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Union Calendar No. 108 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 

[Report No. 116–146] 

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

Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 19, 2019 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself and Ms. PLASKETT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

JULY 11, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MEADOWS, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, 

Mr. ROUZER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LAMALFA, and Mr. CRENSHAW

JULY 11, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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•HR 1311 RH

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after 

a major disaster are met. 


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•HR 1311 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. UNMET NEED ASSISTANCE. 

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

5 Emergency Assistance Act is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 431. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the declaration of a major 

9 disaster, the President may direct the Administrator of 

10 the Emergency Management Agency to provide, subject to 

11 amounts made available from appropriations, assistance 

12 necessary for meeting unmet needs as a result of such dis13 aster. 

14 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF FUNDING.—Subject to appro16 priations and not later than 30 days after a declara17 tion is made under section 401, the President acting 

18 through the Administrator may allocate an amount 

19 that equals up to 10 percent of the estimated aggre20 gate amount of the grants to be made pursuant to 

21 sections 406 and 408 for the major disaster in order 

22 to provide technical and financial assistance under 

23 this section and such set aside shall be deemed to 

24 be related to activities carried out pursuant to major 

25 disasters under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTIMATED AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—Not 

2 later than 180 days after each major disaster dec3 laration pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggre4 gate amount of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) 

5 shall be determined by the President and such esti6 mated amount need not be reduced, increased, or 

7 changed due to variations in estimates. 

8 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The 

9 amount set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

10 not reduce the amounts otherwise made available for 

11 sections 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 

12 under this Act. 

13 ‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—Financial assistance provided 

14 under this section may be used to provide assistance, in 

15 addition to other amounts made available under this Act, 

16 for the following unmet needs: 

17 ‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuild18 ing assistance to families for permanent housing 

19 purposes, including in conjunction with eligible ex20 penditures under section 408. 

21 ‘‘(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families 

22 who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 

23 other sources. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Other services that alleviate human suf2 fering and promote the well-being of disaster vic3 tims. 

4 ‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (includ5 ing food and agriculture) after a disaster to imple6 ment post-disaster economic recovery measures, in7 cluding planning and technical assistance for long8 term economic recovery plans, infrastructure im9 provements, business or infrastructure financing, 

10 market or industry research, and other activities au11 thorized under a comprehensive economic develop12 ment strategy. 

13 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING AND FISCAL CONTROLS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

15 after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 

16 until all such funds are expended, a State shall sub17 mit a report to the Administrator that includes— 

18 ‘‘(A) the criteria established for deter19 mining how the funds are spent; 

20 ‘‘(B) the allocation of those funds; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—Any individual who re24 ceives assistance pursuant to this section shall com25 ply with section 312(b). 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State that re2 ceives funds under this section may expend not more 

3 than 5 percent of the amount of such funds for the 

4 administrative costs of providing financial assistance 

5 to individuals and households in the State.’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 

7 Section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re8 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)(i) by striking ‘‘to a 

11 safe and sanitary living or functioning condition’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘to ensure that their home is habitable 

13 during longer term recovery. Assistance allowed 

14 under this section may be used in coordination with 

15 other sources for the repair and rebuilding of an 

16 owner-occupied residence.’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘in cases in 

18 which’’ and all that follows through the end of the 

19 paragraph and by inserting ‘‘if the President con20 siders it a cost effective alternative to other housing 

21 solutions, including the costs associated with tem22 porary housing provided under this section, and 

23 long-term rebuilding costs associated with section 

24 431’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

2 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

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

4 shall conduct a review on the fiscal controls by States that 

5 receive funds under section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford 

6 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and shall 

7 make recommendations to the Committee on Homeland 

8 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

10 House of Representatives. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 108 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 

[Report No. 116–146] 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

unmet needs after a major disaster are met. and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that 

JULY 11, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS