I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4782 

To provide additional disaster recovery assistance for the Commonwealth 

of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2018 

Ms. PLASKETT (for herself, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. CROWLEY, and Mr. SOTO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 

Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Ways and Means, 

Natural Resources, Education and the Workforce, the Budget, and 

Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide additional disaster recovery assistance for the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States 

Virgin Islands, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act 

6 of 2018’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE 

Subtitle A—Energy 

Sec. 101. Assistance for rebuilding of electric grid. 

Sec. 102. Clean energy grants. 

Subtitle B—Energy Infrastructure Incentives 

Sec. 111. Grant program to promote access to renewable energy and energy efficiency for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

Sec. 112. Incentives for energy efficient commercial buildings. 

Sec. 113. Incentives for new energy efficient homes. 

Sec. 114. Incentives for alternative motor vehicles and qualified plug-in electric 

drive motor vehicles. 

Subtitle C—Transportation, Housing, and Agriculture Incentives 

Sec. 121. General provisions. 

Sec. 122. Highway program. 

Sec. 123. Federal-aid highway emergency relief program. 

Sec. 124. Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program. 

Sec. 125. TIGER discretionary grants. 

Sec. 126. Passenger and freight rail improvements. 

Sec. 127. Airport improvement program. 

Sec. 128. Airport Facilities and Equipment. 

Sec. 129. Clean and safe water revolving funds. 

Sec. 130. Construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities. 

Sec. 131. Corps of Engineers funds. 

Sec. 132. Predisaster hazard mitigation and resiliency. 

Sec. 133. Broadband programs. 

Sec. 134. Housing and community development. 

Sec. 135. Oversight. 

TITLE II—MEDICAID AND MEDICARE PARITY 

Subtitle A—Medicaid 

Sec. 201. Elimination of general Medicaid funding limitations (‘‘cap’’) for territories. 

Sec. 202. Elimination of specific Federal medical assistance percentage 

(FMAP) limitation for territories; temporarily increasing the 

FMAP for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to 100 percent. 

Sec. 203. Application of Medicaid waiver authority to all of the territories. 

Sec. 204. Permitting Medicaid DSH allotments for territories. 

Subtitle B—Medicare 

PART I—PART A 


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Sec. 211. Calculation of Medicare DSH payments for IPPS hospitals in Puerto 

Rico. 

Sec. 212. Rebasing target amount for hospitals in territories. 

Sec. 213. Medicare DSH target adjustment for hospitals in territories. 

PART II—PART B 

Sec. 221. Application of part B deemed enrollment process to residents of 

Puerto Rico; special enrollment period and limit on late enrollment penalties. 

PART III—MEDICARE ADVANTAGE (PART C) 

Sec. 231. Adjustment in benchmark for low-base payment counties in Puerto 

Rico. 

PART IV—PART D 

Sec. 241. Improved use of allocated prescription drug funds by territories. 

Sec. 242. Report on treatment of territories under Medicare part D. 

Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 

Sec. 251. Modified treatment of territories with respect to application of ACA 

annual health insurance provider fees. 

Sec. 252. Medicaid and CHIP territory transparency and information. 

Sec. 253. Report on exclusion of territories from Exchanges. 

Sec. 254. Access to coverage for individuals in certain areas without any available Exchange plans. 

Sec. 255. Extension of family-to-family health information centers program to 

territories. 

Sec. 256. Temporary increase in Social Services Block Grant allotments for 

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

TITLE III—AGRICULTURE 

Sec. 301. Rural Utilities Service programs. 

Sec. 302. Rural Energy for America Program. 

Sec. 303. Rural community facilities program. 

Sec. 304. Rural housing. 

Sec. 305. Watershed and flood prevention operations. 

Sec. 306. Community facilities grants. 

Sec. 307. Waiver of noninsured crop disaster assistance program service fee. 

Sec. 308. Assistance for Community Food Projects. 

Sec. 309. Participation of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern 

Mariana Islands in supplemental nutrition assistance program. 

