II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1630 

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

Act to allow for a more effective recovery from disasters, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. COCHRAN) 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 allow for a more effective recovery from disasters, 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 Recovery Act 

5 of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 

ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. Definition of major disaster. 

Sec. 102. Other definitions. 

Sec. 103. Waiver of administrative conditions. 

Sec. 104. Use and coordination of relief organizations. 

Sec. 105. Self-insurance. 

Sec. 106. Authorities and responsibilities. 

Sec. 107. Recovery efforts. 

Sec. 108. Coordination of response and recovery. 

Sec. 109. Declaration of a catastrophic disaster. 

Sec. 110. Improving distribution of Federal disaster assistance. 

Sec. 111. Pre-incident planning. 

TITLE II—MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 

Sec. 201. Essential assistance. 

Sec. 202. Volunteers. 

Sec. 203. Hazard mitigation. 

Sec. 204. Repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities. 

Sec. 205. Debris removal. 

Sec. 206. Federal assistance to individuals and households. 

Sec. 207. Crisis counseling and assistance training program. 

Sec. 208. Community disaster loans. 

Sec. 209. Emergency public transportation. 

Sec. 210. Simplified procedures. 

Sec. 211. Appeals of assistance decisions. 

Sec. 212. Case management services. 

Sec. 213. Essential service providers. 

Sec. 214. Additional disaster assistance, procedures, and reporting. 

Sec. 215. After action reviews. 

Sec. 216. Grant guidance. 

Sec. 217. Timeliness of reviews. 

Sec. 218. Review of regulations and policies. 

Sec. 219. Public works repair teams. 

Sec. 220. Review of Federal programs and authorities. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Contributions for personnel and administrative expenses. 

Sec. 302. Evacuation plans and exercises. 

Sec. 303. Personnel management. 

Sec. 304. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘catastrophic disaster’’ means a 

2 catastrophic disaster declared by the President 

3 under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

4 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as added by 

5 this Act; 

6 (3) the term ‘‘catastrophic incident’’ has the 

7 meaning given that term in section 501 of the 

8 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311); and 

9 (4) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ means a major 

10 disaster declared by the President under section 401 

11 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer12 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

13 TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER AND 

14 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AD15 MINISTRATION 

16 SEC. 101. DEFINITION OF MAJOR DISASTER. 

17 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 

19 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(2) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘major dis22 aster’ means any natural disaster (including a pan23 demic), act of terrorism, or other man-made dis24 aster, in any part of the United States, which in the 

25 determination of the President causes damage of 


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1 sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major 

2 disaster assistance under this Act to supplement the 

3 efforts and available resources of States, local gov4 ernments, and disaster relief organizations in alle5 viating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering 

6 caused thereby.’’. 

7 SEC. 102. OTHER DEFINITIONS. 

8 (a) STAFFORD ACT.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

9 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (10)(A), by inserting ‘‘child 

12 care,’’ after ‘‘educational,’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(11) RECOVERY.—The term ‘recovery’ has the 

15 meaning given that term in section 501 of the 

16 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311). 

17 ‘‘(12) NATIONAL DISASTER RECOVERY FRAME18 WORK.—The term ‘National Disaster Recovery 

19 Framework’ means the National Disaster Recovery 

20 Framework developed under section 655 of the Post21 Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 

22 2006. 

23 ‘‘(13) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT.—The term 

24 ‘catastrophic incident’ has the meaning given that 


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1 term in section 501 of the Homeland Security Act 

2 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311). 

3 ‘‘(14) CATASTROPHIC DISASTER.—The term 

4 ‘catastrophic disaster’ means a catastrophic disaster 

5 declared by the President under section 327.’’. 

6 (b) HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002.—Section 

7 501 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

10 (14) as paragraphs (11) through (16), respectively; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as 

12 paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; 

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(7) the term ‘National Disaster Recovery 

16 Framework’ has the meaning given that term in sec17 tion 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122);’’; 

19 (4) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking ‘‘section 502(a)(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

21 504(a)(6)’’; and 

22 (5) by inserting after paragraph (9), as so re23 designated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(10) the term ‘recovery’ means the short and 

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1 hancing the resiliency of the physical, social, cul2 tural, economic, and natural environments and serv3 ices, government institutions, and the well-being of 

4 affected individuals;’’. 

5 SEC. 103. WAIVER OF ADMINISTRATIVE CONDITIONS. 

6 Section 301 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

10 ‘‘Any Federal agency’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The President shall 

13 provide technical assistance to State and local authorities 

14 to identify administrative conditions that may prevent the 

15 giving of assistance under a program described in sub16 section (a).’’. 

17 SEC. 104. USE AND COORDINATION OF RELIEF ORGANIZA18 TIONS. 

19 Section 309(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re20 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5152(b)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘disaster relief’’ and insert ‘‘pre23 paredness, disaster relief, and recovery’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘coordinated by the Federal co2 ordinating officer’’ and inserting ‘‘used or coordi3 nated by the President before or’’; and 

4 (3) by striking ‘‘providing relief’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘performing preparedness, disaster relief, or recov6 ery activities’’. 

7 SEC. 105. SELF-INSURANCE. 

8 Section 311(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re9 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5154(c)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘OR

12 LOCAL GOVERNMENT’’ after ‘‘STATE’’; and 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘or local government’’ after 

14 ‘‘State’’ each place it appears. 

15 SEC. 106. AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

16 Section 504(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

17 (6 U.S.C. 314(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘Support 

19 Team’’ and all that follows through ‘‘when oper20 ating’’ and inserting ‘‘Support Team and (when op21 erating’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘efficient, ex23 peditious, and effective’’ after ‘‘aiding the’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. RECOVERY EFFORTS. 

2 Section 402 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

7 ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘measures;’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

10 (C) by striking subparagraph (F); 

11 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (3) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period 

14 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(6) assist State and local governments to re17 cover from a major disaster and coordinate Federal 

18 assistance for recovery from the major disaster by— 

19 ‘‘(A) identifying and coordinating Federal 

20 resources, programs, and agencies to support 

21 the implementation of recovery and mitigation 

22 efforts of State and local governments; 

23 ‘‘(B) providing technical and other advice 

24 to State and local governments to manage, con25 trol, and mitigate hazards and risk in a manner 

26 that reduces injuries, loss of life, damage to the 


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1 environment, and damage and destruction of 

2 property, including damage to facilities; 

3 ‘‘(C) in the case of a catastrophic disaster, 

4 establishing a Commission under section 327; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) providing financial and technical as7 sistance and advice to State and local govern8 ments affected by a major disaster to— 

9 ‘‘(i) assess the social, economic, and 

10 environmental impact of the major dis11 aster; 

12 ‘‘(ii) support coordinated and com13 prehensive planning that takes into ac14 count post-disaster assessments, hazard 

15 and risk modeling, and economic recovery; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iii) support and facilitate implemen18 tation of recovery plans and actions.’’. 

19 SEC. 108. COORDINATION OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY. 

20 Chapter 1 of subtitle C of title VI of the Post-Katrina 

21 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

22 741 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 655. COORDINATION OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ensure 

3 the preparedness of Federal agencies to respond to and 

4 support recovery from a natural disaster, act of terrorism, 

5 or other man-made disaster by— 

6 ‘‘(1) ensuring the development and implementa7 tion of the National Response Framework and the 

8 National Disaster Recovery Framework; 

9 ‘‘(2) ensuring Federal agencies with responsibil10 ities under the National Response Framework and 

11 the National Disaster Recovery Framework are pre12 pared to fulfill those responsibilities, including hav13 ing appropriate staffing and training; 

14 ‘‘(3) coordinating the preparedness of Federal 

15 agencies with responsibilities under the National 

16 Disaster Response Framework and the National 

17 Disaster Recovery Framework; and 

18 ‘‘(4) resolving disagreements relating to re19 sponse to and recovery from major disasters between 

20 Federal agencies with responsibilities under the Na21 tional Disaster Response Framework and the Na22 tional Disaster Recovery Framework, including dis23 agreements relating to a particular major disaster 

24 and disagreements that arise before a major disaster 

25 is declared, except that after a catastrophic disaster 

26 (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 


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1 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act) the 

2 chairperson of the Commission established under 

3 section 328 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

4 and Emergency Assistance Act relating to that cata5 strophic disaster shall have exclusive authority to ex6 ercise the authority under this paragraph for the 

7 catastrophic disaster. 

8 ‘‘(b) DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY OFFI9 CIALS.—The head of each Federal agency with major re10 sponsibilities under the National Response Framework or 

11 the National Disaster Recovery Framework, as deter12 mined by the Administrator, shall designate a senior offi13 cial to— 

14 ‘‘(1) ensure the Federal agency is prepared to 

15 execute those response and recovery responsibilities; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) coordinate response and recovery efforts 

18 and activities with the Administrator.’’. 

19 SEC. 109. DECLARATION OF A CATASTROPHIC DISASTER. 

20 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) 

22 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 327. DECLARATION OF A CATASTROPHIC DISASTER. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may only declare 

25 a catastrophic disaster if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a catastrophic incident has occurred; 

2 ‘‘(2) the President has declared a major dis3 aster relating to the catastrophic incident in a State; 

4 ‘‘(3) the State has requested that the President 

5 declare a catastrophic disaster; 

6 ‘‘(4) an independent panel of experts has issued 

7 a recommendation to the President concerning 

8 whether or not a catastrophic disaster should be de9 clared; and 

10 ‘‘(5) the total estimated amount of Federal as11 sistance to support response, recovery, and mitiga12 tion costs related to the catastrophic incident ex13 ceeds $1,000,000,000, as determined by the Admin14 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

15 Agency in coordination with the State. 

16 ‘‘(b) PANEL.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may estab18 lish an independent panel of experts (in this sub19 section referred to as the ‘panel’) which the Presi20 dent may convene upon receiving a reasonable re21 quest that the President declare a catastrophic dis22 aster. 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel may be com24 prised of experts in emergency management, social 

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1 mography, public health, and other appropriate 

2 fields. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating a re4 quest that the President declare a catastrophic dis5 aster, the panel shall consider— 

6 ‘‘(A) the number of homes damaged or de7 stroyed; 

8 ‘‘(B) the number of public facilities dam9 aged or destroyed; 

10 ‘‘(C) the number of businesses damaged or 

11 destroyed; 

12 ‘‘(D) the ability of survivors to access so13 cial services, health care, and education; 

14 ‘‘(E) the economic impact to affected com15 munities and region as a whole, including State 

16 and local government tax revenues; 

17 ‘‘(F) the number of displaced survivors 

18 and their location; 

19 ‘‘(G) the quantity of available and afford20 able housing; 

21 ‘‘(H) the damage to the transportation, 

22 utilities, and communications infrastructure; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(I) any other factor relating to the impact 

25 of the catastrophic incident. 


