IIB

106TH CONGRESS

1ST 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

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Mitigation

5 and Cost Reduction Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER

7 RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT.

8 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made

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

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

14 5121 et seq.).

15 TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD

16 MITIGATION

17 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

19 (1) greater emphasis needs to be placed on

20 identifying and assessing the risks to State and local

21 communities and implementing adequate measures

22 to reduce losses from natural disasters and to ensure

23 that critical facilities and public infrastructure will

24 continue to function after a disaster;
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1 (2) expenditures for post-disaster assistance are

2 increasing without commensurate reduction in the

3 likelihood of future losses from such natural disas4 ters;

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

6 funds under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

7 and Emergency Assistance Act should be to imple8 ment predisaster activities at the local level; and

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

10 awareness and education, technical assistance, and

11 demonstrated Federal support, States and local com12 munities will be able to increase their capabilities to

13 form effective community-based partnerships for

14 mitigation purposes, implement effective natural dis15 aster mitigation measures that reduce the risk of fu16 ture damage, hardship, and suffering, ensure contin17 ued functioning of critical facilities and public infra18 structure, leverage additional non-Federal resources

19 into meeting disaster resistance goals, and make

20 commitments to long-term mitigation efforts in new

21 and existing structures.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to estab23 lish a predisaster hazard mitigation program that—
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1 (1) reduces the loss of life and property, human

2 suffering, economic disruption, and disaster assist3 ance costs resulting from natural hazards; and

4 (2) provides a source of predisaster hazard

5 mitigation funding that will assist States and local

6 governments in implementing effective mitigation

7 measures that are designed to ensure the continued

8 functioning of critical facilities and public infrastruc9 ture after a natural disaster.

10 SEC. 102. STATE MITIGATION PROGRAM.

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

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

13 (1);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

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

18 local governments and consistent with section 409, a

19 comprehensive and detailed State program for miti20 gating against emergencies and major disasters, in21 cluding provisions for prioritizing mitigation meas22 ures.’’.

23 SEC. 103. DISASTER ASSISTANCE PLANS.

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

25 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(d) GRANTS FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND HAZ2 ARD IDENTIFICATION.—The President is authorized to

3 make grants for—

4 ‘‘(1) not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of im5 proving, maintaining, and updating State disaster

6 assistance plans including, consistent with section

7 409, evaluation of natural hazards and development

8 of the programs and actions required to mitigate

9 such hazards; and

10 ‘‘(2) the development and application of im11 proved floodplain mapping technologies that can be

12 used by Federal, State, and local governments and

13 that the President determines will likely result in

14 substantial savings over current floodplain mapping

15 methods.’’.

16 SEC. 104. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

17 Title II (42 U.S.C. 5131–5132) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

20 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The President may es21 tablish a program to provide financial assistance to States

22 and local governments for the purpose of undertaking

23 predisaster hazard mitigation activities that are cost effec24 tive and substantially reduce the risk of future damage,

25 hardship, or suffering from a major disaster.
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1 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), a State or local government that receives

4 financial assistance under this section shall use the

5 assistance for funding activities that are cost effec6 tive and substantially reduce the risk of future dam7 age, hardship, or suffering from a major disaster.

8 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION.—The State or local gov9 ernment may use not more than 10 percent of finan10 cial assistance it receives under this section in a fis11 cal year for funding activities to disseminate infor12 mation regarding cost effective mitigation tech13 nologies (such as preferred construction practices

14 and materials), including establishing and maintain15 ing centers for protection against natural disasters

16 to carry out such dissemination.

17 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The amount of finan18 cial assistance to be made available to a State, including

19 amounts made available to local governments of such

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

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

22 1.0 percent of the total funds appropriated to carry

23 out this section for such fiscal year; but

24 ‘‘(2) not exceed 15 percent of such total funds.
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1 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA.—Subject to the limitations of sub2 sections (c) and (e), in determining whether to provide as3 sistance to a State or local government under this section

4 and the amount of such assistance, the President shall

5 consider the following criteria:

6 ‘‘(1) The clear identification of prioritized cost7 effective mitigation activities that produce meaning8 ful and definable outcomes.

