II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1224 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry 

out a Community Resilience Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2017 

Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a Community Resilience Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Building Up Infra5 structure and Limiting Disasters through Resilience Act 

6 of 2017’’ or the ‘‘BUILD Resilience Act of 2017’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State; 

2 (B) a unit of general local government; 

3 (C) an Indian tribe; or 

4 (D) a regional entity comprised of entities 

5 described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

6 (2) NATIONAL CENTER.—The term ‘‘National 

7 Center’’ means the National Research Center for 

8 Resilience established under section 4. 

9 (3) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ means 

10 the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover 

11 from, and more successfully adapt to disasters, 

12 chronic stresses, and acute shocks, including any 

13 hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, recurrent 

14 flooding, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, 

15 earthquake, volcanic eruption, fire, landslide, 

16 mudslide, snowstorm, or drought. 

17 (4) RESILIENCE GRANT.—The term ‘‘resilience 

18 grant’’ means a grant awarded under section 3. 

19 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

21 (6) STATE; UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN22 MENT; INDIAN TRIBE.—The terms ‘‘State’’, ‘‘unit of 

23 general local government’’, and ‘‘Indian tribe’’ have 

24 the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the 


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1 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

2 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 

3 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

5 Community Resilience Grant Program under this section 

6 to provide assistance to communities for increasing resil7 ience to chronic stresses and acute shocks, including im8 proving long-term resilience of infrastructure and housing. 

9 (b) GRANTEES.—The Secretary shall award grants 

10 under this section on a competitive basis, as provided 

11 under section 102 of the Department of Housing and 

12 Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 

13 3545), to eligible entities within whose boundaries or juris14 dictions are located any area for which a major disaster 

15 was declared under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

17 5170) during the 5-year period ending on the date on 

18 which the eligible entity submits an application for such 

19 a grant. 

20 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts from a resilience 

22 grant may be used only for activities authorized 

23 under section 105 or 108 of the Housing and Com24 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305 


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1 and 5308), except for activities under paragraph (9) 

2 or (10) of subsection (a) of such section 105. 

3 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con4 sult with the Administrator of the Federal Emer5 gency Management Agency, the Chief of Engineers 

6 and Commanding General of the United States 

7 Army Corps of Engineers, the Secretary of Trans8 portation, and the Administrator of the Environ9 mental Protection Agency before awarding a resil10 ience grant to ensure that there is no duplication of 

11 assistance with respect to activities carried out with 

12 amounts provided from a resilience grant. 

13 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

15 each recipient of a resilience grant to supplement 

16 the amounts of the grant with an amount of funds 

17 from non-Federal sources that is not less than 50 

18 percent of the amount of the resilience grant. 

19 (2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Supple20 mental funds provided under paragraph (1) may in21 clude any non-monetary, in-kind contributions in 

22 connection with activities carried out under the plan 

23 approved under subsection (e) for the grant recipi24 ent. 


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1 (e) APPLICATION; SELECTION; SELECTION CRITERIA; 

2 PLANS.— 

3 (1) APPLICATIONS.— 

4 (A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

5 provide for eligible entities to submit applica6 tions for resilience grants. 

7 (B) PLANS FOR USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

8 The Secretary shall require each application for 

9 a resilience grant to include a plan detailing the 

10 proposed use of all grant funds, including how 

11 the use of those funds will address long-term 

12 resilience of infrastructure and housing. 

13 (2) REVIEW AND SELECTION; CRITERIA FOR SE14 LECTION.— 

15 (A) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall 

16 establish and utilize a transparent, reliable, and 

17 valid system for reviewing and evaluating appli18 cations for resilience grants, in accordance with 

19 section 102 of the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 

21 U.S.C. 3545). 

22 (B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall estab23 lish, by notice, and utilize criteria for selecting 

24 applications to be funded under this section, 

25 which shall— 


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1 (i) be based primarily on a determina2 tion of greatest need, as that term is de3 fined by the Secretary; 

4 (ii) provide due consideration to other 

5 enumerated factors, including— 

6 (I) the ability of the plan for use 

7 of grant funds required under para8 graph (1)(B) to increase an appli9 cant’s resilience; and 

10 (II) the capacity of the applicant 

11 to successfully implement the activi12 ties described in that plan; 