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1 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION.—The panel— 

2 ‘‘(A) shall consider information provided 

3 by the State requesting that the President de4 clare a catastrophic disaster and by the Admin5 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

6 Agency; and 

7 ‘‘(B) may solicit or accept additional infor8 mation, in order to make an informed rec9 ommendation to the President. 

10 ‘‘(5) RECOMMENDATION.—The panel shall 

11 make a recommendation regarding whether the 

12 President should declare a catastrophic disaster as 

13 soon as is practicable after the panel considers rel14 evant data and information regarding the scale and 

15 impact of the catastrophic incident. 

16 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Com18 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App) shall apply to the 

19 panel, except that sections 10(a)(2) and 14 of 

20 that Act shall not apply. 

21 ‘‘(B) STATUS.—Members of the panel shall 

22 be considered special Government employees (as 

23 defined in section 202(a) of title 18, United 

24 States Code). 


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1 ‘‘(C) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EX2 PENSES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Members of the 

4 panel shall serve without compensation. 

5 ‘‘(ii) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members 

6 of the panel shall be allowed travel ex7 penses, including per diem in lieu of sub8 sistence, at rates authorized for employees 

9 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

10 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

11 away from their homes or regular places of 

12 business in the performance of service for 

13 the panel. 

14 ‘‘(7) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months 

15 after the date of enactment of the Disaster Recovery 

16 Act of 2011, the President shall prescribe regula17 tions relating to the composition and operating pro18 cedures of the panel. 

19 ‘‘(8) REPORT.—Not later than 10 days after 

20 the date on which the President declares a cata21 strophic disaster in the absence of a recommendation 

22 to do so from the panel, the President shall submit 

23 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov24 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 


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1 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

2 of Representatives a report explaining the decision. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 328. FEDERAL LEADERSHIP FOLLOWING A CATA4 STROPHIC DISASTER. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Chairperson’ means the Chair7 person of a Commission selected under subsection 

8 (c); and 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Commission’ means a Commis10 sion established under subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Immediately following the 

12 declaration of a catastrophic disaster, the President shall 

13 establish a Commission to facilitate and support State and 

14 local governments in achieving an efficient, effective, and 

15 expeditious recovery from the catastrophic disaster. 

16 ‘‘(c) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall select an 

17 official to serve as the Chairperson of each Commission 

18 to ensure the responsibilities of the Commission are ful19 filled. The Chairperson shall have the authority to direct 

20 any Federal agency, in accordance with Congressional re21 programming requirements, to use the authorities and re22 sources granted to the Federal agency under Federal law 

23 in support of the efficient, expeditious, and effective recov24 ery from a catastrophic disaster. 


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1 ‘‘(d) MEMBERS.—Each Commission shall include as 

2 a member the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

3 Management Agency, the head of each Federal agency 

4 with major responsibilities under the National Disaster 

5 Recovery Framework, and the head of any other Federal 

6 agency that the President determines necessary. 

7 ‘‘(e) STAFFING.—The Administrator of the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Agency and the head of each 

9 Federal agency with responsibilities under the National 

10 Disaster Recovery Framework shall each detail to each 

11 Commission a sufficient number of senior officials with de12 cision making authority and other employees who shall 

13 serve full time on the Commission to ensure efficient ad14 ministration of the assistance provided by the Federal 

15 Government. 

16 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF A COMMISSION.—A Com17 mission shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) develop a strategic approach to the recov19 ery from the catastrophic disaster and coordinate 

20 the activities of Federal agencies with responsibil21 ities under the National Disaster Recovery Frame22 work and other Federal agencies that the President 

23 determines shall assist in the recovery; 


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1 ‘‘(2) lead the development and monitor the im2 plementation of a strategic plan under subsection 

3 (g); 

4 ‘‘(3) resolve disagreements relating to recovery 

5 from the catastrophic disaster between or among 

6 Federal agencies with responsibilities under the Na7 tional Disaster Recovery Framework and any other 

8 Federal agency assisting in the recovery and assign 

9 responsibility in specific instances; 

10 ‘‘(4) compile data on the amount of Federal as11 sistance that State and local governments receive re12 lating to the catastrophic disaster and the activities 

13 the Federal assistance is used to carry out; 

14 ‘‘(5) identify relevant recovery metrics based on 

15 the recovery goals established by State and local 

16 governments, in coordination with the Federal Gov17 ernment, and measure progress in the recovery 

18 based on the metrics not less frequently than 2 

19 times each year; 

20 ‘‘(6) consult with and coordinate delivery of 

21 Federal assistance to support the recovery efforts of 

22 State and local governments, nonprofit organiza23 tions, and other private sector organizations; 

24 ‘‘(7) identify agency regulations, policies, and 

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1 nated to enable an efficient, expeditious, and effec2 tive recovery from the catastrophic disaster; 

3 ‘‘(8) identify unmet needs and ways to meet the 

4 needs; 

5 ‘‘(9) review consolidated requests for Federal 

6 assistance submitted under section 329(b); 

7 ‘‘(10) identify and facilitate the provision of 

8 Federal funds to address gaps in the recovery from 

9 the catastrophic disaster; 

10 ‘‘(11) work with State and local governments 

11 affected by the catastrophic disaster to incorporate 

12 into the efforts to recover from the catastrophic dis13 aster actions that will mitigate the effects of and 

14 foster resilience in the event of a subsequent dis15 aster; and 

16 ‘‘(12) take reasonable actions to prevent waste, 

17 fraud, and abuse relating to the catastrophic dis18 aster. 

19 ‘‘(g) RECOVERY PLAN.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

21 after the date on which the President declares a cat22 astrophic disaster, the Commission established in re23 lation to the catastrophic disaster shall submit to 

24 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern25 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

2 Representatives a strategic plan for how the Federal 

3 Government will expeditiously assist State and local 

4 governments in the recovery of the area affected by 

5 the catastrophic disaster. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each strategic plan sub7 mitted under paragraph (1) shall be written in co8 ordination with State and local governments affected 

9 by the catastrophic disaster and shall include— 

10 ‘‘(A) an up to date description of the scope 

11 of damage caused by the catastrophic disaster 

12 and the number of survivors of the catastrophic 

13 disaster in need of assistance; 

14 ‘‘(B) an assessment of challenges and 

15 needs faced in the recovery from the cata16 strophic disaster; 

17 ‘‘(C) a plan for assisting survivors of the 

18 catastrophic disaster in obtaining temporary, 

19 interim, and permanent housing (including the 

20 repair of rental housing); 

21 ‘‘(D) a description of how Federal agencies 

22 will support State and local governments in the 

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1 sponsibilities of each Federal agency in fulfilling 

2 the strategic plan; 

3 ‘‘(E) a description of how each Federal 

4 agency on the Commission will administer and 

5 provide staffing for the recovery from the cata6 strophic disaster in order to ensure the expedi7 tious and effective implementation of the stra8 tegic plan; 

9 ‘‘(F) a description of any procedures of a 

10 Federal agency that will be streamlined to help 

11 ensure an efficient and effective recovery from 

12 the catastrophic disaster; and 

13 ‘‘(G) a description of any legislative au14 thority needed to help ensure an efficient, expe15 ditious, and effective recovery from the cata16 strophic disaster. 

17 ‘‘(3) UPDATE.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date on which a Commission submits a strategic 

19 plan under paragraph (1), and every 180 days there20 after until the date on which the Commission termi21 nates under subsection (h), the Commission shall 

22 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

23 Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report describ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) progress in the recovery from the cat2 astrophic disaster since the date on which the 

3 most recent strategic plan or report relating to 

4 the catastrophic disaster was submitted; 

5 ‘‘(B) major challenges and unmet needs re6 maining in the recovery from the catastrophic 

7 disaster; 

8 ‘‘(C) any changes or adjustments to the 

9 strategic plan submitted under paragraph (1) 

10 relating to the catastrophic disaster; 

11 ‘‘(D) how each Federal agency on the 

12 Commission will continue to administer and 

13 provide staffing for the recovery from the cata14 strophic disaster in order to ensure the expedi15 tious and effective implementation of the stra16 tegic plan submitted under paragraph (1); and 

17 ‘‘(E) any legislative authority needed to 

18 help ensure an efficient, expeditious, and effec19 tive recovery from the catastrophic disaster. 

20 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall termi22 nate a Commission established in relation to a cata23 strophic disaster when the President determines that 

24 all issues relating to the Federal coordination of the 


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1 recovery from the catastrophic disaster have been 

2 substantially resolved. 

3 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL.—Upon a determination by 

4 the President that the matters with which a Federal 

5 agency has been involved as part of a Commission 

6 have been substantially resolved, the Federal agency 

7 may withdraw from the Commission. 

8 ‘‘(i) RECOVERY JOINT FIELD OFFICES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall estab10 lish recovery joint field offices in an area after a cat11 astrophic disaster for an appropriate period of time 

12 to support recovery from the catastrophic disaster. 

13 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT OF EMPLOYEES.—Each Fed14 eral agency on the Commission established in rela15 tion to the catastrophic disaster shall assign a suffi16 cient number of employees to each recovery joint 

17 field office established under paragraph (1) to assist 

18 State and local governments in the efficient, expedi19 tious, and effective recovery from the catastrophic 

20 disaster.’’. 