Sec. 310. Payment limitations for certain producers in disaster areas. 

Sec. 311. Treatment of certain producers as socially disadvantaged farmers and 

ranchers. 

Sec. 312. Emergency watershed protection program. 

Sec. 313. Emergency forest restoration program. 

Sec. 314. Treatment of certain producers as limited resource producers. 

Sec. 315. Retroactive availability of catastrophic level of protection under noninsured crop assistance program. 

Sec. 316. Distribution of funds made available for equipment assistance grants 

under the National School Lunch Act to Puerto Rico and the 

Virgin Islands. 


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Sec. 317. Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children. 

Sec. 318. Deadline for application submission. 

TITLE IV—VETERANS AFFAIRS 

Sec. 401. Appropriation of amounts for Department of Veterans Affairs to address consequences of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in 

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

TITLE V—EDUCATION RECOVERY 

Subtitle A—Educational Assistance Funds 

Sec. 501. Education and Head Start funding. 

Subtitle B—Elementary and Secondary Education Disaster Relief 

Sec. 511. Definitions. 

Sec. 512. Immediate aid to restart school operations. 

Sec. 513. Allocations to local educational agencies for the long-term improvement of public school facilities. 

Sec. 514. Hold harmless for local educational agencies serving major disaster 

areas. 

Sec. 515. Paraprofessional reciprocity; delay. 

Sec. 516. Regulatory and financial relief. 

Sec. 517. Assistance for homeless children and youths. 

Sec. 518. Temporary emergency impact aid for displaced students. 

Sec. 519. Severability. 

Sec. 520. Authorization of funds. 

Sec. 521. Sunset provision. 

Subtitle C—Higher Education Disaster Relief 

Sec. 531. Definitions. 

Sec. 532. General waivers and modifications. 

Sec. 533. Modification of part A of title II grants authorized. 

Sec. 534. Authorized uses of Trio, Gear-Up, part A or B of title III, title V, 

and other grants. 

Sec. 535. Professional judgment. 

Sec. 536. Expanding information dissemination regarding eligibility for Federal 

Pell Grants. 

Sec. 537. Procedures. 

Sec. 538. Temporary deferral for affected Federal student loan borrowers. 

Sec. 539. Termination of authority. 

Sec. 540. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico college access. 

Subtitle D—Disaster Relief for Other Education and Related Programs 

Sec. 551. Definitions. 

Sec. 552. Agreements to extend certain deadlines of the individuals with disabilities education act to facilitate the provision of educational 

services to children with disabilities. 

Sec. 553. Head Start and child care and development block grants. 

TITLE VI—ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND WORKER 

PROTECTIONS 


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Sec. 601. Training and employment services. 

Sec. 602. Equitable treatment for possessions of the United States with respect 

to the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. 

Sec. 603. Requirement to use local labor. 

Sec. 604. Minimum wage for young employees in Puerto Rico. 

Sec. 605. Overtime hours protections for workers in Puerto Rico. 

Sec. 606. Unemployment assistance for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

Sec. 607. Extension of the supplemental security income program to territories. 

Sec. 608. Economic Development Assistance Programs. 

Sec. 609. Appropriation to CDFI Fund for disaster relief in Puerto Rico and 

the Virgin Islands. 

Sec. 610. Community Development Fund. 

Sec. 611. Small Business Administration disaster loans. 

Sec. 612. Temporary increase in new markets tax credit for investments in 

community development entities serving covered disaster areas. 

Sec. 613. Full rum cover over. 

Sec. 614. Temporary modification to tax home and closer connection test. 

Sec. 615. Income allocable to fixed place of business. 

Sec. 616. Federal permitting. 

TITLE VII—ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION 

Sec. 701. National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund. 

Sec. 702. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Programs and Management. 

Sec. 703. Hazardous Substance Superfund. 

Sec. 704. Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund. 

Sec. 705. Department of the Interior grants. 

Sec. 706. Department of Defense environmental restoration. 

