the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) COSTS OF NATIONAL GUARD.—The

2 cost of mobilizing and employing the National

3 Guard for performance of eligible work.

4 ‘‘(B) COSTS OF PRISON LABOR.—The costs

5 of using prison labor to perform eligible work,

6 including wages actually paid, transportation to

7 a worksite, and extraordinary costs of guards,

8 food, and lodging.

9 ‘‘(C) OTHER LABOR COSTS.—Base and

10 overtime wages for an applicant’s employees

11 and extra hires performing eligible work plus

12 fringe benefits on such wages to the extent that

13 such benefits were being paid before the dis14 aster.’’.

15 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraphs (1) and (2)

16 shall take effect on the date on which the President

17 establishes management cost rates under section

18 322(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

19 Emergency Assistance Act (as added by section

20 201(a) of this Act). The amendment made by para21 graph (1) shall only apply to disasters declared by

22 the President under such Act after the date on

23 which the President establishes such cost rates.
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1 SEC. 203. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND

2 HOUSEHOLDS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408 (42 U.S.C. 5174) is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 408. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND

6 HOUSEHOLDS.

7 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the require8 ments of this section, the President, in consultation with

9 the Governor of the affected State, may provide financial

10 assistance, and, if necessary, direct services, to disaster

11 victims who as a direct result of a major disaster have

12 necessary expenses and serious needs where such victims

13 are unable to meet such expenses or needs through other

14 means. Under the preceding sentence, a victim shall not

15 be denied assistance under subsections (c)(1), (c)(3), or

16 (c)(4), solely on the basis that the victim has not applied

17 for or received any loan or other financial assistance from

18 the Small Business Administration or any other Federal

19 agency.

20 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—

21 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The President may provide

22 financial or other assistance under this section to in23 dividuals and families to respond to the disaster-re24 lated housing needs of those who are displaced from

25 their predisaster primary residences or whose

26 predisaster primary residences are rendered un-
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1 inhabitable as a result of damage caused by a major

2 disaster.

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE TYPES

4 OF ASSISTANCE.—The President shall determine ap5 propriate types of housing assistance to be provided

6 to disaster victims under this section based upon

7 considerations of cost effectiveness, convenience to

8 disaster victims, and such other factors as the Presi9 dent may consider appropriate. One or more types of

10 housing assistance may be made available, based on

11 the suitability and availability of the types of assist12 ance, to meet the needs of disaster victims in the

13 particular disaster situation.

14 ‘‘(c) TYPES OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—

15 ‘‘(1) TEMPORARY HOUSING.—

16 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

18 may provide financial assistance under this

19 section to individuals or households to rent

20 alternate housing accommodations, existing

21 rental units, manufactured housing, rec22 reational vehicles, or other readily fab23 ricated dwellings.

24 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of as25 sistance under clause (i) shall be based on
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1 the fair market rent for the accommoda2 tion being furnished plus the cost of any

3 transportation, utility hookups, or unit in4 stallation not being directly provided by

5 the President.

6 ‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

8 may also directly provide under this section

9 housing units, acquired by purchase or

10 lease, to individuals or households who, be11 cause of a lack of available housing re12 sources, would be unable to make use of

13 the assistance provided under subpara14 graph (A).

15 ‘‘(ii) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—The

16 President may not provide direct assist17 ance under clause (i) with respect to a

18 major disaster after the expiration of the

19 18-month period beginning on the date of

20 the declaration of the major disaster by the

21 President, except that the President may

22 extend such period if the President deter23 mines that due to extraordinary cir24 cumstances an extension would be in the

25 public interest.
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1 ‘‘(iii) COLLECTION OF RENTAL

2 CHARGES.—After the expiration of the 18-

3 month period referred to in clause (ii), the

4 President may charge fair market rent for

5 the accommodation being provided.

6 ‘‘(2) REPAIRS.—The President may provide fi7 nancial assistance for the repair of owner-occupied

8 private residences, utilities, and residential infra9 structure (such as private access routes) damaged by

10 a major disaster to a habitable or functioning condi11 tion. A recipient of assistance provided under this

12 paragraph need not show that the assistance can be

13 met through other means, except insurance proceeds,

14 if the assistance is used for emergency repairs to

15 make a private residence habitable and does not ex16 ceed $5,000 (based on fiscal year 1998 constant dol17 lars).

18 ‘‘(3) REPLACEMENT.—The President may pro19 vide financial assistance for the replacement of

20 owner-occupied private residences damaged by a

21 major disaster. Assistance provided under this para22 graph shall not exceed $10,000 (based on fiscal year

23 1998 constant dollars). The President may not waive

24 any provision of Federal law requiring the purchase

25 of flood insurance as a condition for the receipt of
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1 Federal disaster assistance with respect to assist2 ance provided under this paragraph.