21 SEC. 110. IMPROVING DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL DIS22 ASTER ASSISTANCE. 

23 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

24 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.), 


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1 as amended by section 109, is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 329. IMPROVING DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL DIS4 ASTER ASSISTANCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) CATALOG OF FEDERAL DISASTER ASSIST6 ANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this section, the President 

9 shall develop a catalog of Federal disaster assistance 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) includes summaries of the Federal 

12 programs that support disaster relief, recovery, 

13 and mitigation; and 

14 ‘‘(B) uses a common format that contains 

15 information about each Federal program de16 scribed in subparagraph (A), including— 

17 ‘‘(i) the name of the Federal program; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Federal agency carrying out 

19 the Federal program, including contact in20 formation; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the purpose or a description of 

22 the Federal program; 

23 ‘‘(iv) citations or Internet addresses 

24 for or links to the statutes, regulations, 


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1 and rules governing the Federal program; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(v) the eligibility requirements, appli4 cation instructions, and allowable and pro5 hibited uses of funds under the Federal 

6 program. 

7 ‘‘(2) UPDATES.—The President shall annually 

8 update the catalog of Federal disaster assistance de9 veloped under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(b) CONSOLIDATED REQUEST FOR FEDERAL AS11 SISTANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact12 ment of this section, the President shall develop a single 

13 application process for voluntary use by State, local, and 

14 tribal governments and private nonprofit entities to re15 quest Federal disaster assistance from the Federal pro16 grams identified under subsection (a)(1)(A). 

17 ‘‘(c) RECOVERY METRICS.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this section, the President 

19 shall establish and implement procedures to monitor dis20 aster recovery indicators after a catastrophic disaster, in21 cluding— 

22 ‘‘(1) population changes by neighborhood (in23 cluding demographics); 

24 ‘‘(2) housing availability and affordability; 


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1 ‘‘(3) restoration of utilities and transportation 

2 infrastructure; 

3 ‘‘(4) economic activity; 

4 ‘‘(5) job growth; 

5 ‘‘(6) State and local tax revenues; and 

6 ‘‘(7) access to critical services, including edu7 cation, health care, mental health services, child 

8 care, and police and fire protection.’’. 

9 SEC. 111. PRE-INCIDENT PLANNING. 

10 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

11 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.), 

12 as amended by section 110, is amended at the end by add13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 330. PRE-INCIDENT PLANNING. 

15 ‘‘(a) PRE-INCIDENT PLANS.—If, at the time of a dec16 laration of a major disaster, a State or local government 

17 has in effect a recovery plan that has been approved under 

18 this section, the President shall increase by 10 percentage 

19 points the Federal share of assistance under sections 406, 

20 407, and 408(e), as appropriate depending on the contents 

21 of the approved plan. 

22 ‘‘(b) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In deter23 mining whether to approve a recovery plan submitted by 

24 a State or local government under subsection (a) and 

25 whether and by what percentage to increase the Federal 


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1 share under subsection (a), the President shall consider 

2 whether the State or local government has— 

3 ‘‘(1) established procedures for debris manage4 ment, including having entered into contracts for de5 bris removal, identified sites to support debris proc6 essing, storage, and transfer, and established proce7 dures for collection of right-of-entry forms; 

8 ‘‘(2) established procedures for temporary hous9 ing for disaster survivors and for transitioning dis10 aster survivors to permanent housing, including by 

11 rebuilding adequate rental properties; 

12 ‘‘(3) established a leadership structure to man13 age recovery efforts, including identifying roles and 

14 responsibilities among leaders and State and local 

15 agencies; 

16 ‘‘(4) established a post-disaster planning proc17 ess and structure that integrates community stake18 holders into recovery efforts; 

19 ‘‘(5) identified and prioritized actions that need 

20 to be taken before another major disaster to reduce 

21 the impact of the major disaster; 

22 ‘‘(6) identified and prioritized actions to be 

23 taken after a major disaster to help ensure an effi24 cient, expeditious, and effective recovery; 


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1 ‘‘(7) identified potential barriers to a timely re2 covery and put in place emergency waivers and au3 thorities that will overcome these barriers during re4 covery; 

5 ‘‘(8) developed procedures and mechanisms for 

6 implementing the recovery, including for the staffing 

7 of recovery efforts; 

8 ‘‘(9) identified methods of obtaining mutual as9 sistance and other peer-to-peer aid to support recov10 ery efforts; and 

11 ‘‘(10) adopted mechanisms to facilitate the 

12 timely and proper payment of claims by insurance 

13 companies for damages relating to the major dis14 aster.’’. 

15 TITLE II—MAJOR DISASTER 

16 ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 

17 SEC. 201. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE. 

18 Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

19 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘medicine medical equip23 ment,,’’ each place it appears and inserting 

24 ‘‘medicine, medical equipment,’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

2 ‘‘, child care facilities, libraries,’’ after 

3 ‘‘schools’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 

5 ‘‘inspection of damaged structures and’’ 

6 before ‘‘demolition’’; 

7 (iii) by striking the second subpara8 graph designated as subparagraph (J), as 

9 added by section 4 of the Pets Evacuation 

10 and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 

11 (Public Law 109–308; 120 Stat. 1726); 

12 and 

13 (iv) in subparagraph (J)— 

14 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

15 (i), by inserting ‘‘giving special con16 sideration to the’’ before ‘‘provision’’; 

17 (II) in clause (i), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (III) in clause (ii), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting a 

21 semicolon; and 

22 (IV) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(iii) to children; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) to individuals with disabilities or 

2 other special needs.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(d) EMERGENCY SHELTER.—The President may ex5 tend the period during which emergency shelter is pro6 vided under this section if the President determines that 

7 timely transition into housing assistance authorized under 

8 section 408 is not practicable or that an extension is nec9 essary to meet housing needs after the major disaster. 

10 ‘‘(e) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may reim12 burse a State or local government for costs relating 

13 to pay and benefits (including overtime and haz14 ardous duty pay) for permanent employees of the 

15 State or local government conducting emergency 

16 protective measures under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS.—The guidelines 

18 for reimbursement for employees that a recipient of 

19 assistance under paragraph (1) is contractually obli20 gated to pay shall be consistent with the Fair Labor 

21 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).’’. 

22 SEC. 202. VOLUNTEERS. 

23 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

24 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating section 425 (42 U.S.C. 

2 5189e) relating to essential service providers, as 

3 added by section 607 of the SAFE Port Act (Public 

4 Law 109–347; 120 Stat. 1941) as section 427; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 428. VOLUNTEERS. 

7 ‘‘Upon request by a State, the President may provide 

8 temporary housing for volunteers who are assisting in re9 sponse and recovery efforts from a major disaster if the 

10 President determines the assistance is appropriate, cost11 effective, and would not unduly interfere with the ability 

12 of the President to provide housing to emergency response 

13 providers (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Secu14 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) or to individuals or 

15 households eligible for housing assistance under this Act.’’. 

16 SEC. 203. HAZARD MITIGATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(b) of the Robert T. 

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5170c(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) CONSISTENCY OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

23 term ‘covered hazard mitigation measure’— 

24 ‘‘(i) means a hazard mitigation meas25 ure that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is an eligible use of funds 

2 under a mitigation grant program 

3 under a provision of law other than 

4 this section; 

5 ‘‘(II) is administered by the Ad6 ministrator of the Federal Emergency 

7 Management Agency; and 

8 ‘‘(III) meets the requirements 

9 under subsection (a); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) includes demolition and rebuild11 ing. 

12 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—A covered hazard 

13 mitigation measure shall be eligible to receive 

14 assistance under the program under this sec15 tion.’’. 

16 (b) PROCEDURES AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Robert T. 

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.—For purposes of 

22 providing assistance under this section, the President may 

23 establish streamlined procedures, including procedures for 

24 consideration of multiple structures as a group and for 

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1 pacts, cost-effectiveness, and fulfillment of cost-share re2 quirements for proposed hazard mitigation measures. 

3 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date on which 

5 the President declares a major disaster, a State af6 fected by the major disaster has in effect, and is ac7 tively enforcing throughout the State, a State build8 ing code that has been approved under paragraph 

9 (2), the President shall increase the Federal share of 

10 assistance under this section, notwithstanding the 

11 maximum total of contributions under this section 

12 for the major disaster, as determined in accordance 

13 with subsection (a) and section 322(e), by an 

14 amount equal to 10 percent of the estimated aggre15 gate amount of grants to be made (less any associ16 ated administrative costs) to the State under this 

17 Act with respect to the major disaster. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

20 approve a State building code if the President 

21 determines that the building code— 

22 ‘‘(i) is consistent with a nationally23 recognized model building code in effect on 

24 the date of the determination; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) was adopted by the State during 

2 the 6-year period beginning on the date on 

3 which the nationally-recognized model 

4 building code described in clause (i) went 

5 into effect. 

6 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The President 

7 shall, by regulation, set appropriate standards 

8 for the periodic update, resubmission, and re9 approval of a State building code approved by 

10 the President under this paragraph that are 

11 consistent with similar requirements relating to 

12 mitigation planning under section 322. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) ACTIVELY ENFORCING.—The term 

15 ‘actively enforcing’ means that the structural 

16 provisions of a State building code are being ef17 fectively implemented in the process of exam18 ination and approval of construction plans, 

19 specifications, and technical data and the in20 spection of new construction or renovation. 

21 ‘‘(B) NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED MODEL

22 BUILDING CODE.—The term ‘nationally-recog23 nized model building code’ means a building 

24 code for residential and commercial construc25 tion and construction materials that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has been developed and published 

2 by a code organization in an open con3 sensus type forum with input from na4 tional experts; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is based on national structural 

6 design standards that establish minimum 

7 acceptable criteria for the design and con8 struction of residential and commercial 

9 buildings for the purpose of protecting the 

10 health, safety, and general welfare of the 

11 building’s users against natural disasters. 