9 ‘‘(2) If the State has submitted a mitigation

10 program in cooperation with local governments

11 under section 201(c), the degree to which the activi12 ties identified in paragraph (1) are consistent with

13 the State mitigation program.

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

15 activities that mitigate hazards evaluated under sec16 tion 409.

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

18 maximize net benefits to society.

19 ‘‘(5) The ability of the State or local govern20 ment to fund mitigation activities.

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

22 mitigation activities in small impoverished commu23 nities.

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

25 to enter into a partnership to promote mitigation.
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1 ‘‘(8) Such other criteria as the President estab2 lishes in consultation with State and local govern3 ments.

4 ‘‘(e) STATE NOMINATIONS.—

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

6 may recommend to the President not less than 5

7 local governments to receive assistance under this

8 section. The recommendations shall be submitted to

9 the President not later than October 1, 1999, and

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

11 year as the President may establish. In making such

12 recommendations, the Governors shall consider the

13 criteria identified in subsection (d).

14 ‘‘(2) USE.—

15 ‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—In providing as16 sistance to local governments under this sec17 tion, the President shall select from local gov18 ernments recommended by the Governors under

19 this subsection.

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

21 government, the President may waive the limi22 tation in subparagraph (A) if the President de23 termines that extraordinary circumstances jus24 tify the waiver and that granting the waiver will

25 further the purpose of this section.
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1 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO NOMINATE.—If a

2 Governor of a State fails to submit recommendations

3 under this subsection in a timely manner, the Presi4 dent may select, subject to the criteria in subsection

5 (d), any local governments of the State to receive as6 sistance under this section.

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

8 purpose of this section, the term ‘small impoverished com9 munities’ means communities of 3,000 or fewer individuals

10 that are economically disadvantaged, as determined by the

11 State in which the community is located and based on cri12 teria established by the President.

13 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL SHARE.—Financial assistance pro14 vided under this section may contribute up to 75 percent

15 of the total cost of mitigation activities approved by the

16 President; except that the President may contribute up to

17 90 percent of the total cost of mitigation activities in small

18 impoverished communities.

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

20 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

21 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $80,000,000 for fis22 cal year 2000.

23 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF SECTION 404 FUNDS.—Ef24 fective October 1, 2000, in addition to amounts appro25 priated under subsection (h) from only appropriations en-
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1 acted after October 1, 2000, the President may use, to

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

3 out section 404 for post-disaster mitigation activities that

4 have not been obligated within 30 months of the disaster

5 declaration upon which the funding availability is based.

6 ‘‘(j) REPORT ON FEDERAL AND STATE ADMINISTRA7 TION.—Not later than 18 months after the date of the

8 enactment of the Disaster Mitigation and Cost Reduction

9 Act of 1999, the President, in consultation with State and

10 local governments, shall transmit to Congress a report

11 evaluating efforts to implement this section and rec12 ommending a process for transferring greater authority

13 and responsibility for administering the assistance pro14 gram authorized by this section to capable States.’’.

15 SEC. 105. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

16 The President shall establish an interagency task

17 force for the purpose of coordinating the implementation

18 of the predisaster hazard mitigation program authorized

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

20 and Emergency Assistance Act. The Director of the Fed21 eral Emergency Management Agency shall chair such task

22 force.
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1 SEC. 106. MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION FOR MITIGATION

2 COSTS.

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

4 5170c(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘15 percent’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘20 percent’’.

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub7 section (a) shall apply to major disasters declared under

8 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act and Emergency

9 Assistance Act after January 1, 1997.

10 SEC. 107. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

11 The heading for title II is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED13 NESS AND MITIGATION AS14 SISTANCE’’.