Sec. 707. Additional Recovery Assistance for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Fund. 

Sec. 708. United States Fish and Wildlife Service construction. 

Sec. 709. Activities carried out by the Chief of Engineers in Puerto Rico. 

Sec. 710. Land and water conservation fund parity. 

TITLE VIII—LONG-TERM RESILIENT EMERGENCY DISASTER 

RELIEF PLAN 

Sec. 801. Long-term disaster relief plan for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

TITLE IX—FEMA PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. Waiver of non-Federal share requirements. 

Sec. 902. Hazard mitigation. 

Sec. 903. Repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities. 

Sec. 904. Community disaster loans. 

Sec. 905. Waiver of limit on management costs. 

Sec. 906. Maximum amount of assistance for individuals and households program. 

Sec. 907. Restoration of telecommunications infrastructure. 

Sec. 908. Availability of translators. 

TITLE X—EMERGENCY FUNDING 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 1001. Extension of claim filing deadline. 


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Sec. 1002. Emergency designation. 

Subtitle B—Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Hurricane Damage Restoration 

Account 

Sec. 1011. Definitions. 

Sec. 1012. Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands Hurricane Damage 

Restoration Account. 

Sec. 1013. Establishment and operation of the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands 

emergency credit facility. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are to— 

3 (1) provide for the desperate, immediate needs 

4 of the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; 

5 (2) ensure that the recovery efforts in Puerto 

6 Rico and the Virgin Islands carried out by the Fed7 eral Government are driven by the local communities 

8 who were impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria; 

9 (3) implement recovery efforts in a way that al10 lows participation in transparent processes to ensure 

11 public input and oversight in long-term development; 

12 (4) prevent the erosion of long-term develop13 ment, local and municipal governing power, the 

14 rights of the people impacted, and their ability to in15 fluence their recovery; 

16 (5) protect labor, public engagement, local and 

17 municipal governing power, the National Environ18 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

19 and other protections; 

20 (6) address the real and imminent threats to 

21 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands from extreme 


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1 weather events caused by anthropogenic climate 

2 change; and 

3 (7) during the recovery efforts, prioritize, where 

4 possible— 

5 (A) mitigation of the causes of climate 

6 change by decreasing or eliminating dependence 

7 on fossil fuel use; 

8 (B) adaptation to the increasing climate 

9 impacts of extreme weather and sea level rise 

10 by rebuilding infrastructure to higher standards 

11 and supporting innovative solutions that can 

12 better withstand extreme weather and other 

13 risks; and 

14 (C) resiliency to ensure the safety and 

15 health of the people of Puerto Rico and the Vir16 gin Islands to ensure they withstand future 

17 threats and are able to efficiently and quickly 

18 recover from the next hurricanes that strike 

19 these islands. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) COVERED DISASTER.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 disaster’’ means a major disaster declared by the 

24 President under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf25 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 5170) with respect to Hurricane Irma or 

2 Hurricane Maria. 

3 (2) COVERED DISASTER AREA.—The term ‘‘cov4 ered disaster area’’ means an area— 

5 (A) located in Puerto Rico or the Virgin 

6 Islands; and 

7 (B) for which the President declared a cov8 ered disaster. 

9 (3) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

10 The term ‘‘public assistance grant program’’ means 

11 the public assistance grant program authorized 

12 under sections 403, 406, 407, 418, 419, 428, and 

13 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

14 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 

15 5173, 5185, 5186, 5189f, and 5192(a)). 

16 (4) PUERTO RICO.—The term ‘‘Puerto Rico’’ 

17 means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

18 (5) VIRGIN ISLANDS.—The term ‘‘Virgin Is19 lands’’ means the Virgin Islands of the United 

20 States. 

21 TITLE I—INFRASTRUCTURE 

22 Subtitle A—Energy 

23 SEC. 101. ASSISTANCE FOR REBUILDING OF ELECTRIC 

24 GRID. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) EFFICIENT.—The term ‘‘efficient’’ means, 

2 with respect to a technology, product, material, 

3 equipment, or practice, the use of the technology, 

4 product, material, equipment, or practice in a man5 ner that results in reduced energy consumption or 

6 energy costs for the same level of service or a higher 

7 level of service. 