12 ‘‘(C) STATE BUILDING CODE.—The term 

13 ‘State building code’ means requirements and 

14 associated standards for residential and com15 mercial construction and construction materials 

16 that are implemented on a statewide basis by 

17 ordinance, resolution, law, housing or building 

18 code, or zoning ordinance, which shall, at a 

19 minimum, include that such requirements and 

20 associated standards shall apply to construc21 tion-related activities of residential or commer22 cial building contractors, engineers, architects, 

23 and designers applicable to the structural safe24 ty, design, and construction of residential, com25 mercial, and industrial structures. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

3 President, acting through the Administrator of the 

4 Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall issue 

5 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

6 this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(f) ADVANCE ASSISTANCE.—The President may 

8 provide not more than 10 percent of the amount of the 

9 estimated cost of hazard mitigation measures to an entity 

10 eligible for a grant under this section if the entity— 

11 ‘‘(1) indicates the entity intends to implement 

12 hazard mitigation measures; and 

13 ‘‘(2) requests funds for the hazard mitigation 

14 measures before the costs are incurred by the entity. 

15 ‘‘(g) COST EFFECTIVENESS.—For purposes of evalu16 ating whether a hazard mitigation measure is cost-effec17 tive, any costs incurred to conduct a federally required re18 view of the environmental or historic impact or cost-effec19 tiveness of a hazard mitigation measure shall not be in20 cluded as a cost of the hazard mitigation measure. 

21 ‘‘(h) REIMBURSEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL MITIGA22 TION MEASURES.—The President may provide assistance 

23 to homeowners for otherwise eligible structural measures 

24 for a residence damaged by the major disaster for which 

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1 less of whether the homeowner commenced work on the 

2 measures before approval of the measures.’’. 

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE AWARDS.—Sec4 tion 203(g) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

5 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(g)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 

10 paragraph (11); and 

11 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(10) the extent to which the State or local 

14 government is carrying out activities to implement a 

15 State building code approved under section 404(e); 

16 and’’. 

17 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA RELATING TO AD18 MINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE BY

19 STATES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact20 ment of this Act, the President shall establish the criteria 

21 required under section 404(c)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

23 5170c(c)(2)). 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 


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1 to Congress a report, developed in consultation with State 

2 and local governments, that— 

3 (1) identifies obstacles to more timely distribu4 tion of funds under the hazard mitigation program 

5 under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

6 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 5170c); 

8 (2) provides proposals to overcome any obsta9 cles identified under paragraph (1), including wheth10 er the obstacles are related to specific provisions of 

11 that Act; and 

12 (3) assesses the feasibility of developing a uni13 form application process for all forms of mitigation 

14 assistance authorized under the Robert T. Stafford 

15 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and the National Flood Insur17 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), includ18 ing— 

19 (A) the hazard mitigation program under 

20 section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

21 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 5170c); 

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1 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 5133); 

3 (C) the severe repetitive loss program 

4 under section 1361A of the National Flood In5 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102a); and 

6 (D) the flood mitigation assistance pro7 gram under section 1366 of the National Flood 

8 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104). 

9 SEC. 204. REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF 

10 DAMAGED FACILITIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

15 emergency medical care’’ and inserting ‘‘emergency 

16 medical care, and child care’’; 

17 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

18 following: 

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

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which a 

21 State, local government, or owner or operator of a 

22 private nonprofit facility determines that the public 

23 welfare would not best be served by repairing, re24 storing, reconstructing, or replacing the facility, the 

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1 erates a private nonprofit facility may elect to re2 ceive, in lieu of a contribution under subsection 

3 (a)(1)(A), a contribution in an amount equal to the 

4 Federal share of the Federal estimate of the cost of 

5 repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing the 

6 facility and of management expenses. 

7 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds contributed to a 

8 State, local government, or person under this sub9 section may be used— 

10 ‘‘(A) to repair, restore, or expand other se11 lected facilities owned or operated by the State, 

12 local government, or person; 

13 ‘‘(B) to construct new facilities to be 

14 owned or operated by the State, local govern15 ment, or person; or 

16 ‘‘(C) to fund hazard mitigation measures 

17 that the State, local government, or person de18 termines to be necessary to meet a need for 

19 services and functions provided by the State, 

20 local government, or person in the area affected 

21 by the major disaster. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—Funds made available to a 

23 State, local government, or person under this sub24 section may not be used for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any facility located in a regulatory 

2 floodway (as defined in section 59.1 of title 44, 

3 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

4 regulation)); or 

5 ‘‘(B) any uninsured facility located in a 

6 special flood hazard area identified by the Ad7 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Manage8 ment Agency under the National Flood Insur9 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (e)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

12 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(iii) giving consideration to any en19 ergy savings associated with the proposed 

20 design, repair, restoration, reconstruction, 

21 or replacement.’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3)(C)— 

23 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

24 the end; 


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1 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (iii) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(iii) procedures to effect the reim6 bursement of funds under paragraph 

7 (2)(B)(ii).’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) EXPEDITED PAYMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) GRANT ASSISTANCE.—In making a 

11 contribution under subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

12 subsection (a)(1), the President shall provide an 

13 initial payment of the full amount of the Fed14 eral share of the eligible cost, based on the ini15 tial estimate conducted in accordance with 

16 paragraph (1)(A). 

17 ‘‘(B) DATE OF PAYMENT.—An initial pay18 ment described in subparagraph (A) shall be 

19 paid not later than 60 days after the date on 

20 which the estimate described in paragraph (1) 

21 is completed.’’; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f) PROJECT CONSOLIDATION.—The President may 

24 consider all facilities that serve the same function for a 

25 single State or local government or an owner or operator 


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1 of a private nonprofit facility as a single project and pro2 vide a single payment for all eligible costs or estimates 

3 of eligible costs conducted in accordance with subsection 

4 (e)(1)(A) relating to the facilities under this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) FLOOD OF RECORD.—The President may pro6 vide a State, local government, or person that owns or op7 erates a private nonprofit facility in a special flood hazard 

8 area that is eligible for replacement as a result of disaster9 related damage with a contribution under this section for 

10 the full amount of the Federal share of the cost to repair, 

11 restore, reconstruct, or replace a facility to withstand the 

12 highest flood recorded at the site of the facility, if the dif13 ference in cost between elevation to the flood of record 

14 and elevation to the base flood elevation does not exceed 

15 25 percent of the total project cost. 

16 ‘‘(h) ANTICIPATED INSURANCE BENEFITS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may not re18 duce the amount of Federal assistance under this 

19 section by an amount greater than 50 percent of the 

20 anticipated insurance benefits of the recipient of the 

21 Federal assistance if the recipient— 

22 ‘‘(A) has requested and has not received 

23 the anticipated insurance benefits on the date 

24 on which the recipient receives Federal assist25 ance; 


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1 ‘‘(B) agrees to diligently pursue insurance 

2 benefits for damages for which Federal assist3 ance is available under this section; and 

4 ‘‘(C) agrees to timely repay all duplicative 

5 assistance to the agency providing the Federal 

6 assistance. 

7 ‘‘(2) RECOUPMENT.—The Administrator shall 

8 establish procedures to recoup assistance from appli9 cants that fail to request and diligently pursue in10 surance benefits that would duplicate Federal assist11 ance for damages provided under this section.’’. 

12 (b) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS RELATING TO ELI13 GIBLE COST.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, the President shall issue and begin 

15 implementation of the regulations required under section 

16 406(e)(3)(C) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

17 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)(3)(C)), as 

18 amended by this Act. 

19 SEC. 205. DEBRIS REMOVAL. 

20 Section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5173) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f) DEBRIS RECYCLING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant 

25 under subsection (a)(2) may use amounts made 


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1 available under the grant for the costs of recycling 

2 debris and wreckage resulting from a major disaster, 

3 including the sorting of such materials. 

4 ‘‘(2) VALUE OF SALVAGED MATERIAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) RETENTION OF FINANCIAL BENE6 FITS.—A recipient of a grant under subsection 

7 (a)(2) may retain any financial benefit received 

8 from the salvage of recycled debris or wreckage. 

9 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF FINANCIAL BENE10 FITS.—Any financial benefit described in sub11 paragraph (A) shall not be considered to be in12 come for purposes of section 13.25 of title 44, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

14 thereto). 

15 ‘‘(g) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may reim17 burse a State or local government for costs relating 

18 to pay and benefits (including overtime and haz19 ardous duty pay) for permanent employees of the 

20 State or local government conducting debris removal. 

21 ‘‘(2) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS.—The guidelines 

22 for reimbursement for employees that a recipient of 

23 assistance under paragraph (1) is contractually obli24 gated to pay shall be consistent with the Fair Labor 

25 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).’’. 


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1 SEC. 206. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 

2 HOUSEHOLDS. 

3 Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

4 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘The President may’’ 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may’’; 

11 and 

12 (ii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(B) SHARED HOUSEHOLDS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara16 graph, the term ‘member of the predisaster 

17 household’ means an individual who was a 

18 member of the predisaster household of the 

19 individual or household seeking assistance 

20 under this section, as the case may be. 

21 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY FOR SHARED

22 HOUSEHOLDS.—The President may not 

23 deny assistance to an individual or house24 hold under this section because a member 

25 of the predisaster household has already 

26 received assistance under this section if the 


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1 individual or household seeking assist2 ance— 

3 ‘‘(I) has evacuated the 

4 predisaster residence of that indi5 vidual or household and, due to space 

6 constraints or for other good cause 

7 (as determined by the President), re8 sides in a different location than a 

9 member of the predisaster household 

10 that has already received assistance 

11 under this section; 

12 ‘‘(II) is a victim of domestic vio13 lence, as defined under section 

14 40002(a)(6) of the Violence Against 

15 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

16 13925(a)(6)) and, in order to protect 

17 the safety of the individual or house18 hold, or because of family or house19 hold dissolution or divorce, resides in 

20 a different residence than the member 

21 of the predisaster household that has 

22 already received assistance under this 

23 section; or 

24 ‘‘(III) has other good cause, as 

25 determined by the President, for 


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1 maintaining a separate household 

2 from the member of the predisaster 

3 household that has already received 

4 assistance under this section. 

