IB 

Union Calendar No. 870 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4557 

[Report No. 115–1107, Part I] 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide 

disaster assistance to States and units of general government under 

a community development block grant disaster recovery program, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2017 

Mrs. WAGNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

DECEMBER 22, 2018 

Reported with an amendment and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for a period ending not later than December 

28, 2018, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment 

as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(r) 

of rule X 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 28, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ROSS, Ms. TENNEY, and Mr. AL GREEN of Texas 

DECEMBER 28, 2018 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 5, 2017] 


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A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide disaster assistance to States and units 

of general government under a community development 

block grant disaster recovery program, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Reforming Disaster Re5 covery Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS7 ASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Housing and Commu9 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 123. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE. 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY; USE.—The Secretary may provide 

13 assistance under this section to States, units of general local 

14 government, and Indian tribes for necessary expenses for 

15 activities authorized under this title related to disaster re16 lief, resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastruc17 ture and housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization 

18 in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from 

19 a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Staf20 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(b) TIMING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DEADLINES FOR ALLOCATION OF

24 AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

25 after the enactment of an Act making funds available 


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1 for assistance under this section, the Secretary shall 

2 allocate for grantees, based on the best available 

3 data— 

4 ‘‘(A) not less than one-third of funds pro5 vided for assistance under this section, within 60 

6 days of the date of the enactment of such Act; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) all remaining unallocated funds to be 

9 provided to grantees, within 180 days of such 

10 date of enactment. 

11 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF DEADLINES BASED ON

12 INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION.—The deadlines under 

13 paragraph (1) for allocation of funds shall not apply 

14 in the case of funds made available for assistance 

15 under this section if Federal Emergency Management 

16 Agency has not made sufficient information available 

17 to the Secretary regarding relevant unmet recovery to 

18 make allocations in accordance with such deadlines. 

19 ‘‘(3) DISBURSEMENT OF AMOUNTS.—Subject to 

20 subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall provide for the 

21 disbursement of the amounts allocated for a grantee 

22 over time in accordance with obligations of the grant23 ee, but shall require the grantee to be in substantial 

24 compliance with the requirements of this section be25 fore each such disbursement. 


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1 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION OF DISASTER BENEFITS AND

2 DATA WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION OF DATA.—The Sec4 retary shall coordinate with other agencies to ob5 tain data on recovery needs. The Administrator 

6 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

7 and the Administrator of the Small Business Ad8 ministration shall share data with the Secretary 

9 to coordinate disaster benefits. 

10 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH FEMA.—The Sec11 retary and the Administrator of the Federal 

12 Emergency Management Agency shall share with 

13 each other, and make publicly available, all data 

14 collected or analyzed during the course of a dis15 aster recovery for which assistance is provided 

16 under this section, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) all data on damage caused by the 

18 disaster; 

19 ‘‘(ii) information on how any Federal 

20 assistance provided in connection with the 

21 disaster is expended; 

22 ‘‘(iii) information regarding the effect 

23 of the disaster on education, transportation 

24 capabilities and dependence, housing needs 

25 and displacement. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION AND REQUIREMENTS RE2 GARDING SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

3 LOANS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION.—Funds made 

5 available for use under this section may not 

6 be used to repay Small Business Adminis7 tration loans. 

8 ‘‘(ii) FAMILY ELIGIBILITY.—Any fam9 ily having an income exceeding 120 percent 

10 of the area median income shall not be eli11 gible for assistance provided from funds 

12 made available for use under this section 

13 unless (i) the family has applied for a 

14 Small Business Administration loan for 

15 such purpose and has agreed that if such a 

16 loan is made that it will use the proceeds of 

17 such loan in lieu of assistance from funds 

18 made available for use under this section, or 

19 (ii) such loans are not available at the time 

20 of application for assistance from funds 

21 made available for use under this section; 

22 except that the Secretary may establish in23 come ceilings higher or lower than 120 per24 cent of the median for the area on the basis 

25 of the Secretary’s findings that such variVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:34 Dec 28, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4557.RH H4557

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1 ations are necessary because of unusually 

2 high or low family incomes. 

3 ‘‘(D) NOTICE TO SBA APPLICANTS.—The 

4 Secretary shall consult and coordinate with the 

5 Administrator of the Small Business Adminis6 tration as necessary to ensure that applicants for 

7 Small Business Administration disaster loans 

8 are provided clear written notice regarding their 

9 potential eligibility for assistance with funds 

10 made available under this section and the affect 

11 of such Small Business Administration loans on 

12 such eligibility. 

