I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4557 

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 

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. 

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 

5 Recovery Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS2 ASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Housing and Com4 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

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

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

8 assistance under this section to States and units of general 

9 local government for necessary expenses for activities au10 thorized under this title related to disaster relief, long11 term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, 

12 and economic revitalization in the most impacted and dis13 tressed areas resulting from a major disaster declared pur14 suant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer15 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(b) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—Assistance shall be 

17 awarded directly to States and units of general local gov18 ernment at the discretion of the Secretary. 

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

20 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Before obligating any 

21 funds made available under this section, a grantee 

22 shall submit a plan to the Secretary for approval de23 tailing the proposed use of all funds, which shall in24 clude— 

25 ‘‘(A) criteria for eligibility and how the use 

26 of such funds will address long-term recovery 


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1 and restoration of infrastructure and housing 

2 and economic revitalization in the most im3 pacted and distressed areas; 

4 ‘‘(B) identification of officials and offices 

5 responsible for identifying and recovering dupli6 cate benefits; and 

7 ‘‘(C) an agreement to share data with Fed8 eral agencies and other providers of disaster re9 lief. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL; DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary 

11 shall, by regulations issued under section 2(b) of the 

12 Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2017, specify 

13 criteria for approval of plans under paragraph (1), 

14 and, if the Secretary determines that a plan does not 

15 meet such criteria, the Secretary shall disapprove 

16 the plan. 

17 ‘‘(d) TIMING.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR ALLOCATION OF

19 AMOUNTS.—Within 60 days after the enactment of 

20 an Act making funds available for assistance under 

21 this section, the Secretary shall allocate to grantees 

22 all funds provided for assistance under this section 

23 based on the best available data. 

24 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH SBA ASSISTANCE.— 

25 The Secretary may not allocate any amounts made 


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1 available for assistance under this section for, or 

2 provide any grant amounts to, any State or unit of 

3 general local government that does not provide such 

4 assurances as the Secretary may require that such 

5 State or unit of general local government has re6 quired its grantees of assistance received under this 

7 section to apply to the Small Business Administra8 tion for disaster loan programs administered by such 

9 Administration for which such grantee is eligible. 

10 The Secretary shall consult with the Administrator 

11 of the Small Business Administration in carrying 

12 out this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(e) FINANCIAL CONTROLS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of mak15 ing any grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance 

16 that the grantee has in place proficient financial 

17 controls and procurement processes and has estab18 lished adequate procedures to prevent any duplica19 tion of benefits as defined by section 312 of the 

20 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

21 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), to ensure timely 

22 expenditure of funds, to maintain comprehensive 

23 websites regarding all disaster recovery activities as24 sisted with such funds, and to detect and prevent 

25 waste, fraud, and abuse of funds. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—In exercising 

2 the Secretary’s obligation and responsibility to re3 view a grantees’s performance, the maximum fea4 sible deference standard under section 570.480(c) of 

5 the Secretary’s regulations (24 C.F.R. 570.480(c)) 

6 shall not apply to a grantee’s interpretation of the 

7 statutory and regulatory requirements. 

8 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) GRANTEE AND SUBGRANTEE ADMINISTRA10 TIVE COSTS.—A State or unit of general local gov11 ernment receiving a grant under this section, and a 

12 grantee or subgrantee of such a State or unit of 

13 general local government, may use not more than 5 

14 percent of the amount of grant funds received for 

15 administrative costs. 

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

17 grant under this section may not be used for activi18 ties reimbursable by, or for which funds are made 

19 available by, the Federal Emergency Management 

20 Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, or the Small 

21 Business Administration. 

22 ‘‘(3) HUD ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of any 

23 funds made available for use under this section, 5 

24 percent may be used, in aggregate, by the Secretary 

25 for necessary costs, including information technology 


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1 costs, of administering and overseeing the obligation 

2 and expenditure of amounts made available for use 

3 under this section. 

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

5 made available for use under this section, 0.5 per6 cent shall be transferred to the Office of the Inspec7 tor General for necessary costs of audits, reviews, 

8 oversight, evaluation, and investigations relating to 

9 amounts made available for use under this section. 

10 ‘‘(5) INDEPENDENT MONITORS.—The Secretary 

11 shall require each grantee and subgrantee that re12 ceives $10,000,000 or more, in the aggregate, of as13 sistance made available under this section to main14 tain an independent party to monitor compliance 

15 with this section and the regulations issued to carry 

16 out this section and any applicable State laws, regu17 lations, and requirements. The costs of providing 

18 such an independent monitor shall be considered ad19 ministrative costs for purposes of this section. 