15 TITLE II—STREAMLINING AND

16 COST REDUCTION

17 SEC. 201. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

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

19 is amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 322. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro22 vision of law (including any administrative rule or guid23 ance), the President shall establish by rule management

24 cost rates for grantees and subgrantees. Such rates shall

25 be used to determine contributions under this Act for

26 management costs.
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1 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT COSTS DEFINED.—Management

2 costs include indirect costs, administrative expenses, asso3 ciated expenses, and any other expenses not directly

4 chargeable to a specific project under a major disaster,

5 emergency, or emergency preparedness activity or meas6 ure. Such costs include the necessary costs of requesting,

7 obtaining, and administering Federal assistance and costs

8 incurred by a State for preparation of damage survey re9 ports, final inspection reports, project applications, final

10 audits, and related field inspections by State employees,

11 including overtime pay and per diem and travel expenses

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

13 of such employees.

14 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The President shall review the man15 agement cost rates established under subsection (a) not

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

17 rates and periodically thereafter.’’.

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

19 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

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

21 as follows:

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

23 shall apply to major disasters declared under such

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

25 Act. Until the date on which the President estab-
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1 lishes the management cost rates under such sub2 section, section 406(f) shall be used for establishing

3 such rates.

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

5 apply to major disasters declared under such Act on

6 or after the date on which the President establishes

7 such rates under subsection (a) of such section 322.

8 SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR, RESTORE, RECON9 STRUCT, OR REPLACE DAMAGED FACILITIES.

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

11 5172(a)) is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—

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

14 contributions—

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

16 repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace17 ment of a public facility which is damaged or

18 destroyed by a major disaster and for associ19 ated expenses incurred by such government;

20 and

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

22 who owns or operates a private nonprofit facil23 ity damaged or destroyed by a major disaster

24 for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re-
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1 placement of such facility and for associated ex2 penses incurred by such person.

3 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO PRIVATE

4 NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may

6 make contributions to a private nonprofit facil7 ity under paragraph (1)(B) only if—

8 ‘‘(i) the facility provides critical serv9 ices (as defined by the President) in the

10 event of a major disaster; or

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

12 facility has applied for a disaster loan

13 under section 7(b) of the Small Business

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

15 ‘‘(II) has been determined to be ineli16 gible for such a loan; or

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

18 maximum amount for which the Small

19 Business Administration determines the fa20 cility is eligible.

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

22 this paragraph, the term ‘critical services’ in23 cludes, but is not limited to, power, water,

24 sewer, wastewater treatment, communications,

25 and emergency medical care.’’.
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1 (b) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406(b) (42

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

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

4 share of assistance under this section shall be not less

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

6 reconstruction, or replacement carried out under this sec7 tion.’’.

8 (c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section

9 406(c) (42 U.S.C. 5172(c)) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.—

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

13 a State or local government determines that the

14 public welfare would not be best served by re15 pairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing

16 any public facility owned or controlled by such

17 State or local government, the State or local

18 government may elect to receive, in lieu of a

19 contribution under subsection (a)(1)(A), a con20 tribution of 75 percent of the Federal share of

21 the Federal estimate of the cost of repairing,

22 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such fa23 cility and of management expenses.

24 ‘‘(B) AREAS WITH UNSTABLE SOIL.—In

25 any case in which a State or local government
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1 determines that the public welfare would not be

2 best served by repairing, restoring, reconstruct3 ing, or replacing any public facility owned or

4 controlled by such State or local government be5 cause soil instability in the disaster area makes

6 such repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re7 placement infeasible, the State or local govern8 ment may elect to receive, in lieu of a contribu9 tion under subsection (a)(1)(A), a contribution

10 of 90 percent of the Federal share of the Fed11 eral estimate of the cost of repairing, restoring,

12 reconstructing, or replacing such facility and of

13 management expenses.

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

15 to a State or local government under this para16 graph may be used to repair, restore, or expand

17 other selected public facilities, to construct new

18 facilities, or to fund hazard mitigation measures

19 which the State or local government determines

20 to be necessary to meet a need for govern21 mental services and functions in the area af22 fected by the major disaster.