8 (2) RESILIENT.—The term ‘‘resilient’’ means, 

9 with respect to a system or a component of a sys10 tem, the ability of the system or component to adapt 

11 to a changing condition and withstand and rapidly 

12 recover from a disruption. 

13 (b) USE OF RESILIENT ENERGY SYSTEMS TO RE14 BUILD FOLLOWING DISASTERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, assistance provided under sections 

17 403, 404, 406, 408, and 428 of the Robert T. Staf18 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5170c, 5172, 5174, 5189f) may 

20 be used to build, repair, restore, reconstruct, or re21 place an energy system or building in a covered dis22 aster area as a result of a covered disaster in a man23 ner that— 

24 (A) is more resilient; 

25 (B) is more efficient; 


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1 (C) provides continuous flow of power to 

2 facilities critical to public health, safety, and 

3 welfare; 

4 (D) maximizes the use of clean energy re5 sources and energy storage technologies; and 

6 (E) promotes lower energy bills to the ex7 tent feasible. 

8 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

9 paragraph (1) creates eligibility for assistance for 

10 any energy provider that is not otherwise eligible for 

11 assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

13 5121 et seq.). 

14 (3) COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

16 the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

17 shall designate a representative of the Agency 

18 to coordinate with one or more private entities 

19 that are interested in donating energy system 

20 technologies and services to rebuild in accord21 ance with paragraph (1). 

22 (B) COORDINATION AMONG AGENCIES.—In 

23 carrying out subparagraph (A), the Adminis24 trator of the Federal Emergency Management 

25 Agency is encouraged to coordinate with the 


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1 Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security. 

3 (4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

6 National Laboratory (as defined in section 2 of 

7 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

8 15801)), in coordination with the programs of 

9 the Department of Energy that provide assist10 ance to States and industry, shall make tech11 nical assistance available to Federal, State, and 

12 local agencies and private entities that are in13 terested in— 

14 (i) developing plans or providing guid15 ance on the design of a resilient and effi16 cient energy system or building; and 

17 (ii) building, repairing, restoring, re18 constructing, or replacing an energy sys19 tem or building in accordance with para20 graph (1). 

21 (B) CONSULTATION AMONG AGENCIES.— 

22 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

23 Management Agency is encouraged to consult 

24 with the Secretary of Defense regarding the exVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 perience of the Department of Defense in build2 ing resilient power systems. 

3 (c) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—Out of funds of the 

4 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro5 priated to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency $13,000,000,000 for fiscal year 

7 2018, to remain available until expended, for carrying out 

8 the activities authorized under this section (including tech9 nical assistance and related activities), and other related 

10 activities, including conservation and renewable resources 

11 programs as authorized. Nothing in this section shall be 

12 construed to limit any authority to provide emergency as13 sistance otherwise provided by law. 

14 SEC. 102. CLEAN ENERGY GRANTS. 

15 (a) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE EN16 ERGY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of funds of the Treas18 ury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro19 priated to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable En20 ergy Account of the Department of Energy 

21 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain avail22 able until expended and subject to paragraph (2), to 

23 provide to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, on a 

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1 ble allocation formula, to provide grants under the 

2 programs described in that paragraph. 