13 (iii) require the Secretary to consider 

14 an application that includes a plan for use 

15 of grant funds that consists of a resilience 

16 or mitigation plan previously approved by 

17 another Federal agency, including a miti18 gation plan approved under section 322 of 

19 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

20 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 5165), to be sufficient for purposes of 

22 paragraph (1)(B) if, together with the 

23 plan, the applicant includes a detailed de24 scription of the use of all grant funds pro25 vided under this section; 


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1 (iv) give consideration to the need for 

2 resilience grants to be awarded to eligible 

3 entities in each region of the United 

4 States; and 

5 (v) give consideration to applicants 

6 whose plans submitted under paragraph 

7 (1)(B) propose innovative approaches to 

8 increasing community resilience to extreme 

9 weather, including increasing long-term re10 silience of infrastructure and housing and 

11 economic resilience. 

12 (f) ADMINISTRATION; TREATMENT AS CDBG 

13 FUNDS.—Except as otherwise provided by this Act, 

14 amounts appropriated, revenues generated, or amounts 

15 otherwise made available to eligible entities under this sec16 tion shall be treated as though those funds were commu17 nity development block grant funds made available under 

18 title I of the Housing and Community Development Act 

19 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 

20 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.— 

21 (1) ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to ensure that 

23 the policies of the National Environmental Pol24 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

25 any other provisions of law that further the 


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1 purposes of that Act (as specified in regulations 

2 issued by the Secretary) are most effectively im3 plemented in connection with the expenditure of 

4 funds under this section, and to assure to the 

5 public undiminished protection of the environ6 ment, the Secretary, in lieu of the environ7 mental protection procedures otherwise applica8 ble, may by regulation provide for the release of 

9 funds for particular projects to recipients of re10 silience grants that assume all of the respon11 sibilities for environmental review, decision12 making, and action pursuant to that Act, and 

13 any other provisions of law that the regulations 

14 of the Secretary specify, that would apply to the 

15 Secretary were the Secretary to undertake those 

16 projects as Federal projects. 

17 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 

18 issue regulations to carry out this paragraph 

19 only after consultation with the Council on En20 vironmental Quality. 

21 (2) SUBMISSION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap23 prove the release of funds for projects subject 

24 to the procedures authorized under this sub25 section only if, not later than 15 days before 


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1 the approval and before any commitment of 

2 funds to those projects other than for purposes 

3 authorized under section 105(a)(12) of the 

4 Housing and Community Development Act of 

5 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(12)) or for environ6 mental studies, the recipient of a resilience 

7 grant has submitted to the Secretary a request 

8 for such release accompanied by a certification 

9 that meets the requirements under paragraph 

10 (3). 

11 (B) SATISFACTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL

12 LAWS.—If the Secretary approves a certification 

13 described in subparagraph (A), that approval 

14 shall be deemed to satisfy the responsibilities of 

15 the Secretary under the National Environ16 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

17 seq.) and any other provisions of law that the 

18 regulations of the Secretary specify, insofar as 

19 those responsibilities relate to the releases of 

20 funds for projects to be carried out pursuant to 

21 those releases that are covered by the certifi22 cation. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENTS OF CERTIFICATION.—A 

24 certification under the procedures authorized by this 

25 subsection shall— 


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1 (A) be in a form acceptable to the Sec2 retary; 

3 (B) be executed by the chief executive offi4 cer or other officer of the recipient of a resil5 ience grant that is qualified under regulations 

6 of the Secretary; 

7 (C) specify that the recipient of the resil8 ience grant has fully carried out its responsibil9 ities as described under paragraph (1) of this 

10 subsection; and 

11 (D) specify that the certifying officer— 

12 (i) consents to assume the status of a 

13 responsible Federal official under the Na14 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

15 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and each provi16 sion of law specified in regulations issued 

17 by the Secretary insofar as the provisions 

18 of that Act or other such provisions of law 

19 apply pursuant to paragraph (1) of this 

20 subsection; and 

21 (ii) is authorized and consents on be22 half of the recipient of the resilience grant 

23 and the certifying office to accept the ju24 risdiction of the Federal courts for the 


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1 purpose of enforcement of the officer’s re2 sponsibilities as such an official. 