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

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

25 person who owns or operates a private nonprofit
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1 facility determines that the public welfare would

2 not be best served by repairing, restoring, re3 constructing, or replacing such facility, such

4 person may elect to receive, in lieu of a con5 tribution under subsection (a)(1)(B), a con6 tribution of 75 percent of the Federal share of

7 the Federal estimate of the cost of repairing,

8 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such fa9 cility and of management expenses.

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

11 to a person under this paragraph may be used

12 to repair, restore, or expand other selected pri13 vate nonprofit facilities owned or operated by

14 the person, to construct new private nonprofit

15 facilities to be owned or operated by the person,

16 or to fund hazard mitigation measures that the

17 person determines to be necessary to meet a

18 need for its services and functions in the area

19 affected by the major disaster.

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

21 President shall modify the Federal share of the cost

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

23 President determines an alternative cost share will

24 likely reduce the total amount of Federal assistance

25 provided under this section. The Federal cost share
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1 for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not ex2 ceed 90 percent and shall not be less than 50 per3 cent.’’.

4 (d) ELIGIBLE COST.—

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

6 5172(e)) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COST.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this

9 section, the estimate of the cost of repairing, restor10 ing, reconstructing, or replacing a public facility or

11 private nonprofit facility on the basis of the design

12 of such facility as it existed immediately before the

13 major disaster and in conformity with current appli14 cable codes, specifications, and standards (including

15 floodplain management and hazard mitigation cri16 teria required by the President or by the Coastal

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

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

19 restoration, reconstruction, or replacement. Subject

20 to paragraph (2), the President shall use the cost es21 timation procedures developed under paragraph (3)

22 to make the estimate under this paragraph.

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

24 the event the actual cost of repairing, restoring, re25 constructing, or replacing a facility under this sec-
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1 tion is more than 120 percent or less than 80 per2 cent of the cost estimated under paragraph (1), the

3 President may determine that the eligible cost be the

4 actual cost of such repair, restoration, reconstruc5 tion, or replacement. The government or person re6 ceiving assistance under this section shall reimburse

7 the President for the portion of such assistance that

8 exceeds the eligible cost of such repair, restoration,

9 reconstruction, or replacement.

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

11 the actual cost of repairing, restoring, reconstruct12 ing, or replacing a facility under this section is less

13 than 100 percent but not less than 80 percent of the

14 cost estimated under paragraph (1), the government

15 or person receiving assistance under this section

16 shall use any surplus funds to perform activities that

17 are cost-effective and reduce the risk of future dam18 age, hardship, or suffering from a major disaster.

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

20 months after the date of the enactment of the Disas21 ter Mitigation and Cost Reduction Act of 1999, the

22 President, acting through the Director of the Fed23 eral Emergency Management Agency, shall establish

24 an expert panel, including representatives from the

25 construction industry, to develop procedures for esti-
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1 mating the cost of repairing, restoring, reconstruct2 ing, or replacing a facility consistent with industry

3 practices.

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

5 facility being repaired, restored, reconstructed, or re6 placed under this section was under construction on

7 the date of the major disaster, the cost of repairing,

8 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing such facility

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

10 costs which, under the contract for such construc11 tion, are the owner’s responsibility and not the con12 tractor’s responsibility.’’.

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

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

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

16 appropriated after the date of the enactment of this

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

18 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer19 gency Assistance Act (as amended by paragraph (1)

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

21 the procedures developed under paragraph (3) of

22 such section take effect.

23 (e) ASSOCIATED EXPENSES.—

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

25 4172) is amended by striking subsection (f).
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1 (2) OTHER ELIGIBLE COSTS.—Section 406(e)

2 (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)), as amended by subsection (d)

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

4 following:

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

6 this section, other eligible costs include the following:

7 ‘‘(A) COSTS OF NATIONAL GUARD.—The

8 cost of mobilizing and employing the National

9 Guard for performance of eligible work.

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

11 of using prison labor to perform eligible work,

12 including wages actually paid, transportation to

13 a worksite, and extraordinary costs of guards,

14 food, and lodging.