3 (2) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts 

4 made available under paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) not less than $19,200,000 shall be 

6 made available to each of Puerto Rico and the 

7 Virgin Islands, to remain available until ex8 pended, for grants under the Energy Efficiency 

9 and Conservation Block Grant Program estab10 lished under section 542(a) of the Energy Inde11 pendence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

12 17152(a)), to be allocated in accordance with 

13 section 543 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 17153), 

14 after taking into account, for purposes of calcu15 lating distributions under subsection (b) of that 

16 section, the most recent and accurate popu17 lation data available as of the date of the cal18 culation; 

19 (B) not less than $1,700,000 shall be 

20 made available to Puerto Rico and not less than 

21 $390,000 shall be made available to the Virgin 

22 Islands, to remain available until expended, for 

23 grants under the Weatherization Assistance 

24 Program for Low-Income Persons established 

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1 servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 

2 et seq.); and 

3 (C) not less $950,000 shall be made avail4 able to Puerto Rico and not less than $430,000 

5 shall be made available to the Virgin Islands, to 

6 remain available until expended, for grants to 

7 carry out State energy conservation programs 

8 under part D of title III of the Energy Policy 

9 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

10 (b) LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PRO11 GRAM.—Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro12 priated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health 

13 and Human Services $31,600,000 for fiscal year 2018, to 

14 remain available until expended, to provide, on a competi15 tive basis, grants authorized under section 2602(a) of the 

16 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

17 U.S.C. 8621(a)), to be allocated in accordance with any 

18 applicable formulas under that Act, of which— 

19 (1) $30,400,000 shall be made available to 

20 Puerto Rico; and 

21 (2) $1,200,000 shall be made available to the 

22 Virgin Islands. 

23 (c) ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELI24 ABILITY.—Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise ap25 propriated, there is appropriated to the Electricity DelivVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 ery and Energy Reliability Account of the Department of 

2 Energy $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain avail3 able until expended— 

4 (1) to conduct electricity delivery and energy re5 liability activities to modernize the electric grid in 

6 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, including— 

7 (A) the use of demand responsive equip8 ment; 

9 (B) enhancing the security and reliability 

10 of energy infrastructure; 

11 (C) providing for the conduct of research 

12 relating to, and the development, demonstra13 tion, and deployment of, energy storage; and 

14 (D) facilitating recovery from disruptions 

15 to the energy supply; and 

16 (2) to implement programs authorized under 

17 title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security 

18 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17381 et seq.) in Puerto 

19 Rico and the Virgin Islands. 


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1 Subtitle B—Energy Infrastructure 

2 Incentives 

3 SEC. 111. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO RE4 NEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

5 FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN IS6 LANDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury shall, subject to the requirements of this 

9 section, provide a grant to each eligible person who places 

10 in service specified energy property in Puerto Rico or the 

11 Virgin Islands to reimburse such person for a portion of 

12 the expense of such property as provided in subsection (b). 

13 No grant shall be made under this section with respect 

14 to any property unless— 

15 (1) in the case of specified energy property 

16 which is described in paragraph (1) of section 45(d) 

17 or clause (i) of section 48(a)(3)(A) of the Internal 

18 Revenue Code of 1986 (determined without regard 

19 to any date by which construction must begin), the 

20 construction of such property begins after Sep21 tember 6, 2017, and 

22 (2) in the case of any other specified energy 

23 property, such property is placed in service after 

24 September 6, 2017. 

25 (b) GRANT AMOUNT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the grant 

2 under subsection (a) with respect to any specified 

3 energy property shall be 30 percent of the basis of 

4 such property. 

5 (2) DOLLAR LIMITATIONS.—In the case of 

6 property described in paragraph (1), (2), (6), or (7) 

7 of subsection (d), the amount of any grant under 

8 this section with respect to such property shall not 

9 exceed the limitation described in section 

10 48(a)(5)(E), 48(c)(1)(B), 48(c)(2)(B), or 

11 48(c)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

12 respectively, with respect to such property. 

13 (c) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Secretary 

14 of the Treasury shall make payment of any grant under 

15 subsection (a) during the 60-day period subsequent to the 

16 date of the application for such grant. 