5 ‘‘(iii) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 

6 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

7 Disaster Recovery Act of 2011, the Presi8 dent shall establish procedures to verify eli9 gibility for a qualifying exception under 

10 clause (ii).’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY OF HEIRS.—If the owner of 

13 an owner-occupied private residence dies, an heir 

14 shall be eligible for assistance under paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3) of subsection (c) in place of the deceased 

16 owner if the heir— 

17 ‘‘(A) resided in the residence on the date 

18 of the major disaster; and 

19 ‘‘(B) is taking legal possession of the resi20 dence.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 

24 as subparagraph (E); and 


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1 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

2 (A) the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) REPAIRS.—The President may repair 

4 rental units for occupation by individuals and 

5 households eligible for assistance under this sec6 tion. The President shall prescribe rules and 

7 regulations to carry out this subparagraph, 

8 which shall include consideration of cost-effec9 tiveness, convenience to the individuals and 

10 households, and such other factors as the Presi11 dent determines appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(C) CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS.—For a 

13 catastrophic disaster, the President may provide 

14 direct assistance for repairs under subpara15 graph (A)(i) if the President determines that 

16 the assistance— 

17 ‘‘(i) is appropriate; and 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) is cost-effective as compared 

19 to available alternative housing options; or 

20 ‘‘(II) would be beneficial in expediting 

21 the recovery from the catastrophic disaster. 

22 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FROM LIMITATIONS.— 

23 The President may provide assistance under 

24 subparagraph (C) in an amount equal to not 

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1 wise authorized under subsection (h) or section 

2 307(a)(1).’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘for a major disaster’’ 

5 after ‘‘the continental United States’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘in other locations’’ 

7 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘in other 

8 locations for a catastrophic disaster.’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(5) TEMPORARY MORTGAGE AND RENTAL PAY11 MENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

14 the term ‘eligible individual or household’ 

15 means an individual or household that— 

16 ‘‘(I) experienced a net loss of not 

17 less than 25 percent of the predisaster 

18 income of the individual or household 

19 as a result of a major disaster; 

20 ‘‘(II) has a rent or mortgage pay21 ment in an amount not less than 25 

22 percent of the post-disaster income of 

23 the individual or household; and 

24 ‘‘(III) has a lease or mortgage on 

25 a primary residence within an area for 


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1 which the major disaster has been de2 clared. 

3 ‘‘(ii) CALCULATION.—In calculating 

4 the net loss of predisaster income, the 

5 President shall account for insurance pro6 ceeds received due to loss of employment. 

7 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—The President may 

8 provide assistance on a temporary basis in the 

9 form of mortgage or rental payments to or on 

10 behalf of an eligible individual or household 

11 that, as a result of financial hardship caused by 

12 a major disaster, is subject to dispossession or 

13 eviction from the residence by reason of the 

14 foreclosure of any mortgage or lien or the ter15 mination of any lease entered into before the 

16 date of the major disaster. 

17 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENTS.—The President may 

18 direct appropriate Federal agencies and enter 

19 into agreements with private organizations to 

20 administer assistance provided under this para21 graph. 

22 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM PERIOD.—If the President 

23 provides assistance to an eligible individual or 

24 household under this paragraph, the President 

25 shall provide assistance for the duration of the 


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1 period of financial hardship, not to exceed 18 

2 months. 

3 ‘‘(E) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The President 

4 may not provide assistance to an eligible indi5 vidual or household under this paragraph— 

6 ‘‘(i) in a total amount that is more 

7 than the maximum amount of assistance 

8 under subsection (h); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) for any month, in an amount 

10 that is more than the amount of monthly 

11 income loss of the eligible individual or 

12 household.’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘or ac14 cessible’’ and inserting ‘‘, accessible, or convenient to 

15 schools, health care facilities, child care centers, gro16 cery stores, public transportation, or other essential 

17 community services other than housing resources’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (e)(1)— 

19 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

20 ‘‘CHILD CARE,’’ after ‘‘DENTAL,’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘child care,’’ after ‘‘den22 tal,’’; 

23 (5) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting before the 

24 period at the end ‘‘, except that for a catastrophic 

25 disaster, the President may increase the maximum 


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1 amount of assistance to be not more than twice the 

2 amount equal to the otherwise applicable maximum 

3 amount under this subsection, if the President deter4 mines that due to extraordinary circumstances an 

5 increase is in the public interest’’; 

6 (6) in subsection (i)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) record and verify information on all assist13 ance under this section that an individual or house14 hold has received or applied for relating to a single 

15 major disaster.’’; 

16 (7) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub17 section (k); and 

18 (8) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(j) FEDERAL AGENCY AGREEMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act 

23 of 2011, the Administrator of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency, the Secretary of Hous25 ing and Urban Development, the Secretary of AgriVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:07 Sep 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1630.IS S1630

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1 culture, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

2 agencies (as determined by the President) shall 

3 enter into an agreement that— 

4 ‘‘(A) identifies the appropriate roles and 

5 responsibilities of each agency for housing as6 sistance under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(B) establishes procedures necessary to 

8 provide housing assistance available under this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The agreement en12 tered under paragraph (1) shall be updated by 

13 the Federal agencies participating in the agree14 ment as needed, but not less frequently than 

15 once every 5 years. In updating an agreement 

16 under this subparagraph, the Federal agencies 

17 shall seek to constructively address issues relat18 ing to providing or overseeing the provision of 

19 assistance under the program under this section 

20 that emerged during management of disaster 

21 relief programs, including training or resources 

22 for public housing agencies. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSISTENCY.—The Federal agen24 cies participating in the agreement entered 

25 under paragraph (1) shall ensure that housing 


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1 assistance under this section is provided and 

2 administered in a manner consistent with the 

3 National Disaster Recovery Framework and the 

4 National Disaster Housing Strategy developed 

5 under section 683 of the Post-Katrina Emer6 gency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 

7 U.S.C. 772). 

8 ‘‘(C) INVENTORY.—The President shall de9 velop a national inventory of federally owned 

10 housing units to facilitate the administration of 

11 housing assistance available under this section. 

12 ‘‘(D) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

13 President may provide technical assistance and 

14 preparedness support to public housing agencies 

15 to facilitate the administration of housing as16 sistance under subsection (c).’’. 

17 SEC. 207. CRISIS COUNSELING AND ASSISTANCE TRAINING 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 416 of the Robert T. 

20 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 5183) is amended— 

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘and treatment’’ after ‘‘coun23 seling services’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘victims’’ and inserting ‘‘sur25 vivors’’. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall pro3 mulgate updated regulations to improve the delivery of 

4 mental health services, extend timeframes for the delivery 

5 of services, and provide for appropriate administrative 

6 costs to service providers under section 416 of the Robert 

7 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

8 Act, as amended by subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 208. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS. 

10 Section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

11 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, subject to 

14 subsection (b),’’ before ‘‘has demonstrated’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

16 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

17 (3) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(b) EXPEDIENT DISBURSAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 the President shall develop procedures under which 

22 an initial disbursement of a loan under subsection 

23 (a) shall be made to a local government— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not later than 14 days after the date 

2 on which the President receives a request for 

3 the loan; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in an amount sufficient to ensure the 

5 local government may— 

6 ‘‘(i) continue to provide governmental 

7 services; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) retain and hire personnel nec9 essary to support response and recovery. 

10 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATED NEED NOT YET ESTAB11 LISHED.—If a local government agrees to return an 

12 initial disbursement under paragraph (1) in the 

13 event that the local government does not dem14 onstrate a need for financial assistance within 180 

15 days after the date of an initial disbursement, the 

16 President shall make an initial disbursement under 

17 paragraph (1) without regard to whether the local 

18 government has established a demonstrated need for 

19 financial assistance. 

20 ‘‘(3) RECOUPMENT OF LOAN PROCEEDS FOR

21 FAILURE TO DEMONSTRATE NEED.—The Adminis22 trator shall establish procedures to recoup assistance 

23 from a local government that fails to demonstrate 

24 need for financial assistance within 180 days after 

25 the date of an initial disbursement. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT.—The amount of a loan under sub2 section (a)— 

3 ‘‘(1) shall be based on need; 

4 ‘‘(2) may not be in an amount that is more 

5 than 50 percent of the annual operating budget of 

6 the local government for the fiscal year in which the 

7 major disaster occurs; and 

8 ‘‘(3) unless the President has declared a cata9 strophic disaster relating to the major disaster, may 

10 not be more than $25,000,000.’’; and 

11 (4) in subsection (d)(1), as redesignated by 

12 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘three full fiscal year pe13 riod’’ and inserting ‘‘3-year period (from either the 

14 date on which the disaster is declared or the first 

15 day of the next fiscal year, as determined by the 

16 President)’’. 

17 SEC. 209. EMERGENCY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. 

18 Section 419 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

19 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5186) is 

20 amended by inserting ‘‘child care centers,’’ after 

21 ‘‘schools,’’. 

22 SEC. 210. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES. 

23 Section 422 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

24 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘If the Federal estimate’’ and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Federal estimate’’; 

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘or, if the Administrator has 

5 established a threshold under subsection (b), the 

6 amount established under subsection (b)’’ after 

7 ‘‘$35,000’’ the first place it appears; 

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘or, if applicable, the amount 

9 established under subsection (b),’’ after ‘‘$35,000 

10 amount’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) THRESHOLD.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act of 

15 2011, the President, acting through the Adminis16 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen17 cy (in this section referred to as the ‘Adminis18 trator’), shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) complete an analysis to determine 

20 whether an increase in the threshold for eligi21 bility under subsection (a) is appropriate, which 

22 shall include consideration of cost-effectiveness, 

23 speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past 

24 performance, and accountability measures; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) submit to the appropriate committees 

2 of Congress (as defined in section 602 of the 

3 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform 

4 Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)) a report regarding 

5 the analysis conducted under subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—After the Administrator sub7 mits the report required under paragraph (1), the 

8 President shall direct the Administrator to— 

9 ‘‘(A) immediately establish a threshold for 

10 eligibility under this section in an appropriate 

11 amount, without regard to chapter 5 of title 5, 

12 United States Code; and 

13 ‘‘(B) adjust the threshold annually to re14 flect changes in the Consumer Price Index for 

15 all Urban Consumers published by the Depart16 ment of Labor. 