15 ‘‘(C) OTHER LABOR COSTS.—Base and

16 overtime wages for an applicant’s employees

17 and extra hires performing eligible work plus

18 fringe benefits on such wages to the extent that

19 such benefits were being paid before the disas20 ter.’’.

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

22 shall take effect on the date on which the President

23 establishes management cost rates under section

24 322(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

25 Emergency Assistance Act (as added by section
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1 201(a) of this Act). The amendment made by para2 graph (1) shall only apply to disasters declared by

3 the President under such Act after the date on

4 which the President establishes such cost rates.

5 SEC. 203. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND

6 HOUSEHOLDS.

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

8 amended to read as follows:

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

10 HOUSEHOLDS.

11 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the require12 ments of this section, the President, in consultation with

13 the Governor of the affected State, may provide financial

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

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

16 necessary expenses and serious needs where such victims

17 are unable to meet such expenses or needs through other

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

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

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

21 for or received any loan or other financial assistance from

22 the Small Business Administration or any other Federal

23 agency.

24 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The President may provide

2 financial or other assistance under this section to in3 dividuals and families to respond to the disaster-re4 lated housing needs of those who are displaced from

5 their predisaster primary residences or whose

6 predisaster primary residences are rendered un7 inhabitable as a result of damage caused by a major

8 disaster.

9 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE TYPES

10 OF ASSISTANCE.—The President shall determine ap11 propriate types of housing assistance to be provided

12 to disaster victims under this section based upon

13 considerations of cost effectiveness, convenience to

14 disaster victims, and such other factors as the Presi15 dent may consider appropriate. One or more types of

16 housing assistance may be made available, based on

17 the suitability and availability of the types of assist18 ance, to meet the needs of disaster victims in the

19 particular disaster situation.

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

21 ‘‘(1) TEMPORARY HOUSING.—

22 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

24 may provide financial assistance under this

25 section to individuals or households to rent
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1 alternate housing accommodations, existing

2 rental units, manufactured housing, rec3 reational vehicles, or other readily fab4 ricated dwellings.

5 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of as6 sistance under clause (i) shall be based on

7 the fair market rent for the accommoda8 tion being furnished plus the cost of any

9 transportation, utility hookups, or unit in10 stallation not being directly provided by

11 the President.

12 ‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

14 may also directly provide under this section

15 housing units, acquired by purchase or

16 lease, to individuals or households who, be17 cause of a lack of available housing re18 sources, would be unable to make use of

19 the assistance provided under subpara20 graph (A).

21 ‘‘(ii) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—The

22 President may not provide direct assist23 ance under clause (i) with respect to a

24 major disaster after the expiration of the

25 18-month period beginning on the date of
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1 the declaration of the major disaster by the

2 President, except that the President may

3 extend such period if the President deter4 mines that due to extraordinary cir5 cumstances an extension would be in the

6 public interest.

7 ‘‘(iii) COLLECTION OF RENTAL

8 CHARGES.—After the expiration of the 18-

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

10 President may charge fair market rent for

11 the accommodation being provided.

12 ‘‘(2) REPAIRS.—The President may provide fi13 nancial assistance for the repair of owner-occupied

14 private residences, utilities, and residential infra15 structure (such as private access routes) damaged by

16 a major disaster to a habitable or functioning condi17 tion. A recipient of assistance provided under this

18 paragraph need not show that the assistance can be

19 met through other means, except insurance proceeds,

20 if the assistance is used for emergency repairs to

21 make a private residence habitable and does not ex22 ceed $5,000 (based on fiscal year 1998 constant dol23 lars).

24 ‘‘(3) REPLACEMENT.—The President may pro25 vide financial assistance for the replacement of
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1 owner-occupied private residences damaged by a

2 major disaster. Assistance provided under this para3 graph shall not exceed $10,000 (based on fiscal year

4 1998 constant dollars). The President may not waive

5 any provision of Federal law requiring the purchase

6 of flood insurance as a condition for the receipt of

7 Federal disaster assistance with respect to assist8 ance provided under this paragraph.

9 ‘‘(4) PERMANENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION.—

10 The President may provide financial assistance or

11 direct assistance under this section to individuals or

12 households to construct permanent housing in insu13 lar areas outside the continental United States and

14 other remote locations in cases in which—

15 ‘‘(A) no alternative housing resources are

16 available; and

17 ‘‘(B) the types of temporary housing as18 sistance described in paragraph (1) are unavail19 able, infeasible, or not cost effective.