17 (d) SPECIFIED ENERGY PROPERTY.—For purposes 

18 of this section, the term ‘‘specified energy property’’ 

19 means any of the following: 

20 (1) QUALIFIED FACILITIES.—Any qualified 

21 property (as defined in section 48(a)(5)(D) of the 

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) which is part of a 

23 qualified facility (within the meaning of section 45 

24 of such Code) described in paragraph (1), (4), (9), 

25 or (11) of section 45(d) of such Code (determined 


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1 without regard to any date by which construction 

2 must begin). 

3 (2) QUALIFIED FUEL CELL PROPERTY.—Any 

4 qualified fuel cell property (as defined in section 

5 48(c)(1) of such Code, determined without regard to 

6 any termination date). 

7 (3) SOLAR PROPERTY.—Any property described 

8 in clause (i) or (ii) of section 48(a)(3)(A) of such 

9 Code (determined without regard to any termination 

10 date). 

11 (4) QUALIFIED SMALL WIND ENERGY PROP12 ERTY.—Any qualified small wind energy property 

13 (as defined in section 48(c)(4) of such Code, deter14 mined without regard to any termination date). 

15 (5) GEOTHERMAL PROPERTY.—Any property 

16 described in clause (iii) of section 48(a)(3)(A) of 

17 such Code. 

18 (6) QUALIFIED MICROTURBINE PROPERTY.— 

19 Any qualified microturbine property (as defined in 

20 section 48(c)(2) of such Code, determined without 

21 regard to any termination date). 

22 (7) COMBINED HEAT AND POWER SYSTEM

23 PROPERTY.—Any combined heat and power system 

24 property (as defined in section 48(c)(3) of such 


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1 Code, determined without regard to subparagraph 

2 (A)(iv) thereof). 

3 (8) GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP PROPERTY.— 

4 Any property described in clause (vii) of section 

5 48(a)(3)(A) of such Code (determined without re6 gard to any termination date). 

7 (9) RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENT PROP8 ERTY.—Any property or equipment described in sub9 section (c) of section 25D of such Code (determined 

10 without regard to subsection (h) of such section). 

11 Such term shall not include any property unless deprecia12 tion (or amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allowable 

13 (or would be allowable if section 933 of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 were not taken into account) with re15 spect to such property. 

16 (e) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—For purposes of this section, 

17 the term ‘‘eligible person’’ means— 

18 (1) any individual that is a bona fide resident 

19 (as defined under section 937 of the Internal Rev20 enue Code of 1986) of Puerto Rico or the Virgin Is21 lands, and 

22 (2) any corporation which is organized under 

23 the laws of Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. 

24 (f) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—Terms used in this sec25 tion which are also used in section 45 or 48 of the Internal 


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1 Revenue Code of 1986 shall have the same meaning for 

2 purposes of this section as when used in such section 45 

3 or 48. Any reference in this section to the Secretary of 

4 the Treasury shall be treated as including the Secretary’s 

5 delegate. 

6 (g) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES.—In making 

7 grants under this section, the Secretary of the Treasury 

8 shall apply rules similar to the rules of section 50 of the 

9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that in applying 

10 subsection (b)(1) thereof ‘‘Puerto Rico or the Virgin Is11 lands’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘the United States’’. In 

12 applying such rules, if the property is disposed of, or oth13 erwise ceases to be specified energy property, the Sec14 retary of the Treasury shall provide for the recapture of 

15 the appropriate percentage of the grant amount in such 

16 manner as the Secretary of the Treasury determines ap17 propriate. 

18 (h) APPROPRIATIONS.—For fiscal year 2018, there is 

19 hereby appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury— 

20 (1) for providing grants for specified energy 

21 property placed in service in Puerto Rico, 

22 $270,000,000, and 

23 (2) for providing grants for specified energy 

24 property placed in service in the Virgin Islands, 

25 $20,000,000, 


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1 to remain available until expended. 

2 SEC. 112. INCENTIVES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT COMMER3 CIAL BUILDINGS. 

4 (a) GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE

5 VIRGIN ISLANDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, the Sec7 retary of the Treasury shall, subject to the require8 ments of this subsection, provide a grant to each eli9 gible person who places in service energy efficient 

10 commercial building property to reimburse such per11 son for a portion of the expense of such property as 

12 provided in paragraph (2). No grant shall be made 

13 under this subsection with respect to any property 

14 unless such property is placed in service after Sep15 tember 6, 2017. 