3 ‘‘(4) PERMANENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION.—

4 The President may provide financial assistance or

5 direct assistance under this section to individuals or

6 households to construct permanent housing in insu7 lar areas outside the continental United States and

8 other remote locations in cases in which—

9 ‘‘(A) no alternative housing resources are

10 available; and

11 ‘‘(B) the types of temporary housing as12 sistance described in paragraph (1) are unavail13 able, infeasible, or not cost effective.

14 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO HOUS15 ING ASSISTANCE.—

16 ‘‘(1) SITES.—Any readily fabricated dwelling

17 provided under this section shall, whenever possible,

18 be located on a site complete with utilities, and shall

19 be provided by the State or local government, by the

20 owner of the site, or by the occupant who was dis21 placed by the major disaster. Readily fabricated

22 dwellings may be located on sites provided by the

23 President if the President determines that such sites

24 would be more economical or accessible.

25 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL OF UNITS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) SALE TO OCCUPANTS.—

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

3 any other provision of law, a temporary

4 housing unit purchased under this section

5 by the President for the purposes of hous6 ing disaster victims may be sold directly to

7 the individual or household who is occu8 pying the unit if the individual or house9 hold needs permanent housing.

10 ‘‘(ii) SALES PRICE.—Sales of tem11 porary housing units under clause (i) shall

12 be accomplished at prices that are fair and

13 equitable.

14 ‘‘(iii) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Not15 withstanding any other provision of law,

16 the proceeds of a sale under clause (i) shall

17 be deposited into the appropriate Disaster

18 Relief Fund account.

19 ‘‘(iv) USE OF GSA SERVICES.—The

20 President may use the services of the Gen21 eral Services Administration to accomplish

22 a sale under clause (i).

23 ‘‘(B) OTHER METHODS OF DISPOSAL.—

24 ‘‘(i) SALE.—If not disposed of under

25 subparagraph (A), a temporary housing
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1 unit purchased by the President for the

2 purposes of housing disaster victims may

3 be resold.

4 ‘‘(ii) DISPOSAL TO GOVERNMENTS

5 AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS.—A tem6 porary housing unit described in clause (i)

7 may also be sold, transferred, donated, or

8 otherwise made available directly to a

9 State or other governmental entity or to a

10 voluntary organization for the sole purpose

11 of providing temporary housing to disaster

12 victims in major disasters and emergencies

13 if, as a condition of such sale, transfer, or

14 donation, the State, other governmental

15 agency, or voluntary organization agrees to

16 comply with the nondiscrimination provi17 sions of section 308 and to obtain and

18 maintain hazard and flood insurance on

19 the housing unit.

20 ‘‘(e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS OTHER

21 NEEDS.—

22 ‘‘(1) MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND FUNERAL EX23 PENSES.—The President, in consultation with the

24 Governor of the affected State, may provide financial

25 assistance under this section to an individual or
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1 household adversely affected by a major disaster to

2 meet disaster-related medical, dental, and funeral

3 expenses.

4 ‘‘(2) PERSONAL PROPERTY, TRANSPORTATION,

5 AND OTHER EXPENSES.—The President, in con6 sultation with the Governor of the affected State,

7 may provide financial assistance under this section

8 to an individual or household described in paragraph

9 (1) to address personal property, transportation, and

10 other necessary expenses or serious needs resulting

11 from the major disaster.

12 ‘‘(f) STATE ROLE.—The President shall provide for

13 the substantial and ongoing involvement of the affected

14 State in administering the assistance under this section.

15 ‘‘(g) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—No indi16 vidual or household shall receive financial assistance great17 er than $25,000 under this section with respect to a single

18 major disaster. Such limit shall be adjusted annually to

19 reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban

20 Consumers published by the Department of Labor.

21 ‘‘(h) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The President

22 shall issue rules and regulations to carry out the program,

23 including criteria, standards, and procedures for deter24 mining eligibility for assistance.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 502(a)(6)

2 (42 U.S.C. 5192(a)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘tem3 porary housing’’.

4 (c) ELIMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY

5 GRANT PROGRAMS.—Title IV (42 U.S.C. 5170–5189a) is

6 amended by striking section 411 (42 U.S.C. 5178).

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

8 this section shall take effect on the 545th day following

9 the date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 204. REPEALS.

11 (a) COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS.—Section 417 (42

12 U.S.C. 5184) is repealed.

13 (b) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE.—Section 422 (42

14 U.S.C. 5189) is repealed.

15 SEC. 205. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION

16 PROGRAM.

17 Section 404 (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding

18 at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION BY STATES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to admin21 ister the hazard mitigation assistance program es22 tablished by this section with respect to hazard miti23 gation assistance in the State may submit to the

24 President an application for the delegation of such

25 authority.
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1 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The President, in consultation

2 with States and local governments, shall establish

3 criteria for the approval of applications submitted

4 under paragraph (1). The criteria shall include, at a

5 minimum, the following:

6 ‘‘(A) The demonstrated ability of the State

7 to manage the grant program under this sec8 tion.