20 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO HOUS21 ING ASSISTANCE.—

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

23 provided under this section shall, whenever possible,

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

25 be provided by the State or local government, by the
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1 owner of the site, or by the occupant who was dis2 placed by the major disaster. Readily fabricated

3 dwellings may be located on sites provided by the

4 President if the President determines that such sites

5 would be more economical or accessible.

6 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL OF UNITS.—

7 ‘‘(A) SALE TO OCCUPANTS.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

9 any other provision of law, a temporary

10 housing unit purchased under this section

11 by the President for the purposes of hous12 ing disaster victims may be sold directly to

13 the individual or household who is occupy14 ing the unit if the individual or household

15 needs permanent housing.

16 ‘‘(ii) SALES PRICE.—Sales of tem17 porary housing units under clause (i) shall

18 be accomplished at prices that are fair and

19 equitable.

20 ‘‘(iii) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Not21 withstanding any other provision of law,

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

23 be deposited into the appropriate Disaster

24 Relief Fund account.
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1 ‘‘(iv) USE OF GSA SERVICES.—The

2 President may use the services of the Gen3 eral Services Administration to accomplish

4 a sale under clause (i).

5 ‘‘(B) OTHER METHODS OF DISPOSAL.—

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

7 subparagraph (A), a temporary housing

8 unit purchased by the President for the

9 purposes of housing disaster victims may

10 be resold.

11 ‘‘(ii) DISPOSAL TO GOVERNMENTS

12 AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS.—A tem13 porary housing unit described in clause (i)

14 may also be sold, transferred, donated, or

15 otherwise made available directly to a

16 State or other governmental entity or to a

17 voluntary organization for the sole purpose

18 of providing temporary housing to disaster

19 victims in major disasters and emergencies

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

21 donation, the State, other governmental

22 agency, or voluntary organization agrees to

23 comply with the nondiscrimination provi24 sions of section 308 and to obtain and
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1 maintain hazard and flood insurance on

2 the housing unit.

3 ‘‘(e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS OTHER

4 NEEDS.—

5 ‘‘(1) MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND FUNERAL EX6 PENSES.—The President, in consultation with the

7 Governor of the affected State, may provide financial

8 assistance under this section to an individual or

9 household adversely affected by a major disaster to

10 meet disaster-related medical, dental, and funeral

11 expenses.

12 ‘‘(2) PERSONAL PROPERTY, TRANSPORTATION,

13 AND OTHER EXPENSES.—The President, in con14 sultation with the Governor of the affected State,

15 may provide financial assistance under this section

16 to an individual or household described in paragraph

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

18 other necessary expenses or serious needs resulting

19 from the major disaster.

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

21 the substantial and ongoing involvement of the affected

22 State in administering the assistance under this section.

23 ‘‘(g) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—No indi24 vidual or household shall receive financial assistance great25 er than $25,000 under this section with respect to a single
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1 major disaster. Such limit shall be adjusted annually to

2 reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban

3 Consumers published by the Department of Labor.

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

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

6 including criteria, standards, and procedures for determin7 ing eligibility for assistance.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 502(a)(6)

9 (42 U.S.C. 5192(a)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘tem10 porary housing’’.

11 (c) ELIMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY

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

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

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

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

16 the date of the enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 204. REPEALS.

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

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

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

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

22 SEC. 205. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION

23 PROGRAM.

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

25 at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION BY STATES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to admin3 ister the hazard mitigation assistance program es4 tablished by this section with respect to hazard miti5 gation assistance in the State may submit to the

6 President an application for the delegation of such

7 authority.

8 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The President, in consultation

9 with States and local governments, shall establish

10 criteria for the approval of applications submitted

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

12 minimum, the following:

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

14 to manage the grant program under this sec15 tion.