3 (4) GRANTS TO STATES.—In the case of a resil4 ience grant made to a State— 

5 (A) the State shall perform the actions of 

6 the Secretary described in paragraph (2); and 

7 (B) the performance of those actions shall 

8 be deemed to satisfy the Secretary’s responsibil9 ities referred to in subparagraph (B) of that 

10 paragraph. 

11 (5) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

12 implement this subsection in a manner consistent 

13 with the implementation of section 104(g) of the 

14 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

15 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)). 

16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER FOR RESILIENCE. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

18 through the Office of Policy Development and Research, 

19 shall— 

20 (1) select, on a competitive basis, a single non21 profit organization having a national reputation for 

22 expertise in resilience research and capacity building 

23 to develop a National Research Center for Resil24 ience; and 


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1 (2) subject only to the availability of amounts 

2 provided in appropriation Acts, make annual grants 

3 of amounts made available under section 7(b)(1) for 

4 the establishment and operation of the National 

5 Center. 

6 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The National Center shall— 

7 (1) collaborate with institutions of higher edu8 cation as partners to create a best practices sharing 

9 network to support the programs and activities car10 ried out using resilience grants; 

11 (2) coordinate with any other relevant centers 

12 or entities of the Federal Government on efforts re13 lating to improving community resilience; 

14 (3) collect and disseminate research and other 

15 information about evidence-based and promising 

16 practices related to resilience to inform the efforts of 

17 research partners and to support the programs and 

18 activities carried out using resilience grants; 

19 (4) increase the public’s knowledge and under20 standing of effective practices to improve regional 

21 and community resilience throughout the United 

22 States; and 

23 (5) make grants under subsection (d) for Re24 gional Centers for Resilience. 


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1 (c) DISSEMINATION OF PROVEN PRACTICES.—The 

2 Secretary shall— 

3 (1) collect information from the National Cen4 ter regarding its activities and research; and 

5 (2) develop, manage, and regularly update a 

6 public website to disseminate proven practices for 

7 improving community resilience. 

8 (d) GRANTS FOR REGIONAL CENTERS FOR RESIL9 IENCE.— 

10 (1) GRANT PROGRAM.—The National Center 

11 shall carry out a program to make grants to institu12 tions of higher education, or other non-profit organi13 zations, having a national reputation to establish a 

14 Regional Center for Resilience in each of the 10 re15 gions of the Department of Housing and Urban De16 velopment, which shall each serve as regional re17 search partners with recipients of resilience grants 

18 that are located in the same geographic region as 

19 the institution, in collaboration with the National 

20 Center. 

21 (2) SUPPORT SERVICES.—A Regional Center 

22 for Resilience receiving grants under this section 

23 shall use the grant amounts to— 

24 (A) provide research support to recipients 

25 of resilience grants, including support services 


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1 for data collection, general research, and anal2 ysis to assess the progress of activities carried 

3 out using resilience grants; 

4 (B) provide technical assistance to prospec5 tive applicants for, and recipients of, resilience 

6 grants; and 

7 (C) collaborate and share information with 

8 the National Center. 

9 SEC. 5. ANNUAL PROGRAMS REPORT. 

10 The Secretary shall annually submit to Congress, and 

11 make publicly available, a report on the programs carried 

12 out under this Act, which shall evaluate the performance 

13 of those programs using the program performance metrics 

14 established under Executive Order 13576 (76 Fed. Reg. 

15 35297; relating to delivering an efficient, effective, and ac16 countable government) or any subsequent replacement ex17 ecutive order. 

18 SEC. 6. GAO REPORTS. 

19 (a) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Comptroller 

20 General of the United States shall have access to all infor21 mation regarding and generated by the programs carried 

22 out under this Act. 

23 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, 

25 the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 analyzing and assessing the performance of the programs 

2 carried out under this Act. 

3 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

6 $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

7 2022. 

8 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of any amounts appropriated to 

9 carry out this Act for a fiscal year— 

10 (1) 1.0 percent shall be available for grants 

11 under section 4; 

12 (2) 0.1 percent shall be available to the Office 

13 of Community Planning and Development for nec14 essary costs, including information technology costs 

15 and salaries and expenses, of administering and 

16 overseeing funds made available for grants under 

17 sections 3 and 4; and 

18 (3) the remainder shall be available for resil19 ience grants under section 3. 

Æ 


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