17 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 3 years after the 

18 date on which the Administrator establishes a 

19 threshold under paragraph (2), and every 3 years 

20 thereafter, the President, acting through the Admin21 istrator, shall review the threshold for eligibility 

22 under this section.’’. 

23 SEC. 211. APPEALS OF ASSISTANCE DECISIONS. 

24 Section 423(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re25 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a(a)) 


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1 is amended by striking ‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘90 

2 days’’. 

3 SEC. 212. CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES. 

4 Section 426 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

5 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189d) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

8 ‘‘The President’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘private’’; 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘victims’’ and inserting ‘‘sur11 vivors’’; and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The 

14 President shall direct the Administrator of the Federal 

15 Emergency Management Agency, acting in coordination 

16 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 

17 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to estab18 lish a single comprehensive disaster case management sys19 tem for the purpose of facilitating rapid access by sur20 vivors of a major disaster to resources and services avail21 able to meet the needs of the survivors relating to the 

22 major disaster. 

23 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2011, 

25 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 


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1 Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

3 Development, shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

4 this section that— 

5 ‘‘(1) provide for case managers to serve as a 

6 single point of contact to assist individuals or house7 holds affected by a major disaster; 

8 ‘‘(2) address access to housing, employment or 

9 employment training, education, health care, mental 

10 health services, substance abuse treatment, child 

11 care, nutrition, transportation, financial counseling, 

12 and other social services to address individual and 

13 household recovery needs; 

14 ‘‘(3) establish guidelines, training, certification, 

15 performance requirements, service standards, and 

16 caseload limits for providers of case management 

17 services under this section; 

18 ‘‘(4) address delivery strategies that use the ca19 pabilities of the Federal Government, States, local 

20 governments, and nonprofit organizations; 

21 ‘‘(5) address, with specificity, the roles and re22 sponsibilities among Federal agencies, State govern23 ments, local governments, providers of case manage24 ment services under this section, and survivors of 

25 major disasters; 


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1 ‘‘(6) establish program evaluation tools for case 

2 managers to monitor individuals and households be3 yond referrals and assess progress toward defined 

4 recovery outcomes; 

5 ‘‘(7) establish data entry procedures and report6 ing requirements; 

7 ‘‘(8) address database interconnectivity between 

8 the disaster case management program under this 

9 section and the assistance to individuals and house10 holds program under section 408; 

11 ‘‘(9) revise the regulations relating to the rou12 tine use of disaster recovery assistance files, includ13 ing establishing a procedure under which an indi14 vidual who registers for assistance through the indi15 viduals and households program under section 408 

16 may voluntarily authorize Federal agencies to share 

17 information relating to the individual with providers 

18 of case management services, notwithstanding sec19 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

20 referred to as the Privacy Act of 1974); 

21 ‘‘(10) establish criteria relating to when a case 

22 may be closed; and 

23 ‘‘(11) establish procedures for the effective 

24 transfer of open cases between case managers when 

25 such a transfer is necessary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 213. ESSENTIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

2 Section 427(a)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

3 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 5189e(a)(1)), as redesignated by section 202 of this Act, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

7 through (E) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), re8 spectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(B) local radio, television, or print news 

12 that contains relevant health and safety infor13 mation;’’. 

14 SEC. 214. ADDITIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE, PROCE15 DURES, AND REPORTING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

17 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amend18 ed by section 202 of this Act, is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 429. DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘eligible 

22 assistance’ means assistance— 

23 ‘‘(1) under section 403, 406, or 407; 

24 ‘‘(2) for which an applicant has received a deci25 sion on a first appeal; 


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1 ‘‘(3) for which the amount in dispute is not less 

2 than $750,000, which the President shall adjust an3 nually to reflect changes in the Consumer Price 

4 Index for all Urban Consumers published by the De5 partment of Labor; and 

6 ‘‘(4) for which the applicant has agreed to a 

7 non-Federal share of not less than 10 percent. 

8 ‘‘(b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this section, and in 

11 order to facilitate an efficient recovery from major 

12 disasters, the President shall establish rules and reg13 ulations under which an applicant may request the 

14 use of alternative dispute resolution, including arbi15 tration by an independent review panel, to resolve 

16 disputes relating to eligible assistance. 

17 ‘‘(2) BINDING EFFECT.—A decision in an alter18 native dispute resolution under this section shall be 

19 binding upon the parties to the dispute. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The final rule promul21 gated under this section shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) allow a party eligible to bring a sec23 ond appeal of a dispute relating to eligible as24 sistance to request an independent review panel 

25 for the review; 


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1 ‘‘(B) require a party requesting an inde2 pendent review panel as described in subpara3 graph (A) to agree to forego rights to any fur4 ther appeal of the dispute relating to any eligi5 ble assistance as to which the President agrees 

6 to the request for an independent review panel; 

7 ‘‘(C) require that the sponsor of an inde8 pendent review panel for any alternative dispute 

9 resolution under this section shall be— 

10 ‘‘(i) an individual or entity unaffili11 ated with the dispute (which may include 

12 a Federal agency, an administrative law 

13 judge, or a reemployed annuitant who was 

14 an employee of the Federal Government) 

15 selected by the President; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) responsible for identifying and 

17 maintaining an adequate number of inde18 pendent experts qualified to review and re19 solve disputes under this section; 

20 ‘‘(D) require an independent review panel 

21 to— 

22 ‘‘(i) resolve any remaining disputed 

23 issue raised in the first appeal in accord24 ance with all applicable laws, regulations, 

25 and policies; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) consider only evidence contained 

2 in the administrative record; 

3 ‘‘(E) require an independent review panel 

4 to expeditiously issue a written decision for any 

5 alternative dispute resolution under this section; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(F) direct that if an independent review 

8 panel for any alternative dispute resolution 

9 under this section determines that the basis 

10 upon which a party failed to resolve a dispute 

11 relating to eligible assistance is frivolous, the 

12 independent review panel shall direct the party 

13 to pay the reasonable costs of the other party 

14 to the dispute relating to the review by the 

15 independent review panel. 

16 ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—A request for review by an inde17 pendent review panel under this section may not be made 

18 after the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this section. 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

22 after the termination of authority under this section 

23 pursuant to subsection (c), the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to the Committee 

25 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 


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1 the Senate a report analyzing the effectiveness of 

2 the program under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

4 paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

6 the program under this section, including an as7 sessment of whether the program expedited or 

8 delayed the disaster recovery process; 

9 ‘‘(B) an assessment of whether the pro10 gram increased or decreased costs to administer 

11 section 403, 406, or 407; 

12 ‘‘(C) an assessment of whether inde13 pendent review panels fairly and accurately re14 solved disputes under this section; 

15 ‘‘(D) a recommendation as to whether any 

16 aspect of the program under this section should 

17 be made a permanent authority; and 

18 ‘‘(E) recommendations for any modifica19 tions to the authority or the administration of 

20 the authority under this section in order to im21 prove the disaster recovery process. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 430. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

24 the date of enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act of 

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1 mental Quality and the Advisory Council on Historic Pres2 ervation, the President shall establish an expedited and 

3 unified interagency review process to ensure compliance 

4 with environmental and historic requirements under Fed5 eral law relating to disaster recovery projects, in order to 

6 expedite the recovery process. 

7 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The review process under this sec8 tion shall include mechanisms to expeditiously address 

9 delays that may occur during the recovery from a major 

10 disaster, and shall be updated as appropriate.’’. 

11 SEC. 215. AFTER ACTION REVIEWS. 

12 Section 650 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Manage13 ment Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 750) is amended— 

14 (a) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘The 

15 Administrator,’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(b) AFTER ACTION REVIEWS.—The Administrator 

18 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

19 an annual consolidated report regarding after action re20 views conducted under the remedial action program estab21 lished under this section, which shall include key findings 

22 and recommendations from the after action reviews.’’. 

23 SEC. 216. GRANT GUIDANCE. 

24 Chapter 1 of subtitle C of title VI of the Post-Katrina 

25 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 


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1 741 et seq.), as amended by section 109, is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 656. GRANT GUIDANCE. 

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘catastrophic disaster’ has the 

6 meaning given that term in section 102 of the Rob7 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As8 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122); 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘catastrophic disaster recovery 

10 grant’ means a grant for disaster recovery made 

11 under title I of the Housing and Community Devel12 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) relat13 ing to a catastrophic disaster; 

14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘National Disaster Recovery 

15 Framework’ means the National Disaster Recovery 

16 Framework developed under section 655; 

17 ‘‘(4) the term ‘persons of low and moderate in18 come’ has the meaning given that term in section 

19 102 of the Housing and Community Development 

20 Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302); and 

21 ‘‘(5) the term ‘recovery’ has the meaning given 

22 that term in section 501 of the Homeland Security 

23 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311). 

