U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

49–010 

" ! SENATE 

114TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2015

114–142 

Calendar No. 227 

EMERGENCY INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT 

ACT OF 2015 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1090 

TO AMEND THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND 

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT TO PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY FOR 

BROADCASTING FACILITIES TO RECEIVE CERTAIN DISASTER 

ASSISTANCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

JONI ERNST, Iowa 

BEN SASSE, Nebraska 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

KEITH B. ASHDOWN, Staff Director 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Chief Counsel 

DAVID S. LUCKEY, Director of Homeland Security 

WILLIAM H.W. MCKENNA, Chief Counsel for Homeland Security 

BROOKE N. ERICSON, Deputy Chief Counsel for Homeland Security 

GABRIELLE A. BATKIN, Minority Staff Director 

JOHN P. KILVINGTON, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Minority Chief Counsel 

STEPHEN R. VIN ̃ A, Minority Chief Counsel for Homeland Security 

ROBERT H. BRADLEY, Minority Professional Staff Member 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 227 

114TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 1st Session 114–142 

EMERGENCY INFORMATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2015 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1090] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 1090) to amend the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide 

eligibility for broadcasting facilities to receive certain disaster assistance, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 

the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 3 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 3 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 3 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 4 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 4 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of S. 1090, the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015, is to clarify that current law, which authorizes 

assistance to nonprofits that provide critical services to their communities, may include private nonprofit broadcasting facilities. 

While nonprofit broadcast facilities currently may meet the statutory criteria for eligibility for this assistance, the law does not specifically identify them as eligible and some such facilities have 

faced significant delays in receiving assistance in the past. This bill 

would eliminate any potential ambiguity by explicitly listing broadcast facilities as an eligible provider of critical services. 


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1Pub. L. No. 100–707 and Pub. L. No. 93–288, respectively. 

2 42 U.S.C. §§ 5172–73. 

3 42 U.S.C. § 5172; 44 C.F.R. § 206.221 (defining ‘‘public facility’’ as ‘‘the following facilities 

owned by a State or local government: any flood control, navigation, irrigation, reclamation, public power, sewage treatment and collection, water supply and distribution, watershed development, or airport facility; any non-Federal aid, street, road, or highway; and any other public 

building, structure, or system, including those used for educational, recreational, or cultural purposes; or any park.’’; and defining ‘‘private nonprofit facility’’ as ‘‘any private nonprofit educational, utility, emergency, medical, or custodial care facility, including a facility for the aged 

or disabled, and other facility providing essential governmental type services to the general public, and such facilities on Indian reservations.’’). 4Letter from Laura R. Walker, President and CEO, New York Public Radio to Sergeant Christopher Hartnett, Public Assistance Coordinator, Recovery Bureau—EMS (Apr. 11, 2013) (on file 

with Committee staff). 5Letter from MaryAnn Tierney, Acting Regional Administrator to Marc-Philip Ferzan, Governor’s Authorized Representative (June 25, 2013) (on file with Committee staff). 6Letter from Laura R. Walker, supra note 5. 7 Id. 

8Data provided to the Committee on August 18, 2015 by the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency; see also Federal Emergency Management Agency, Request for Public Assistance, 

https://www.fema.gov/tl/node/284643. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act (the ‘‘Stafford Act’’), which was signed into law on November 

23, 1988, amended a previous federal statute governing the federal 

response to disasters, the Disaster Relief Act of 1974.1 Under the 

Stafford Act, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

provides disaster assistance to eligible state, tribal, and local governments as well as to certain types of private nonprofit organizations through the Public Assistance Grant Program.2

Upon a disaster, the Public Assistance Grant Program helps eligible governments and organizations cover the cost of debris removal; emergency protective measures; and the repair, replacement, or restoration of publicly owned facilities, including facilities 

owned by eligible private nonprofit organizations that provide critical services, such as power, water, communications, and education.3

In recent years, several private nonprofit broadcast stations have 

sought financial assistance through this FEMA program, including 

in the aftermath of Hurricanes Sandy, Katrina, and Isaac. However, some of these entities have encountered difficulties in receiving timely assistance, despite the critical emergency services that 

those broadcasters provided to their communities. 