16 (2) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of the grant 

17 under paragraph (1) with respect to any energy effi18 cient commercial building property shall be equal to 

19 the product of— 

20 (A) 35 percent, and 

21 (B) the excess of— 

22 (i) the product of— 

23 (I) $1.80, and 

24 (II) the square footage of the 

25 building, over 


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1 (ii) the aggregate amount of all prior 

2 grants under paragraph (1) with respect to 

3 the building. 

4 (3) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec5 retary of the Treasury shall make payment of any 

6 grant under paragraph (1) during the 60-day period 

7 beginning on the later of— 

8 (A) the date of the application for such 

9 grant, or 

10 (B) the date the energy efficient commer11 cial building property for which the grant is 

12 being made is placed in service. 

13 (4) ENERGY EFFICIENT COMMERCIAL BUILDING

14 PROPERTY.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

15 term ‘‘energy efficient commercial building prop16 erty’’ has the meaning given such term under sec17 tion 179D(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

18 except that— 

19 (A) the determination of whether deprecia20 tion (or amortization in lieu of depreciation) is 

21 allowable under such section 179D(c)(1)(A) 

22 shall be made without regard to section 933 of 

23 such Code, 


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1 (B) such section 179D(c)(1)(B)(i) shall be 

2 applied by substituting ‘‘Puerto Rico or the Vir3 gin Islands’’ for ‘‘the United States’’, and 

4 (C) subsection (h) of section 179D of such 

5 Code shall not apply. 

6 (5) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—For purposes of this 

7 subsection, the term ‘‘eligible person’’ means— 

8 (A) any individual that is a bona fide resi9 dent (as defined under section 937 of the Inter10 nal Revenue Code of 1986) of Puerto Rico or 

11 the Virgin Islands, and 

12 (B) any corporation which is organized 

13 under the laws of Puerto Rico or the Virgin Is14 lands. 

15 (6) SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—Any ref16 erence in this subsection to the Secretary of the 

17 Treasury shall be treated as including the Sec18 retary’s delegate. 

19 (7) APPLICATION OF SPECIAL RULES.—Rules 

20 similar to the rules of subsections (d), (f), and (g) 

21 of section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986 shall apply with respect to grants under this 

23 subsection. 

24 (b) APPROPRIATIONS.—For fiscal year 2018, there is 

25 hereby appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury 


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1 $11,500,000, to remain available until expended, to carry 

2 out the purposes of this section. 

3 SEC. 113. INCENTIVES FOR NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT 

4 HOMES. 

5 (a) GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE

6 VIRGIN ISLANDS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, the Sec8 retary of the Treasury shall, subject to the require9 ments of this subsection, provide a grant to each eli10 gible contractor with respect to each qualified new 

11 energy efficient home which is— 

12 (A) constructed by an eligible contractor, 

13 and 

14 (B) acquired by a person from such eligible 

15 contractor for use as a residence. 

16 No grant shall be made under this subsection with 

17 respect to any qualified new energy efficient home 

18 unless such home is acquired by another person for 

19 use as a residence after September 6, 2017. 

20 (2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the 

21 grant under paragraph (1) with respect to any quali22 fied new energy efficient home is an amount equal 

23 to— 


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1 (A) in the case of a dwelling unit described 

2 in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 45L(c) of the 

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, $2,000, and 

4 (B) in the case of a dwelling unit described 

5 in paragraph (3) of section 45L(c) of the Inter6 nal Revenue Code of 1986, $1,000. 

7 (3) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec8 retary of the Treasury shall make payment of any 

9 grant under paragraph (1) during the 60-day period 

10 beginning on the later of— 

11 (A) the date of the application for such 

12 grant, or 

13 (B) the date the qualified new energy effi14 cient home for which the grant is acquired by 

15 another person for use as a residence. 

