II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5515 

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

Act to establish a pilot program for the construction of temporary disaster assistance housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

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

the construction of temporary disaster assistance housing, 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 Housing Re5 form for American Families Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DISASTER ASSISTANCE HOUSING PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 Section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re3 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(c)) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTOR; MANUFACTURED

8 HOME; MANUFACTURER; RETAILER.—The 

9 term ‘distributor’, ‘manufactured home’, 

10 ‘manufacturer’, and ‘retailer’ have the 

11 meanings given those terms in section 603 

12 of the National Manufactured Housing 

13 Construction and Safety Standards Act of 

14 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402). 

15 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term 

16 ‘eligible entity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(I) a manufacturer, distributor, 

18 or retailer of a manufactured home or 

19 a modular home; and 

20 ‘‘(II) a producer of modular 

21 housing. 

22 ‘‘(iii) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Sec23 retary’ means the Secretary of Housing 

24 and Urban Development, in coordination 

25 with the Administrator of the Federal 

26 Emergency Management Agency. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President 

2 shall establish a pilot program under which the 

3 President enters into a contract with an eligible 

4 entity for the purpose of constructing tem5 porary housing to serve as a type of housing 

6 available to individuals and households under 

7 subsection (b)(1). 

8 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—Housing con9 structed pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) be in the form of a manufactured 

11 or modular housing structure with not 

12 more than 4 units; 

13 ‘‘(ii) be available to individuals and 

14 households not later than 90 days (or 120 

15 days, upon extension by the Secretary) 

16 after the date on which the President de17 clares a major disaster; 

18 ‘‘(iii) subject to subparagraph (D)(ii), 

19 conform with, as applicable— 

20 ‘‘(I) construction standards of 

21 the National Flood Insurance Pro22 gram; 

23 ‘‘(II) standards for new construc24 tion under the National Manufactured 

25 Housing Construction and Safety 


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1 Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

2 5401 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(III) standards under the most 

4 recent or second most recent edition 

5 of the International Residential Code; 

6 ‘‘(IV) applicable building codes in 

7 State, local , or Tribal jurisdiction in 

8 which the housing is located; 

9 ‘‘(V) requirements of the Federal 

10 Flood Risk Management Standard of 

11 the Federal Emergency Management 

12 Agency; 

13 ‘‘(VI) local zoning ordinances; 

14 ‘‘(VII) the national technical 

15 standard for flood resistant design 

16 and construction (ASCE/SEI 24–14); 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(VIII) the manufactured home 

19 and construction safety standards 

20 under part 3280 of title 24, Code of 

21 Regulations, or any successor regula22 tion; 

23 ‘‘(iv) reflect the needs of the commu24 nity in which the housing is constructed 


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1 according to the type of major disaster ex2 perienced by the community; and 

3 ‘‘(v) provide a minimum level of pro4 tection against natural hazards for the 

5 purpose of protecting the health, safety, 

6 and general welfare of the users of the 

7 housing against disasters. 

8 ‘‘(D) PERMANENCE; WAIVER.—Housing 

9 constructed pursuant to subparagraph (B) 

10 may— 

11 ‘‘(i) have the capacity to become per12 manent housing after the date on which a 

13 major disaster declaration terminates; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) receive a waiver for a require15 ment described in subparagraph (C)(iii) 

16 from the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(E) TRANSFER GUIDELINES.—The Presi18 dent, in coordination with the Secretary, shall 

19 establish guidelines for the transfer of housing 

20 constructed under subparagraph (B) to an es21 tablished affordable housing program adminis22 tered by a locality, public housing authority, 

23 nonprofit organization, or affordable housing 

24 developer after the date on which the major disVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jan 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5515.IS S5515

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1 aster for which the housing is constructed ter2 minates. 

3 ‘‘(F) TERMINATION.—The program estab4 lished pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall ter5 minate on the date that is 5 years after the 

6 date of enactment of the Disaster Housing Re7 form for American Families Act. 

8 ‘‘(6) CLOSING COSTS.—The President may pro9 vide financial assistance to individuals or households 

10 affected by a major disaster purchasing a residential 

11 property for closing costs associated with obtaining 

12 a mortgage from a Federal program that provides 

13 affordable financing options.’’. 

Æ 


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