24 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF GRANT GUIDANCE.—Not later 

25 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 


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1 the President, acting through Federal agencies with major 

2 responsibilities under the National Disaster Recovery 

3 Framework, and in accordance with this section, shall 

4 issue guidance for the administration and use of cata5 strophic disaster recovery grants. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—The guidance issued under sub7 section (b) shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) ensure that a recipient of a catastrophic 

9 disaster recovery grant may easily use the grant in 

10 coordination with other sources of Federal assist11 ance; 

12 ‘‘(2) include guidelines for the allocation of 

13 funds by the recipient of a catastrophic disaster re14 covery grant that encourage an equitable allocation 

15 of funding relative to the damages suffered by and 

16 the recovery needs of different parts of the commu17 nity served by the recipient; 

18 ‘‘(3) prescribe eligible uses of a catastrophic 

19 disaster recovery grant, including authorizing the 

20 use of a catastrophic disaster recovery grant for— 

21 ‘‘(A) recovery, reconstruction, and revital22 ization of communities after a catastrophic dis23 aster; 


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1 ‘‘(B) promoting the efficient, effective, and 

2 expeditious recovery of survivors of a cata3 strophic disaster; 

4 ‘‘(C) restoring, repairing, and enhancing 

5 the resiliency of infrastructure and community 

6 services; and 

7 ‘‘(D) otherwise addressing unmet needs in 

8 recovering from a catastrophic disaster; 

9 ‘‘(4) require that the recipient of a catastrophic 

10 disaster recovery grant use not less than 50 percent 

11 of the amount received under the grant for activities 

12 that principally benefit persons of low and moderate 

13 income; 

14 ‘‘(5) require an applicant for a catastrophic dis15 aster recovery grant to prepare and submit a com16 prehensive long-term recovery plan for approval by 

17 the President as a condition of receiving a cata18 strophic disaster recovery grant, which shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) describe the effects of the cata20 strophic disaster on the community served by 

21 the applicant; 

22 ‘‘(B) identify the disaster recovery and re23 vitalization needs of the applicant not fully ad24 dressed through other funding sources; 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide specific and measurable re2 covery or revitalization objectives, including 

3 timetables; 

4 ‘‘(D) describe the proposed use of funds, 

5 including how the use of funds addresses the 

6 disaster recovery and revitalization needs of 

7 persons of low and moderate income and high 

8 impact hazards for which the applicant is con9 sidered to be at risk; 

10 ‘‘(E) describe monitoring standards and 

11 procedures that— 

12 ‘‘(i) are sufficient to ensure program 

13 requirements are met; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) provide for continual quality as15 surance, investigation, and internal audit 

16 functions; and 

17 ‘‘(F) include such other information as the 

18 President determines appropriate; 

19 ‘‘(6) require the recipient of a catastrophic dis20 aster recovery grant to update the plan submitted 

21 under paragraph (5) not less frequently than annu22 ally, until the date on which all amounts provided 

23 under the grant have been expended; 

24 ‘‘(7) provide that the President may reject a 

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1 plete, inconsistent with the purpose of the cata2 strophic disaster recovery grant program, or that 

3 fails to propose adequate funding for the areas of 

4 greatest need; 

5 ‘‘(8) require the recipient of a catastrophic dis6 aster recovery grant to submit to the President per7 formance reports concerning the use of funds made 

8 available under the grant and progress toward spe9 cific and measurable recovery or revitalization objec10 tives identified under paragraph (5)(C), in the man11 ner, intervals, and form prescribed by the President; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(9) include any other guidance for potential 

14 recipients of a catastrophic disaster recovery grant 

15 that the President determines appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION.—The President shall submit the 

17 guidance issued under subsection (b) to the appropriate 

18 committees of Congress. 

19 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The President shall, 

20 as necessary and appropriate, provide technical assistance 

21 upon request to the recipient of a catastrophic disaster 

22 recovery grant to efficiently, effectively, and properly ad23 minister the grant.’’. 


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1 SEC. 217. TIMELINESS OF REVIEWS. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator shall develop procedures to 

4 monitor the status of applications for assistance under 

5 section 403, 404, 406, 407, and 408 of the Robert T. Staf6 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 5170b, 5170c, 5172, 5173, and 5174) relating 

8 to— 

9 (1) appeals; 

10 (2) reconciliation of insurance settlements; 

11 (3) environmental reviews; 

12 (4) historic reviews; and 

13 (5) reviews of cost effectiveness. 

14 SEC. 218. REVIEW OF REGULATIONS AND POLICIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall review 

17 regulations and policies relating to Federal disaster assist18 ance to eliminate regulations the President determines are 

19 no longer relevant, to harmonize contradictory regulations, 

20 and to simplify and expedite disaster recovery and assist21 ance for a catastrophic disaster. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

24 to Congress a report describing changes made to regula25 tions as a result of the review required under subsection 


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1 (a), together with any legislative recommendations relat2 ing to the review or changes in regulations. 

3 SEC. 219. PUBLIC WORKS REPAIR TEAMS. 

4 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

6 a report that— 

7 (1) identifies public works repair teams under 

8 the control of a State or local government; and 

9 (2) assesses the feasibility of developing a na10 tional network of public works repair teams that 

11 may be deployed through the Emergency Manage12 ment Assistance Compact consented to by the Joint 

13 Resolution entitled ‘‘Joint Resolution granting the 

14 consent of Congress to the Emergency Management 

15 Assistance Compact’’ (Public Law 104–321; 110 

16 Stat. 3877) to conduct emergency repairs necessary 

17 to restore critical services in an area affected by a 

18 major disaster. 

19 SEC. 220. REVIEW OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND AUTHORI20 TIES. 

21 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

24 (1) identifies overlapping programs or authori25 ties among Federal agencies with responsibilities 


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1 under the National Disaster Recovery Framework 

2 developed under section 655 of the Post-Katrina 

3 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, as 

4 added by section 108 of this Act, which have created 

5 or which may create uncertainty or disagreements 

6 about which agency, program, or funding source 

7 may be used by the President to provide assistance 

8 after a major disaster, including the interpretation 

9 and use of authorities under sections 312 and 402 

10 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer11 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155 and 5170a) 

12 and other relevant provisions of law; and 

13 (2) provides recommendations to reduce the po14 tential for uncertainty or disagreements that may re15 sult from the existence of overlapping programs, au16 thorities, or funding sources among Federal agencies 

17 with responsibilities under the National Disaster Re18 covery Framework. 

19 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

20 SEC. 301. CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PERSONNEL AND ADMINIS21 TRATIVE EXPENSES. 

22 Section 613 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

23 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196b) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (h), relating to 

2 annual reports, as so redesignated by section 631(2) 

3 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform 

4 Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–295; 120 Stat. 1420), 

5 as subsection (i); and 

6 (2) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘children, in7 dividuals with disabilities or other special needs, 

8 and’’ after ‘‘take into account the needs of’’. 

9 SEC. 302. EVACUATION PLANS AND EXERCISES. 

10 Section 512(b)(4) of the Homeland Security Act of 

11 2002 (6 U.S.C. 321a(b)(4)) is amended by inserting 

12 ‘‘schools, child care centers,’’ before ‘‘hospitals,’’. 

13 SEC. 303. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security 

15 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 526. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT. 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘annuitant’ means an annuitant 

20 under a Government retirement system; 

21 ‘‘(2) the terms ‘deployed’ and ‘deployment’ 

22 mean the performance of services under the response 

23 and recovery operations and programs of the Agen24 cy, including exercises and training for such oper25 ations and programs; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Disaster Reserve Workforce’ 

2 means the Disaster Reserve Workforce established 

3 under subsection (b); 

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘employee’ has the meaning given 

5 under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code; 

6 ‘‘(5) the term ‘employee designated for short 

7 term deployments’ means an employee hired under 

8 section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

9 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 5149(b)(1)) designated only for short-term deploy11 ments; 

12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Government retirement system’ 

13 means a retirement system established by law for 

14 employees of the Government of the United States; 

15 ‘‘(7) the term ‘major project’ means any project 

16 for which the total costs are greater than $400,000; 

17 ‘‘(8) the term ‘permanent seasonal employee’ 

18 means an employee, including an employee hired 

19 under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford 

20 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)), working under seasonal employ22 ment as defined under section 340.401 of title 5 of 

23 the Code of Federal Regulations or any successor 

24 regulation; 


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1 ‘‘(9) the term ‘reservist’ means an employee 

2 who is a member of the Disaster Reserve Workforce; 

3 ‘‘(10) the term ‘response and recovery oper4 ations and programs’ means response operations and 

5 programs and recovery operations and programs; 

6 ‘‘(11) the term ‘response operations and pro7 grams’ means operations and programs that involve 

8 taking immediate actions to save lives, protect prop9 erty or the environment, or meet basic human needs; 

10 ‘‘(12) the term ‘recovery operations and pro11 grams’ means operations and programs to support 

12 and enable recovery, as defined in section 501 of the 

13 Homeland Security Act of 2002; and 

14 ‘‘(13) the term ‘term employee’ means an em15 ployee, including an employee hired under section 

16 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

17 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 5149(b)(1)), who is appointed to a term of 1 or 

19 more years. 

20 ‘‘(b) DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.—In order to 

21 provide efficiency, continuity, quality, and accuracy in 

22 services performed under response and recovery operations 

23 and programs, there is within the Agency a Disaster Re24 serve Workforce, which shall be used to supplement the 

25 work of permanent full-time employees of the Agency on 


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1 response and recovery operations and programs with suffi2 cient numbers of qualified, skilled, and trained permanent 

3 full-time employees of the agency to adequately manage 

4 and implement response and recovery operations and pro5 grams, including to lead individual major projects under 

6 sections 404, 406, and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis7 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5170c, 5172, and 5173). 

9 ‘‘(c) PROVISION OF SERVICES PERFORMED UNDER

10 RESPONSE AND RECOVERY OPERATIONS AND PRO11 GRAMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

13 ensure that the Disaster Reserve Workforce can rap14 idly and efficiently deploy qualified, skilled, and 

15 trained reservists for a sufficiently long period to 

16 provide continuity in response and recovery oper17 ations and programs. 

18 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A sufficient number 

20 of qualified permanent full-time employees of 

21 the Agency shall lead and manage the Disaster 

22 Reserve Workforce and implement response and 

23 recovery operations and programs, including 

24 leading individual major projects under sections 

25 404, 406, and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 


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1 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 5170c, 5172, and 5173). 

3 ‘‘(B) RESERVISTS.—Reservists shall in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(i) term employees; 

6 ‘‘(ii) permanent seasonal employees; 

7 ‘‘(iii) employees designated for short8 term deployments; 

9 ‘‘(iv) employees of the Department 

10 who are not employees of the Agency; and 

11 ‘‘(v) employees of other Federal agen12 cies. 

