II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2133 

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

Act to include foreseeable catastrophic events as major disasters, to 

permit States affected by an event occurring elsewhere to receive assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2005 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER 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 include foreseeable catastrophic 

events as major disasters, to permit States affected by 

an event occurring elsewhere to receive assistance, 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 Relief Act 

5 of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) the current definition of a major disaster in 

2 section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

4 insufficient to enable the President to respond quick5 ly and efficiently to foreseeable catastrophic events, 

6 including many types of potential terrorists attacks, 

7 accidents, and health emergencies; 

(2) more than 1 8 ⁄2 of the disaster planning sce9 narios used by the Department of Homeland Secu10 rity to evaluate preparedness would not be covered 

11 by that present definition; 

12 (3) States affected by a event occurring else13 where, such as through mass evacuations, the propa14 gation of radioactive or toxic substances, or the 

15 transmission of infectious agents, may not be eligible 

16 for the declaration of a major disaster or for certain 

17 types of assistance; 

18 (4) emergency declarations, widely used to pro19 vide assistance to evacuees following Hurricane 

20 Katrina, may not adequate; 

21 (5) some types of assistance found to be nec22 essary following the evacuations associated with 

23 Hurricane Katrina, notably assistance for providing 

24 public services such as education, healthcare, long25 term housing, and resettlement, are not authorized 
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1 to be provided under the Robert T. Stafford Dis2 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); 

4 (6) the process for appropriating funds for dis5 aster assistance is inefficient and often requires sup6 plemental appropriations and certain assistance pro7 grams have been delayed by insufficient funds; 

8 (7) authorization for the Predisaster Hazard 

9 Mitigation program, under title II of the Robert T. 

10 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) will expire on Decem12 ber 31, 2005; 

13 (8) while the Federal Government is authorized 

14 to recover the cost of providing assistance in the 

15 event of major disasters or emergencies caused by 

16 deliberate actions, costs resulting from negligent ac17 tions cannot be recovered; 

18 (9) limits on assistance provided to individuals 

19 for repair or replacement of housing and total assist20 ance, though indexed for inflation, do not adequately 

21 reflect increases in the costs of housing that have oc22 curred in recent years; and 

23 (10) the duration of assistance by the Depart24 ment of Defense authorized under section 403(c) of 

25 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
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1 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(c)) for ac2 tivities ‘‘essential for the preservation of life and 

3 property’’ may be insufficient to meet needs fol4 lowing major disasters that are particularly severe or 

5 for which the period of recovery is lengthy. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this Act is to 

8 expand and enhance the authority and capacity of 

9 the President of the United States to alleviate suf10 fering and loss resulting from large catastrophic 

11 events by appropriately amending the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

14 (2) MAJOR DISASTERS.—In amending the defi15 nition of the term major disaster in section 102(2) 

16 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer17 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)), Congress 

18 intends to expand the types of events that constitute 

19 a major disaster and does not intend to exclude any 

20 type of event that would have constituted a major 

21 disaster prior to the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 (a) MAJOR DISASTER.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

25 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
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1 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by striking paragraph (2) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘major dis4 aster’ means a catastrophic event that— 

5 ‘‘(A) involves or results in— 

6 ‘‘(i) a large number of human deaths, 

7 injuries, or illnesses; 

8 ‘‘(ii) substantial property damage or 

9 loss; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) extensive disruption of public 

11 services; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the determination of the President, 

13 is of such severity and magnitude that effective 

14 response is beyond the capabilities of the af15 fected State or local government.’’. 

16 (b) UNITED STATES.—Section 102(3) of the Robert 

17 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 5122(3)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘ ‘United States’ ’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United 

22 States’ ’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘Samoa,’’; and 

24 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert25 ing the following: ‘‘, and the exclusive economic zone 
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1 and continental shelf (as those terms are defined in 

2 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 

3 Sea, done at Montego Bay December 10, 1982) sur4 rounding those areas.’’. 

5 (c) AFFECTED STATE.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

6 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(10) AFFECTED STATE.—The term ‘affected 

10 State’ means any State— 

11 ‘‘(A) that suffers damage, loss, or hardship 

12 as a result of an occasion or instance satisfying 

13 the criteria of paragraph (1) or a catastrophic 

14 event satisfying the criteria of paragraph (2); 

15 ‘‘(B) regardless of location, that suffers in16 direct consequences due to an emergency or 

17 major disaster declared in another part of the 

18 United States, to the extent that, in the deter19 mination of the President, assistance provided 

20 for under this Act is required; or 

21 ‘‘(C) that is included in a Presidential dec22 laration of an Incident of National Significance 

23 under the National Response Plan (developed 

24 under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 

25 5).’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 203(m) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

5 5133(m)) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2005’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2010’’. 

7 SEC. 5. COORDINATING OFFICERS. 

8 Section 302(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re9 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5143(a)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Immediately’’; 

12 and 

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

14 ‘‘(2) In the event the President declares an emer15 gency or major disaster in more than 1 State as a result 

16 of an occasion, instance, or catastrophic event, the Presi17 dent may, as appropriate and efficient, appoint 1 or more 

18 regional coordinating officers, without regard to State bor19 ders. A regional coordinating officer shall report to the 

20 Federal coordinating officer appointed under paragraph 

21 (1) and the Principal Federal Official for the emergency 

22 or major disaster designated under the National Response 

23 Plan (developed under Homeland Security Presidential 

24 Directive 5).’’. 
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1 SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF ASSISTANCE. 