13 ‘‘(E) TREATMENT OF DUPLICATIVE BENE14 FITS.—In any case in which a grantee provides 

15 assistance that duplicates benefits available to a 

16 person for the same purpose from another source, 

17 the grantee shall collect any duplicative assist18 ance that it provides and return the amount of 

19 duplicative assistance to the grantees funds 

20 available for use under this section, or to the 

21 Secretary, or be subject to remedies for non22 compliance under section 111, unless the Sec23 retary issues a public determination that it is 

24 not in the best interest of the Federal Govern25 ment to pursue such remedies. 


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1 ‘‘(F) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTI2 FIABLE INFORMATION.—In carrying out this 

3 paragraph, the Secretary shall take such actions 

4 as may be necessary to ensure that personally 

5 identifiable information regarding recipients of 

6 assistance provided from funds made available 

7 under this section is not made publicly available 

8 by the Department of Housing and Urban Devel9 opment or any agency with which information is 

10 shared pursuant to this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(c) PLAN FOR USE OF ASSISTANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 days 

13 after the allocation pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) 

14 of the funds made available by an appropriations Act 

15 for assistance under this section and before the Sec16 retary obligates any of such funds for a grantee, the 

17 grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary for ap18 proval detailing the proposed use of all funds, which 

19 shall include, at a minimum— 

20 ‘‘(A) criteria for eligibility and a descrip21 tion of how the use of such funds will address 

22 disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery and 

23 restoration of infrastructure and housing, and 

24 mitigation and economic revitalization in the 

25 most impacted and distressed areas; 


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1 ‘‘(B) identification of officials and offices 

2 responsible for administering such funds and 

3 identifying and recovering duplicate benefits; 

4 ‘‘(C) an agreement to share data with Fed5 eral agencies and other providers of disaster re6 lief, which shall include information the grantee 

7 has regarding the matters described in subpara8 graph (B); and 

9 ‘‘(D) a plan for ensuring compliance with 

10 the Fair Housing Act, which may include pro11 viding for partnerships with local fair housing 

12 organizations and funding set-aside for local fair 

13 housing organizations to handle complaints re14 lating to assistance with amounts made avail15 able for use under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall, by regula17 tion, specify criteria for approval of plans under 

18 paragraph (1), including approval of substantial 

19 amendments to such plans. 

20 ‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary shall dis21 approve a plan or substantial amendment to a plan 

22 if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that a plan 

24 or substantial amendment does not meet the ap25 proval criteria; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines, based on 

2 damage and unmet needs assessments of the Sec3 retary and the Federal Emergency Management 

4 Administration or such other information as 

5 may be available, that the plan or amendment 

6 does not provide for equitable allocation of re7 sources— 

8 ‘‘(i) between infrastructure and hous9 ing projects; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) between homeowners, renters, and 

11 persons experiencing homelessness; 

12 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines that the plan 

13 does not provide a credible plan for ensuring 

14 compliance with the Fair Housing Act; or 

15 ‘‘(D) the Secretary determines that the plan 

16 does not prioritize the one-for-one replacement of 

17 public housing and other federally subsidized 

18 housing that provides affordable housing for the 

19 lowest income households. 

20 ‘‘(4) RESUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall per21 mit a grantee to revise and resubmit disapproved 

22 plans. 

23 ‘‘(5) TIMING.—The Secretary shall approve or 

24 disapprove a plan not later than 120 days after sub25 mission of the plan to the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL CONTROLS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall 

3 develop and maintain a system to ensure that each 

4 grantee has in place— 

5 ‘‘(A) proficient financial controls and pro6 curement processes; 

7 ‘‘(B) adequate procedures to ensure that all 

8 eligible families and individuals are approved 

9 for assistance with amounts made available 

10 under this section and that recipients are pro11 vided the full amount of assistance for which 

12 they are eligible; 

13 ‘‘(C) adequate procedures to prevent any 

14 duplication of benefits, as defined by section 312 

15 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

16 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), to 

17 ensure timely expenditure of funds, and to detect 

18 and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) adequate procedure to ensure the 

21 grantee will maintain comprehensive and pub22 licly accessible websites that make available in23 formation regarding all disaster recovery activi24 ties assisted with such funds, which information 

25 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) full and unredacted copies of all 

2 requests for qualification for assistance or 

3 for procurement with such funds, however 

4 styled; 

5 ‘‘(ii) all responses to such requests; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the identity of any individual or 

7 entity that reviews, evaluates, scores, or oth8 erwise influences or determines the disposi9 tion of such requests; 

10 ‘‘(iv) all reports, however styled, con11 taining the reviewing individual or entity’s 

12 scores, findings; and conclusions regarding 

13 such requests; and 

14 ‘‘(v) any resulting contract, agreement, 

15 or other disposition of such requests; 

16 except that such procedures shall ensure that per17 sonally identifiable information regarding re18 cipients of assistance provided from funds made 

19 available under this section shall not be made 

20 publically available. 