13 ‘‘(C) SHORT-TERM DEPLOYMENTS.—Em14 ployees designated for short-term deployments 

15 shall generally be deployed— 

16 ‘‘(i) when necessary to temporarily re17 spond to— 

18 ‘‘(I) imminent natural disasters, 

19 acts of terrorism, and other man20 made disasters; or 

21 ‘‘(II) the immediate aftermath of 

22 those disasters or acts; 

23 ‘‘(ii) only for uncertain or temporary 

24 durations; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) absent extraordinary cir2 cumstances, for less than 180 days each 

3 calendar year. 

4 ‘‘(D) REGIONAL STRUCTURE.—Reservists 

5 described under subparagraph (B)(i), (ii), and 

6 (iii) shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) assigned to regional cadres based 

8 on residency of the reservists; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) to the greatest extent possible, 

10 deployed to the geographic area in which 

11 the reservists reside, unless deployment to 

12 other regions is determined necessary by 

13 the Administrator. 

14 ‘‘(E) RELIANCE ON CERTAIN RESERV15 ISTS.—In supporting the work of permanent 

16 full-time employees, the Administrator— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall rely to the greatest extent 

18 possible on term employees and permanent 

19 seasonal employees, in order to help ensure 

20 greater efficiency, continuity, quality, and 

21 accuracy in services performed under re22 covery operations and programs; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) may use discretion to deploy the 

24 reservists most able to ensure the greatest 

25 efficiency, continuity, quality, and accuracy 


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1 in services performed under response and 

2 recovery operations and programs. 

3 ‘‘(F) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENTS.—In the 

4 recovery from a catastrophic incident, the Ad5 ministrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) recognize the extensiveness and 

7 extended duration of the recovery from the 

8 catastrophic incident; 

9 ‘‘(ii) deploy employees in such a man10 ner to ensure efficiency, continuity, quality, 

11 and accuracy in services performed under 

12 the recovery operations and programs; 

13 ‘‘(iii) provide leadership of the recov14 ery through permanent full-time employ15 ees; 

16 ‘‘(iv) rely predominately on term em17 ployees and permanent seasonal employees 

18 and employees hired under section 307 of 

19 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

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

21 5150) to support the employees described 

22 under clause (iii) in recovery operations 

23 and programs; 

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1 mit a report to Congress that includes a 

2 plan to comply with clause (i) through (iv) 

3 with respect to that catastrophic incident; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(vi) at the end of each 1-year period 

6 following the occurrence of the cata7 strophic incident, until the Administrator 

8 determines that recovery from the cata9 strophic incident is substantially complete, 

10 submit a report to Congress that in11 cludes— 

12 ‘‘(I) an update of the plan; and 

13 ‘‘(II) a description of any staff14 ing challenges faced in the recovery. 

15 ‘‘(G) REPORTING.—Not later than 60 days 

16 after the end of each calendar year, the Admin17 istrator shall submit a report detailing the 

18 number of days of deployment for individuals 

19 described under subparagraph (B)(iii) to Con20 gress. 

21 ‘‘(3) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—In order to 

22 ensure that efficient, continuous, and accurate serv23 ices are provided under response and recovery oper24 ations and programs, not later than 1 year after the 


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1 date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

2 shall develop— 

3 ‘‘(A) staffing policies and procedures for 

4 the proper implementation and management of 

5 response and recovery operations and programs 

6 by a sufficient numbers of permanent full-time 

7 senior-level officials; 

8 ‘‘(B) deployment of full-time employees for 

9 a reasonably long period of time to ensure con10 tinuity of operations; 

11 ‘‘(C) plans to recruit individuals who reside 

12 in the area affected by a major disaster when 

13 long-term recovery efforts are needed; 

14 ‘‘(D) policies and procedures relating to 

15 sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of the 

16 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer17 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5170c, 

18 5172, 5173, and 5192); 

19 ‘‘(E) consolidated guidance for assistance 

20 provided under sections 406 and 407 of the 

21 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer22 gency Assistance Act to facilitate comprehen23 sion and administration of those sections by 

24 personnel administering the program; 


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1 ‘‘(F) policies and procedures relating to 

2 documentation requirements and control of 

3 records relating to projects under sections 406 

4 and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re5 lief and Emergency Assistance Act and per6 sonnel rotation policies to ensure the efficient 

7 and comprehensive transfer of work performed 

8 under those sections by employees; 

9 ‘‘(G) policies and procedures that require 

10 the Agency to expeditiously identify eligible haz11 ard mitigation measures under section 406 of 

12 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

13 Emergency Assistance Act. 

14 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES

15 FOR THE DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—Not 

17 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

18 this section, the Administrator shall develop 

19 standards and guidelines for the Disaster Re20 serve Workforce, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) setting appropriate mandatory 

22 disaster training requirements, in advance 

23 of deployment and on a continuing basis 

24 thereafter, to ensure satisfactory knowl25 edge by employees; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) establishing the minimum num2 ber of days an individual is required to de3 ploy in a year during which there is suffi4 cient work for members of the Disaster 

5 Reserve Workforce; 

6 ‘‘(iii) providing for a reasonably long 

7 time period for deployment to ensure con8 tinuity in operations; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) establishing performance re10 quirements, including for the timely and 

11 accurate resolution of issues and projects. 

12 ‘‘(B) READINESS OF THE DISASTER RE13 SERVE WORKFORCE.—In order to maintain the 

14 readiness of the Disaster Reserve Workforce, 

15 before being appointed to another term in the 

16 Disaster Reserve Workforce, a reservist de17 scribed under paragraph (2)(b) (i), (ii), and 

18 (iii), shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) be credentialed in accordance 

20 with section 510; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) meet all minimum standards and 

22 guidelines established under subparagraph 

23 (A)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for term employees, before 

2 being appointed to a term in the Dis3 aster Reserve Workforce; and 

4 ‘‘(II) annually for all other re5 servists. 

6 ‘‘(C) EVALUATION SYSTEM.—In consulta7 tion with the Director of the Office of Per8 sonnel Management, the Administrator shall de9 velop and implement a system to continuously 

10 evaluate reservists to ensure that all minimum 

11 standards and guidelines under this paragraph 

12 are satisfied annually by all reservists. Chapter 

13 43 of title 5, United States Code, shall not 

14 apply to reservists covered under the system de15 veloped and implemented under this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTORS.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad18 ministrator, in conjunction with the Chief Human 

19 Capital Officer of the Agency, shall establish policies 

20 and procedures relating to— 

21 ‘‘(A) oversight of contractor performance; 

22 ‘‘(B) ensuring that the number of contrac23 tors is appropriate; 

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1 ence for assigned tasks, including by ensuring 

2 that the contractors meet training, 

3 credentialing, and performance requirements 

4 similar to the requirements for reservists. 

5 ‘‘(6) REEMPLOYED ANNUITANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In appointing reserv7 ists to the Disaster Reserve Workforce, the ap8 plication of sections 8344 and 8468 of title 5, 

9 United States Code (relating to annuities and 

10 pay on reemployment) or any other similar pro11 vision of law under a Government retirement 

12 system may be waived by the Administrator for 

13 annuitants reemployed on deployments involv14 ing a direct threat to life or property or other 

15 unusual circumstances for the entirety of the 

16 deployment. 

17 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—The authority under 

18 subparagraph (A)— 

19 ‘‘(i) is granted to assist the Adminis20 trator in establishing and effectively oper21 ating the Disaster Reserve Workforce if no 

22 other qualified applicant is available for a 

23 reservist position; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) may be exercised only— 


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1 ‘‘(I) with respect to natural dis2 asters, acts of terrorism, or other 

3 man-made disasters, including cata4 strophic incidents; and 

5 ‘‘(II) if the applicant will not ac6 cept the position without a waiver. 

7 ‘‘(C) NOT EMPLOYEE FOR RETIREMENT

8 PURPOSES.—An annuitant to whom a waiver 

9 under subparagraph (A) is in effect shall not be 

10 considered an employee for purposes of any 

11 Government retirement system. 

12 ‘‘(7) PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A reservist hired 

14 under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Staf15 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)) may compete for 

17 permanent positions in the Agency under merit 

18 promotion procedures. The actual time deployed 

19 as a reservist shall be considered creditable 

20 service for purposes of such competition and 

21 shall be calculated, for purposes of section 8411 

22 of title 5, United States Code, by dividing the 

23 total number of days of service as a reservist by 

24 365 to obtain the number of years of service 

25 and dividing any remainder by 30 to obtain the 


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1 number of additional months of service and ex2 cluding from the aggregate the fractional part 

3 of a month, if any. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—In evaluating a 

5 reservist hired under section 306(b)(1) of the 

6 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer7 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)) 

8 for a potential permanent employment position, 

9 the Administrator shall consider the qualifica10 tions and performance of a reservist, including 

11 the ability of the reservist to timely, accurately, 

12 and creatively resolve issues and projects when 

13 deployed. 

14 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICA15 TION.—This paragraph shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) take effect on the date on which 

17 the Administrator implements the evalua18 tion system under paragraph (4)(C); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) apply to periods of service per20 formed after that date. 

21 ‘‘(8) NO IMPACT ON AGENCY PERSONNEL CEIL22 ING.—Reservists shall not be counted against any 

23 personnel ceiling limitation applicable to the Agen24 cy.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Se3 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by 

4 inserting after the item relating to section 525 the fol5 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 526. Personnel management.’’. 

6 (c) PERMANENT SEASONAL EMPLOYEES.—Section 

7 306(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

8 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or perma11 nent seasonal employees (as that term is defined 

12 under section 526 of the Homeland Security Act of 

13 2002)’’ after ‘‘temporary personnel’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or the em15 ployment of permanent seasonal employees (as that 

16 term is defined under section 526 of the Homeland 

17 Security Act of 2002)’’ after ‘‘additional personnel’’. 

18 SEC. 304. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

20 as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the amend21 ments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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