2 Section 317 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5160) is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘, or through gross negligence,’’ 

5 after ‘‘Any person who intentionally’’. 

6 SEC. 7. UTILIZATION OF DOD RESOURCES. 

7 Section 403(c)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

9 5170b(c)(1)) is amended— 

10 (1) in the first sentence— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘an incident which may ul12 timately qualify for assistance under this title 

13 or title V of this Act’’ and inserting the fol14 lowing: ‘‘a catastrophic event that the President 

15 has declared a major disaster’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘the State in which such 

17 incident occurred’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘any State in the area for which the President 

19 has declared a major disaster’’; and 

20 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘10 days’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’. 

22 SEC. 8. HAZARD MITIGATION. 

23 Section 404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re24 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) 

25 is amended in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘any area 
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1 affected by a major disaster’’ and inserting ‘‘any area in 

2 which the President has declared a major disaster’’. 

3 SEC. 9. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION. 

4 Section 406(a)(4) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

6 5172(a)(4) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Com8 mittee on Environment and Public Works’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Committee on Homeland Security and Gov10 ernmental Affairs’’; and 

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and the 

12 Committee on Homeland Security’’ after ‘‘Infra13 structure’’. 

14 SEC. 10. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 

15 HOUSEHOLDS. 

16 Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘in the 

20 State who, as a direct result of a major disaster,’’ 

21 and inserting the following: ‘‘in an area in which the 

22 President has declared a major disaster who’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking 

25 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 

2 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘$50,000’’. 

5 SEC. 11. EMERGENCY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. 

6 Section 419 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

8 amended by striking ‘‘an area affected by a major disaster 

9 to meet emergency needs’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘an 

10 area in which the President has declared a major disaster 

11 to meet emergency needs, including evacuation,’’. 

12 SEC. 12. EVACUEES. 

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

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

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 425. ASSISTANCE IN AREAS RECEIVING EVACUEES. 

17 ‘‘If the President determines that other statutory au18 thorities are insufficient, the President may award grants 

19 or other assistance to an affected State or local govern20 ment to be used to meet the temporary health, education, 

21 food, and housing needs of evacuees.’’. 

22 SEC. 13. DISASTER RELIEF FUND. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford 

24 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
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1 5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 326. DISASTER RELIEF FUND. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

5 Treasury of the United States, under the Office of the 

6 Secretary of the Treasury, a Disaster Relief Fund (re7 ferred to in this section as the ‘Fund’). The Fund shall 

8 be available to provide financial resources to respond to 

9 domestic disasters and emergencies described in sub10 section (c). 

11 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall consist of 

13 such sums as are appropriated in accordance with 

14 this subsection and such sums as are transferred 

15 from the Department of Homeland Security Disaster 

16 Relief Fund. 

17 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub18 section, the term ‘operating expenditures’ means an 

19 amount equal to the average amount expended from 

20 the Fund, or any predecessor of the Fund, for the 

21 preceding 5 years, excluding the years during that 5- 

22 year period in which the greatest amount and least 

23 amount were expended from the Fund. 

24 ‘‘(3) DEPOSITS INTO FUND.—On October 1 of 

25 each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
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1 make a cash deposit into the Fund of an amount 

2 sufficient to bring the Fund balance up the amount 

3 of operating expenditures as of that date. 

4 ‘‘(4) REPLENISHMENT.—There shall be appro5 priated, for each fiscal year, sufficient amounts to 

6 restore the Fund to balance required under para7 graph (3). 

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund shall 

9 only be available to meet the emergency funding require10 ments for— 

11 ‘‘(1) particular domestic disasters and security 

12 emergencies designated by a Joint Resolution of 

13 Congress; or 

14 ‘‘(2) an emergency or major disaster declared 

15 by the President under this Act. 

16 ‘‘(d) REPORTING.—Not later than November 30, 

17 2006, and annually thereafter, the Director of the Office 

18 of Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a 

19 report that lists the amounts expended from the Fund for 

20 the prior fiscal year for each disaster or emergency under 

21 subsection (c).’’. 

22 (b) ABOLITION OF EXISTING FUND.— 

23 (1) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security shall transfer any funds in De25 partment of Homeland Security Disaster Relief 
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1 Fund to the Disaster Relief Fund established in the 

2 Treasury of the United States by section 326 of the 

3 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

4 Assistance Act (as added by this Act). 

5 (2) ABOLITION.—After all funds are trans6 ferred to the Disaster Relief Fund in the Treasury 

7 of the United States under paragraph (1), the De8 partment of Homeland Security Disaster Relief 

9 Fund is abolished. 

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) PERMANENT APPROPRIATION.—Section 

12 1305 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(11) EMERGENCY RESERVE FUND.—To make 

15 payments into the Disaster Relief Fund established 

16 by section 326 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

17 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.’’. 

18 (d) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS.—Section 

19 301(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 

20 632(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

22 paragraphs (7) and (8) respectively; and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(6) total new budget authority and total budg2 et outlays for emergency funding requirements for 

3 domestic disasters and emergencies, which shall be 

4 transferred to the Disaster Relief Fund established 

5 by section 326 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

6 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.’’. 

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