20 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering any 

21 amounts made available for assistance under this section, 

22 the Secretary— 

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

24 amounts for any purpose other than the purpose 

25 originally approved by the Secretary in the plan subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Dec 13, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4557.IH H4557

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1 mitted under subsection (c)(1) to the Secretary for 

2 use of such amounts, including by any change to the 

3 grant agreement; 

4 ‘‘(2) shall require each grantee to notify the 

5 Secretary in writing, immediately upon completion of 

6 all activities identified in the grantee’s plan for use 

7 of such amounts that was approved by the Secretary 

8 in connection with such grant, that all such activities 

9 have been completed; 

10 ‘‘(3) shall not make the full amount allocated 

11 for a grantee available to such grantee in a single 

12 grant, but shall make such amount available through 

13 drawdowns from an account established on behalf of 

14 the grantee by the Secretary; 

15 ‘‘(4) shall require each grantee to administer 

16 grant funds in accordance with all applicable laws 

17 and regulations; and 

18 ‘‘(5) shall prohibit a grantee from delegating, 

19 by contract or otherwise, the responsibility for ad20 ministering grant funds. 

21 ‘‘(h) SUBGRANTEES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY OF GRANTEE STANDARDS

23 AND PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall apply to 

24 subgrantees of grantees of assistance under this sec25 tion the same standards and procedures for conVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Dec 12, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4557.IH H4557

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1 tracting, procurement, and oversight that apply to 

2 such grantees. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRAINING FOR GRANT MANAGEMENT.— 

4 The Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) require each grantee to provide train6 ing to all subgrantees regarding requirements 

7 for grant management, including eligibility 

8 standards, financial management, procurement 

9 and recordkeeping; and 

10 ‘‘(B) require each subgrantee to certify, 

11 upon execution of the subgrant agreement, that 

12 the subgrantee has received such training. 

13 ‘‘(i) PROCUREMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—Notwith15 standing section 200.317 of title 2, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations (2 C.F.R. 200.317), each State or unit 

17 of general government that receives a grant under 

18 this section shall adopt and comply with sections 

19 200.318 through 200.326 of title 2, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations (2 C.F.R. 200.318–200.326), and each 

21 such State or unit of general government shall re22 quire subgrantees to comply with such sections. 

23 ‘‘(2) COST/PRICE ANALYSIS.—In procurement 

24 of products and services using amounts from a grant 

25 under this section, including through modification of 


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1 a contract, the Secretary shall require each State 

2 and unit of general government receiving a grant 

3 under this section to perform a cost or price anal4 ysis, which shall involve conducting an independent 

5 cost estimate before any bids or proposals are re6 ceived. 

7 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

8 shall provide grantees with technical assistance on 

9 contracting and procurement processes and shall re10 quire grantees, in contracting or procuring these 

11 funds, to incorporate performance requirements and 

12 penalties into any such contracts or agreements. 

13 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF CDBG ALLOCATIONS.— 

14 Amounts made available for use under this section shall 

15 not be considered relevant to the non-disaster formula al16 locations made pursuant to section 106 (42 U.S.C. 5306). 

17 ‘‘(k) WAIVERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the other provi19 sions of this section, in administering amounts made 

20 available for use under this section, the Secretary 

21 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, 

22 any provision of any statute or regulation that the 

23 Secretary administers in connection with the obliga24 tion by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of 

25 such funds (except for requirements related to fair 


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1 housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the 

2 environment) if the Secretary finds that good cause 

3 exists for the waiver or alternative requirement and 

4 such waiver or alternative requirement would not be 

5 inconsistent with the overall purpose of this title. 

6 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND PUBLICATION.—Any waiver 

7 of or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph 

8 (1) shall not take effect before the expiration of the 

9 30-day period beginning upon the later of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the provision of written notification of 

11 such waiver or alternative requirement to the 

12 Congress; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the publication of notice in the Fed14 eral Register of such waiver or alternative re15 quirement. 

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

17 waiver pursuant to paragraph (1) may not reduce 

18 the percentage of funds that must be used for activi19 ties that benefit persons of low and moderate income 

20 to less than 50 percent, unless the Secretary specifi21 cally finds that there is compelling need to further 

22 reduce the percentage requirement. 

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

24 waive any provision of this section pursuant to the 

25 authority under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(l) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection 

3 (l)(1), recipients of funds provided under this head4 ing that use such funds to supplement Federal as5 sistance provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 

6 407, or 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re7 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

8 et seq.) may adopt, without review or public com9 ment, any environmental review, approval, or permit 

10 performed by a Federal agency, and such adoption 

11 shall satisfy the responsibilities of the recipient with 

12 respect to such environmental review, approval, or 

13 permit under section 104(g)(1) of this Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)). 