21 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of making 

22 any grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance that 

23 the grantee has in place the processes and procedures 

24 required under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para25 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State, unit of general 

4 local government, or Indian tribe receiving a 

5 grant under this section may use not more than 

6 10 percent of the amount of grant funds received, 

7 or not more than such other percentage as may 

8 be established pursuant to subparagraph (B), for 

9 administrative costs and shall document the use 

10 of funds for such purpose in accordance with 

11 such requirements as the Secretary shall estab12 lish. 

13 ‘‘(B) DISCRETION TO ESTABLISH SLIDING

14 SCALE.—The Secretary may establish a series of 

15 percentage limitations on the amount of grant 

16 funds received that may be used by a grantee for 

17 administrative costs, but only if— 

18 ‘‘(i) such percentage limitations are 

19 based on the amount of grant funds received 

20 by a grantee; 

21 ‘‘(ii) such series provides that the per22 centage that may be so used is lower for 

23 grantees receiving a greater amount of 

24 grant funds and such percentage that may 


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1 be so used is higher for grantees receiving a 

2 lesser amount of grant funds; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) in no case may a grantee so use 

4 more than 10 percent of grant funds re5 ceived. 

6 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE.—Amounts from a 

7 grant under this section may not be used for activities 

8 reimbursable by, or for which funds are made avail9 able by— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Federal Emergency Management 

11 Agency, including under the Robert T. Stafford 

12 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or 

13 the National Flood Insurance Program; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the Army Corps of Engineers. 

15 ‘‘(3) HUD ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Of any funds made 

17 available for use under this section by any single 

18 appropriations Act, the Secretary may use 0.5 

19 percent of any such amount exceeding 

20 $1,000,000,000 for necessary costs, including in21 formation technology costs, of administering and 

22 overseeing the obligation and expenditure of 

23 amounts made available for use under this sec24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Any amounts 

2 made available for use in accordance with sub3 paragraph (A) shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be transferred to the account for 

5 ‘Program Office Salaries and Expenses— 

6 Community Planning and Development’ for 

7 the Department; 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall remain available until ex9 pended; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) may be used for such adminis11 trative costs for administering any funds 

12 appropriated to the Department for any 

13 disaster and related purposes in any prior 

14 or future Act making funds available for use 

15 under this section, notwithstanding the dis16 aster for which such funds were appro17 priated. 

18 ‘‘(4) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Of any funds made 

19 available for use in accordance with paragraph 

20 (3)(A), 10 percent shall be transferred to the Office of 

21 the Inspector General for necessary costs of audits, re22 views, oversight, evaluation, and investigations relat23 ing to amounts made available for use under this sec24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(5) CAPACITY BUILDING.—Of any funds made 

2 available for use under this section, not more than 0.1 

3 percent or $15,000,000, whichever is less, shall be 

4 made available for capacity building and technical 

5 assistance, including assistance regarding contracting 

6 and procurement processes, to support grantees and 

7 subgrantees receiving funds under this section. 

8 ‘‘(6) COMPLIANCE WITH STORM WATER PROTEC9 TIONS.—The Secretary shall provide that no funds 

10 made available under this section may be used for 

11 construction, repair, or rehabilitation of any infra12 structure unless the infrastructure assisted complies 

13 with any minimum standards for protection from 

14 floods and stormwaters, including the Federal Flood 

15 Risk Management Standards of the Federal Emer16 gency Management Agency. 

17 ‘‘(7) FLOOD RISK MITIGATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to subpara19 graph (B), the Secretary shall require that any 

20 structure that is located in an area having spe21 cial flood hazards and that is newly constructed, 

22 for which substantial damage is repaired, or that 

23 is substantially improved, using amounts made 

24 available under this section, shall be elevated 


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1 with the lowest floor, including the basement, at 

2 least two feet above the base flood level. 