9 ‘‘(B) Submission of the plan required

10 under section 201(c).

11 ‘‘(C) A demonstrated commitment to miti12 gation activities.

13 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—The President shall approve

14 an application submitted under paragraph (1) that

15 meets the criteria established under paragraph (2).

16 ‘‘(4) WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—If, after

17 approving an application of a State submitted under

18 paragraph (1), the President determines that the

19 State is not administering the hazard mitigation as20 sistance program established by this section in a

21 manner satisfactory to the President, the President

22 shall withdraw such approval.

23 ‘‘(5) AUDITS.—The President shall provide for

24 periodic audits of the hazard mitigation assistance
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1 programs administered by States under this sub2 section.’’.

3 SEC. 206. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF DAMAGED FACILI4 TIES PROGRAM.

5 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—In cooperation with States

6 and local governments and in coordination with efforts to

7 streamline the delivery of disaster relief assistance, the

8 President shall conduct a pilot program for the purpose

9 of determining the desirability of State administration of

10 parts of the assistance program established by section 406

11 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

12 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172).

13 (b) STATE PARTICIPATION.—

14 (1) CRITERIA.—The President may establish

15 criteria in order to ensure the appropriate implemen16 tation of the pilot program under subsection (a).

17 (2) MINIMUM NUMBER OF STATES.—The Presi18 dent shall conduct the pilot program under sub19 section (a) in at least 2 States.

20 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

21 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit

22 to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro23 gram conducted under subsection (a), including identi24 fying any administrative or financial benefits. Such report

25 shall also include recommendations on the conditions, if
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1 any, under which States should be allowed the option to

2 administer parts of the assistance program under section

3 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172).

5 SEC. 207. STUDY REGARDING COST REDUCTION.

6 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United

8 States shall conduct a study to estimate the reduction in

9 Federal disaster assistance that has resulted and is likely

10 to result from the enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 208. REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO RURAL COMMU12 NITIES.

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency

15 Management Agency shall prepare and transmit to Con16 gress a report on methods and procedures that the Direc17 tor recommends to accelerate the provision of Federal dis18 aster assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re19 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et

20 seq.) to rural communities.

21 SEC. 209. STUDY REGARDING INSURANCE FOR PUBLIC IN22 FRASTRUCTURE.

23 The Comptroller General of the United States shall

24 conduct a study to determine the current and future ex25 pected availability of disaster insurance for public infra-
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1 structure eligible for assistance under section 406 of the

2 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist3 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170).

4 SEC. 210. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

5 Title III (42 U.S.C. 5141–5164) (as amended by sec6 tion 201 of this Act) is amended by adding at the end

7 the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 323. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal

10 Emergency Management Agency shall provide an oppor11 tunity for public comment before adopting any new or

12 modified policy that would have a meaningful impact on

13 the amount of disaster assistance that may be provided

14 to a State or local government by the President under this

15 Act.

16 ‘‘(b) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF POLICIES.—

17 The Director may not adopt any new or modified policy

18 that would retroactively reduce the amount of assistance

19 provided to a State or local government under this Act.’’.

20 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

21 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL CORRECTION OF SHORT TITLE.

22 The first section (42 U.S.C. 5121 note) is amended

23 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Robert T. Stafford

3 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’.’’.

4 SEC. 302. DEFINITION OF STATE.

5 Section 102 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended in each of

6 paragraphs (3) and (4) by striking ‘‘the Northern’’ and

7 all that follows through ‘‘Pacific Islands’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is9 lands’’.

10 SEC. 303. FIRE SUPPRESSION GRANTS.

11 Section 420 (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended by insert12 ing ‘‘and local government’’ after ‘‘State’’.

13 SEC. 304. BUY AMERICAN.

14 (a) COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.—No

15 funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to this Act

16 or any amendment made by this Act may be expended by

17 an entity unless the entity, in expending the funds, com18 plies with the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.).

19 (b) DEBARMENT OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF

20 FRAUDULENT USE OF ‘‘MADE IN AMERICA’’ LABELS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Director of the Fed22 eral Emergency Management Agency determines

23 that a person has been convicted of intentionally

24 affixing a label bearing a ‘‘Made in America’’ in25 scription to any product sold in or shipped to the

26 United States that is not made in America, the Di-
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1 rector shall determine, not later than 90 days after

2 determining that the person has been so convicted,

3 whether the person should be debarred from con4 tracting under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re5 lief and Emergency Assistance Act.

6 (2) DEBAR DEFINED.—In this section, the term

7 ‘‘debar’’ has the meaning given that term by section

8 2393(c) of title 10, United States Code.
Calendar No. 551

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 707

AN ACT

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize aprogram for predisaster mitigation, to streamlinethe administration of disaster relief, to controlthe Federal costs of disaster assistance, and forother purposes.

MAY 16, 2000

Reported without amendment