15 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

16 section 104(g)(2) of this Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 5304(g)(2)), the Secretary may, upon receipt of a 

18 request for release of funds and certification, imme19 diately approve the release of funds for an activity 

20 or project assisted with amounts made available for 

21 use under this section if the recipient has adopted 

22 an environmental review, approval or permit under 

23 paragraph (1) or the activity or project is categori24 cally excluded from review under the National EnviVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Dec 12, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4557.IH H4557

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1 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

2 seq.). 

3 ‘‘(m) DEPOSIT OF UNUSED AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (3), if any amounts made available for assist6 ance under this section remain unobligated upon the 

7 earlier of— 

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

9 amounts notifies the Secretary, pursuant to 

10 subsection (g)(2) of this section, that the grant11 ee has completed all activities identified in the 

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

13 approved by the Secretary in connection with 

14 such grant; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the expiration of the 5-year period 

16 beginning upon the enactment of the Act mak17 ing such amounts available, as such period may 

18 be extended pursuant to paragraph (2), 

19 upon such date or expiration, as applicable, the Sec20 retary shall transfer such unobligated amounts to 

21 the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 

22 the Treasury shall cover any such amounts into the 

23 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Re24 covery Reserve Fund established under section 124. 


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

2 FUNDS.—The period under paragraph (1)(B)— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall be extended by 2 years if, before 

4 the expiration of such 5-year period, the Sec5 retary causes to be published in the Federal 

6 Register notification that such 2-year extension 

7 is necessary to allow the grantee to complete all 

8 activities identified in the grantee’s plan for use 

9 of such amounts that was approved by the Sec10 retary in connection with such grant; and 

11 ‘‘(B) as extended pursuant to subpara12 graph (A), may be extended for an additional 

13 period not to exceed 3 years if, before the expi14 ration of such 2-year period under subpara15 graph (A), the Director of the Office of Man16 agement and Budget, upon a request by the 

17 Secretary, causes to be published in the Federal 

18 Register notification that such additional exten19 sion period is necessary to allow the grantee to 

20 complete all such activities. 

21 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION FOR AMOUNTS FOR HUD IG.— 

22 Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to amounts 

23 made available to the Inspector General of the De24 partment of Housing and Urban Development. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS2 ASTER RECOVERY RESERVE FUND. 

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

4 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 

5 as the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Re6 covery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as the 

7 ‘Fund’). 

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

9 amounts appropriated to or credited to the Fund, includ10 ing amounts credited to the Fund pursuant to section 

11 123(n). 

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

13 only for providing assistance under section 123, but only 

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

15 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the expira17 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous19 ing and Urban Development shall issue regulations 

20 to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Housing 

21 and Community Development Act of 1974, as added 

22 by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this 

23 section. 

24 (2) INTERIM REGULATIONS.— 

25 (A) APPLICABILITY OF CDBG ENTITLE26 MENT COMMUNITY REGULATIONS.—Until the 


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1 regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (1) 

2 take effect, the Secretary of Housing and 

3 Urban Development shall require each State 

4 grantee of assistance from community develop5 ment block grant disaster recovery funds to 

6 comply with the requirements under part 570 of 

7 the Secretary’s regulations (24 C.F.R. 570) ap8 plicable to entitlement communities. 

9 (B) WAIVER.—The authority under section 

10 123(k) of the Housing and Community Devel11 opment Act of 1974 (relating to waiver of, and 

12 alternative requirements for provisions of stat13 utes and regulations), as added by the amend14 ment made by subsection (a) of this section, 

15 shall not apply with respect to the requirement 

16 under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, ex17 cept that the Secretary may use such authority 

18 with respect to regulations specified in subpara19 graph (A) (only to the extent of the applica20 bility of such regulations pursuant to subpara21 graph (A)), on a case-by-case and disaster-by22 disaster basis. 

23 (3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub24 section, the term ‘‘community development block 


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1 grant disaster recovery funds’’ means any amounts 

2 made available in any fiscal year— 

3 (A) for assistance under section 123 of the 

4 Housing and Community Development Act of 

5 1974, as added by the amendment made by 

6 subsection (a) of this section; or 

7 (B) under the account entitled ‘‘Depart8 ment of Housing and Urban Development— 

9 Community Planning and Development—Com10 munity Development Fund’’ for activities au11 thorized under title I of the Housing and Com12 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

13 5301 et seq.) related to disaster relief, long14 term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 

15 housing, or economic revitalization in areas af16 fected by a major disaster declared pursuant to 

17 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

18 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 

19 seq.). 

Æ 


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