3 ‘‘(B) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.—In the case 

4 of structures consisting of multifamily housing, 

5 the Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis6 trator of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency, shall provide for alternative forms of 

8 mitigation (in addition to elevation) and shall 

9 exempt from the requirement under subpara10 graph (A) any such structure that meets the 

11 standards for such an alternative form of mitiga12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sub14 paragraph (A), the terms ‘area having special 

15 flood hazards’, ‘newly constructed’, ‘substantial 

16 damage’, ‘substantial improvement’, and ‘base 

17 flood level’ have the same meanings as under the 

18 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the 

19 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4001 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering any 

22 amounts made available for assistance under this section, 

23 the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(1) may not allow a grantee to use any such 

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1 proved by the Secretary in the plan submitted under 

2 subsection (c)(1) to the Secretary for use of such 

3 amounts; 

4 ‘‘(2) may not permit a grantee to amend a plan 

5 to retroactively approve a beneficiary’s use of funds 

6 for an eligible activity other than an activity for 

7 which the funds were originally approved in the plan; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) shall prohibit a grantee from delegating, by 

10 contract or otherwise, the responsibility for inherent 

11 government functions. 

12 ‘‘(g) TRAINING FOR GRANT MANAGEMENT FOR SUB13 GRANTEES.—The Secretary shall require each grantee to 

14 provide ongoing training to all staff and subgrantees. 

15 ‘‘(h) PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES

16 FOR STATES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) STATE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.—In 

18 procuring property or services to be paid for in whole 

19 or in part with amounts from a grant under this sec20 tion, a State shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) follow its own procurement processes 

22 and procedures, but only if the Secretary makes 

23 a determination that such processes and proce24 dures comply with the requirements under para25 graph (2); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) comply with such processes and proce2 dures as the Secretary shall, by regulation, estab3 lish for purposes of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements under 

5 this paragraph with respect to the procurement proc6 esses and procedures of a State are that such processes 

7 and procedures shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) provide for full and open competition 

9 and require cost or price analysis; 

10 ‘‘(B) include requirements for procurement 

11 policies and procedures for subgrantees, based on 

12 full and open competition; 

13 ‘‘(C) specify methods of procurement and 

14 their applicability, but not allow for cost-plus-a15 percentage-of cost or percentage-of-construction16 cost methods of procurement; 

17 ‘‘(D) include standards of conduct gov18 erning employees engaged in the award or ad19 ministration of contracts; 

20 ‘‘(E) ensure that all purchase orders and 

21 contracts include any clauses required by Fed22 eral Statute, Executive Order, or implementing 

23 regulation. 

24 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—In the case of a State 

25 for which the Secretary finds pursuant to paragraph 


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1 (1)(A) that its procurement processes and procedures 

2 do not comply with paragraph (2), the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide the State with specific written 

5 notice of the elements of noncompliance and the 

6 changes necessary to such processes and proce7 dures to provide for compliance; 

8 ‘‘(B) provide the State a reasonable period 

9 of time to come into compliance; and 

10 ‘‘(C) during such period allow the State to 

11 proceed with procuring property and services 

12 paid for in whole or in part with amounts from 

13 a grant under this section in compliance with 

14 the procurement processes and procedures of the 

15 State, but only if the Secretary determines the 

16 State is making a good faith effort to effectuate 

17 compliance with the requirements of paragraph 

18 (2). 

19 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF CDBG ALLOCATIONS.—Amounts 

20 made available for use under this section shall not be con21 sidered relevant to the non-disaster formula allocations 

22 made pursuant to section 106 of this title (42 U.S.C. 5306). 

23 ‘‘(j) WAIVERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the other provi25 sions of this section, in administering amounts made 


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1 available for use under this section, the Secretary 

2 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, 

3 any provision of any statute or regulation that the 

4 Secretary administers in connection with the obliga5 tion by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of 

6 such funds (except for requirements related to fair 

7 housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the 

8 environment and except for the requirements of this 

9 section), if the Secretary makes a public finding that 

10 good cause exists for the waiver or alternative require11 ment and such waiver or alternative requirement 

12 would not be inconsistent with the overall purpose of 

13 this title. 

14 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND PUBLICATION.—Any waiver of 

15 or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph (1) 

16 shall not take effect before the expiration of the 5-day 

17 period beginning upon the publication of notice in the 

18 Federal Register of such waiver or alternative require19 ment. 

20 ‘‘(3) LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME USE.—A 

21 waiver pursuant to paragraph (1) may not reduce the 

22 percentage of funds that must be used for activities 

23 that benefit persons of low and moderate income to 

24 less than 70 percent, unless the Secretary specifically 


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1 finds that there is compelling need to further reduce 

2 the percentage requirement. 

3 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not 

4 waive any provision of this section pursuant to the 

5 authority under paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(k) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection 

8 (j)(1), recipients of funds provided under this section 

9 that use such funds to supplement Federal assistance 

10 provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 

11 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis12 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 5121 et seq.) may adopt, without review or public 

14 comment, any environmental review, approval, or 

15 permit performed by a Federal agency, and such 

16 adoption shall satisfy the responsibilities of the recipi17 ent with respect to such environmental review, ap18 proval, or permit under section 104(g)(1) of this title 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)). 