16 ‘‘(B) Submission of the plan required

17 under section 201(c).

18 ‘‘(C) A demonstrated commitment to miti19 gation activities.

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

21 an application submitted under paragraph (1) that

22 meets the criteria established under paragraph (2).

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

24 approving an application of a State submitted under

25 paragraph (1), the President determines that the
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1 State is not administering the hazard mitigation as2 sistance program established by this section in a

3 manner satisfactory to the President, the President

4 shall withdraw such approval.

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

6 periodic audits of the hazard mitigation assistance

7 programs administered by States under this sub8 section.’’.

9 SEC. 206. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF DAMAGED FACILI10 TIES PROGRAM.

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

12 and local governments and in coordination with efforts to

13 streamline the delivery of disaster relief assistance, the

14 President shall conduct a pilot program for the purpose

15 of determining the desirability of State administration of

16 parts of the assistance program established by section 406

17 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

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

19 (b) STATE PARTICIPATION.—

20 (1) CRITERIA.—The President may establish

21 criteria in order to ensure the appropriate implemen22 tation of the pilot program under subsection (a).

23 (2) MINIMUM NUMBER OF STATES.—The Presi24 dent shall conduct the pilot program under sub25 section (a) in at least 2 States.
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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

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

3 to Congress a report describing the results of the pilot pro4 gram conducted under subsection (a), including identify5 ing any administrative or financial benefits. Such report

6 shall also include recommendations on the conditions, if

7 any, under which States should be allowed the option to

8 administer parts of the assistance program under section

9 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer10 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172).

11 SEC. 207. STUDY REGARDING COST REDUCTION.

12 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United

14 States shall conduct a study to estimate the reduction in

15 Federal disaster assistance that has resulted and is likely

16 to result from the enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 208. REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO RURAL COMMU18 NITIES.

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency

21 Management Agency shall prepare and transmit to Con22 gress a report on methods and procedures that the Direc23 tor recommends to accelerate the provision of Federal dis24 aster assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
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1 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et

2 seq.) to rural communities.

3 SEC. 209. STUDY REGARDING INSURANCE FOR PUBLIC IN4 FRASTRUCTURE.

5 The Comptroller General of the United States shall

6 conduct a study to determine the current and future ex7 pected availability of disaster insurance for public infra8 structure eligible for assistance under section 406 of the

9 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist10 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170).

11 SEC. 210. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

12 Title III (42 U.S.C. 5141–5164) (as amended by sec13 tion 201 of this Act) is amended by adding at the end

14 the following:

15 ‘‘SEC. 323. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

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

17 Emergency Management Agency shall provide an oppor18 tunity for public comment before adopting any new or

19 modified policy that would have a meaningful impact on

20 the amount of disaster assistance that may be provided

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

22 Act.

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

24 The Director may not adopt any new or modified policy
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1 that would retroactively reduce the amount of assistance

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

3 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

4 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL CORRECTION OF SHORT TITLE.

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

6 to read as follows:

7 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

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

10 SEC. 302. DEFINITION OF STATE.

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

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

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

14 ‘‘and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is15 lands’’.

16 SEC. 303. FIRE SUPPRESSION GRANTS.

17 Section 420 (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended by insert18 ing ‘‘and local government’’ after ‘‘State’’.

19 SEC. 304. BUY AMERICAN.

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

21 funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to this Act

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

23 an entity unless the entity, in expending the funds, com24 plies with the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.).
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1 (b) DEBARMENT OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF

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

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Director of the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency determines

5 that a person has been convicted of intentionally

6 affixing a label bearing a ‘‘Made in America’’ in7 scription to any product sold in or shipped to the

8 United States that is not made in America, the Di9 rector shall determine, not later than 90 days after

10 determining that the person has been so convicted,

11 whether the person should be debarred from con12 tracting under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re13 lief and Emergency Assistance Act.

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

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

16 2393(c) of title 10, United States Code.

Passed the House of Representatives March 4,

1999.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.