For example, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012, New 

York Public Radio (NYPR), an independent non-profit organization 

that owns and operates seven radio facilities in New York and New 

Jersey, sustained significant damage.4 The organization applied for 

funding under the Public Assistance program to repair the damage, 

but was initially denied on the grounds that the facility did not 

meet the definition of an eligible non-profit ‘‘communications utility/facility.’’ 5 Ultimately, after receiving additional information 

from the facility, FEMA found the facility to be eligible given the 

critical nature of the services provided by the facility and the impact to the health and safety of the general public.6 Until the facility was fixed, NYPR was forced to operate on low power, significantly reducing its audience reach.7

Similarly, FEMA initially denied a request from the Hancock 

County Amateur Radio Association for funding to repair its Kiln, 

Mississippi radio station after Hurricane Isaac in 2012.8


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9 Ben Sisario, After Hurricane Sandy, People Flock to Radio for Information, NY TIMES (Nov. 

18, 2012), http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/after-hurricane-sandy-peopleflock-to-radio-for-information/?lr=0. 10The White House, The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (Feb. 2006) 

at 5. 

Public radio stations can be an essential component in local communications and information dissemination during a disaster. Locally licensed stations can provide critically important public emergency communication services before and after disasters. According 

to a media report, during Hurricane Sandy, some radio stations in 

coastal areas experienced audience number increases of up to 367 

percent, as the loss of power in many areas forced listeners to turn 

to radio to receive key information about the storm.9 At the same 

time, broadcast facilities can suffer extensive damage during major 

disasters. Hurricane Katrina, for example, severely damaged 

broadcasting infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region, including 50 

percent of area radio stations and 44 percent of area television stations.10 Given the important role these facilities can play in a disaster, it is important that these facilities are repaired as quickly 

as possible after a disaster. 

While nonprofit broadcasters currently meet the statutory criteria for eligibility for the Public Assistance Grant Program, the 

law does not specifically identify them as eligible. To eliminate any 

ambiguity and the potential for delayed assistance, S. 1090 amends 

the Stafford Act to specifically list nonprofit broadcasters as among 

the entities that are eligible for this assistance. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Cory Booker and Senator Ted Cruz introduced S. 1090 

on April 27, 2015, which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered S. 1090 at a business meeting on June 24, 2015. The Committee ordered the bill reported favorably, without amendment, by 

voice vote. Senator Ben Sasse was recorded for the record as voting 

‘‘no.’’ Senators present were: Johnson, McCain, Lankford, Ayotte, 

Ernst, Sasse, Carper, Tester, Baldwin, Heitkamp and Peters. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides the bill’s short title, the ‘‘Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015.’’ 

Section 2. Eligibility of broadcasting facilities for certain disaster 

assistance 

This section amends the definition of ‘‘private nonprofit facility’’ 

to include ‘‘broadcasting facilities’’ and amends the definition of 

critical services to expand ‘‘communications’’ to include ‘‘broadcast 

and telecommunications’’. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill and determined that the bill will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 


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Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

JULY 7, 2015. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1090, the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Martin von Gnechten. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1090—Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015 

S. 1090 would codify an existing policy allowing broadcasting facilities to be eligible for certain government assistance following a 

disaster. Under current law, private nonprofit facilities are eligible 

to receive grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) for damages resulting from a disaster if the facility provides critical public services or is ineligible for a Small Business 

Administration loan. According to information provided by FEMA, 

nonprofit broadcasting facilities are eligible for such assistance 

under current agency policy. S. 1090 would explicitly list in statute 

that those facilities are eligible providers. 

Because the bill would not affect eligibility for FEMA grants, 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1090 would have no federal 

cost. Enacting S. 1090 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 1090 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. 

The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1090 as 

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND 

WELFARE 

* * * * * * * 


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CHAPTER 68—DISASTER RELIEF 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5122. DEFINITIONS. 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(11) PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITY.— 

(A) * * * 

(B) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES.—In addition to the facilities 

described in subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘private nonprofit 

facility’’ includes any private nonprofit facility that provides essential services of a governmental nature to the 

general public (including museums, zoos, performing arts 

facilities, community arts centers, libraries, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, rehabilitations facilities, shelter workshops, broadcasting facilities, and facilities that 

provide health and safety services of a governmental nature), as defined by the President. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5172. REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF DAMAGED 

FACILITIES. 

(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

(1) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(3) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES.— 

(A) * * * 

(B) DEFINITION OF CRITICAL SERVICES.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘critical services’’ includes power, water 

(including water provided by an irrigation organization or 

facility), sewer, wastewater treatment, øcommunications,¿ 

communications (including broadcast and telecommunications), education, and emergency medical care. 

Æ 


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