20 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 104(g)(2) of this title (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2)), the 

22 Secretary may, upon receipt of a request for release 

23 of funds and certification, immediately approve the 

24 release of funds for an activity or project assisted 

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1 tion if the recipient has adopted an environmental re2 view, approval or permit under paragraph (1) or the 

3 activity or project is categorically excluded from re4 view under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(l) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION; AUDITS AND

7 OVERSIGHT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—For each 

9 major disaster for which assistance is made available 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall collect informa11 tion regarding all recovery efforts so assisted and 

12 shall make such information available to the public 

13 and to the Inspector General for the Department of 

14 Housing and Urban Development, and shall report to 

15 the Congress regarding such efforts. Information col16 lected and reported shall be disaggregated by race, ge17 ography, and all protected classes of individuals 

18 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

19 Emergency Assistance Act, the Americans with Dis20 abilities Act of 1990, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil 

21 Rights Act of 1964, and other civil rights and non22 discrimination protections. In carrying out this para23 graph, the Secretary shall take such actions as may 

24 be necessary to ensure that personally identifiable in25 formation regarding recipients of assistance provided 


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1 from funds made available under this section shall 

2 not made publicly available. 

3 ‘‘(2) AUDITS AND OVERSIGHT.—In conducting 

4 audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investiga5 tions, in addition to activities designed to prevent 

6 and detect waste, fraud, and abuse, the Inspector Gen7 eral shall review programs of grantees under this sec8 tion for providing disaster relief and recovery assist9 ance to ensure such programs fulfill their purposes 

10 and serve all eligible applicants for disaster relief or 

11 recovery assistance. 

12 ‘‘(m) PRE-CERTIFICATION FOR UNITS OF GENERAL

13 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

15 out a program under this subsection to provide for 

16 units of general local government to pre-certify as eli17 gible grantees for assistance under this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for pre-cer19 tification under the program under this subsection a 

20 unit of general local government shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

22 Secretary compliance with the requirements of 

23 this section; and 

24 ‘‘(B) have previously received assistance as 

25 a grantee or subgrantee under this section, or 


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1 with amounts made available for the Community 

2 Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery 

3 account, in connection with two or more major 

4 disasters declared pursuant to the Robert T. 

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist6 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—Pre-certification under the 

8 program under this subsection shall be effective for a 

9 term of 10 years. 

10 ‘‘(n) DEPOSIT OF UNUSED AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any amounts made avail12 able for assistance under this section to grantees re13 main unexpended upon the earlier of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the date that the grantee of such 

15 amounts notifies the Secretary that the grantee 

16 has completed all activities identified in the 

17 grantee’s plan for use of such amounts that was 

18 approved by the Secretary in connection with 

19 such grant; or 

20 ‘‘(B) the expiration of the 6-year period be21 ginning upon the Secretary obligating such 

22 amounts to the grantee, as such period may be 

23 extended pursuant to paragraph (2), 

24 the Secretary shall transfer such unexpended amounts 

25 to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the 


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1 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Re2 covery Reserve Fund established under section 124, 

3 except that the Secretary may, by regulation, permit 

4 the grantee to retain amounts needed to close out the 

5 grant. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR USE OF

7 FUNDS.—The period under paragraph (1)(B) shall be 

8 extended by not more than 3 years if, before the expi9 ration of such 6-year period, the Director of the Office 

10 of Management and Budget, upon a request by the 

11 Secretary, waives this requirement and submits a 

12 written justification for such waiver to the Commit13 tees on Appropriations of the House of Representa14 tives and the Senate that specifies the period of such 

15 extension. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS17 ASTER RECOVERY RESERVE FUND. 

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

19 Treasury of the United States an account to be known as 

20 the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recov21 ery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). 

22 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS.—The Fund shall consist of any 

23 amounts appropriated to or deposited into the Fund, in24 cluding amounts deposited into the Fund pursuant to sec25 tion 123(n). 


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27 

•HR 4557 RH

1 ‘‘(c) USE.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available 

2 only for providing assistance under section 123, but only 

3 to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts.’’. 

4 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of 

5 the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop7 ment shall issue regulations to carry out sections 123 and 

8 124 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 

9 1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) 

10 of this section. 


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Union Calendar No. 870 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4557 

[Report No. 115–1107, Part I] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

covery program, and for other purposes. community development block grant disaster reStates and units of general government under a Development to provide disaster assistance to 

DECEMBER 28, 2018 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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