16 (4) QUALIFIED NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT

17 HOME.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 

18 ‘‘qualified new energy efficient home’’ has the mean19 ing given such term under section 45L(b)(2) of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that— 

21 (A) subparagraph (A) thereof shall be ap22 plied by substituting ‘‘Puerto Rico or the Virgin 

23 Islands’’ for ‘‘the United States’’, and 


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1 (B) subparagraph (B) thereof shall be ap2 plied by substituting ‘‘September 6, 2017’’ for 

3 ‘‘the date of the enactment of this section’’. 

4 (5) ELIGIBLE CONTRACTOR.—For purposes of 

5 this subsection, the term ‘‘eligible contractor’’ 

6 means— 

7 (A) a person who constructed the qualified 

8 new energy efficient home, or 

9 (B) in the case of a qualified new energy 

10 efficient home which is a manufactured home, 

11 the manufactured home producer of such home. 

12 (6) OTHER TERMS.—Terms used in this sub13 section which are also used in section 45L of the In14 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 shall have the same 

15 meaning for purposes of this subsection as when 

16 used in section 45L. Any reference in this subsection 

17 to the Secretary of the Treasury shall be treated as 

18 including the Secretary’s delegate. 

19 (b) APPROPRIATIONS.—For fiscal year 2018, there is 

20 hereby appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury 

21 $30,800,000, to remain available until expended, to carry 

22 out the purposes of this section. 


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1 SEC. 114. INCENTIVES FOR ALTERNATIVE MOTOR VEHI2 CLES AND QUALIFIED PLUG-IN ELECTRIC 

3 DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES. 

4 (a) GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE

5 VIRGIN ISLANDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, the Sec7 retary of the Treasury shall, subject to the require8 ments of this subsection, provide a grant to each eli9 gible person who places in service a qualified vehicle 

10 to reimburse such person for a portion of the ex11 pense of such vehicle as provided in paragraph (2). 

12 No grant shall be made under this subsection with 

13 respect to any vehicle unless such vehicle is placed 

14 in service after September 6, 2017. 

15 (2) GRANT AMOUNT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the 

17 grant under paragraph (1) with respect to any 

18 qualified vehicle shall be an amount equal to— 

19 (i) in the case of a vehicle described in 

20 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), the 

21 amount of the credit for such vehicle as de22 termined under subsection (b) of section 

23 30B of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986, 

25 (ii) in the case of a vehicle described 

26 in subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, 


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1 the amount of the credit for such vehicle 

2 as determined under subsection (d)(2)(A) 

3 of such section, 

4 (iii) in the case of a vehicle described 

5 in subparagraph (C) of such paragraph, 

6 the amount of the credit for such vehicle 

7 as determined under subsection (i)(1) of 

8 such section, 

9 (iv) in the case of a vehicle described 

10 in subparagraph (D) of such paragraph, 

11 the amount of the credit for such vehicle 

12 as determined under subsection (b) of sec13 tion 30D of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986, except that in applying paragraph 

15 (3) of such subsection, ‘‘$7,500’’ shall be 

16 substituted for ‘‘$5,000’’, and 

17 (v) in the case of a vehicle described 

18 in subparagraph (E) of such paragraph, 

19 the applicable amount for such vehicle as 

20 determined under subsection (g)(2) of such 

21 section. 

22 (B) INAPPLICABILITY OF CREDIT TERMI23 NATION DATE.—For purposes of subparagraph 

24 (A), in determining the amount of the credit 

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1 enue Code of 1986, as applicable, such deter2 mination shall be made without regard to any 

3 termination date under such section. 

4 (3) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec5 retary of the Treasury shall make payment of any 

6 grant under paragraph (1) during the 60-day period 

7 beginning on the later of— 

8 (A) the date of the application for such 

9 grant, or 

10 (B) the date the qualified vehicle for which 

11 the grant is being made is placed in service. 

12 (4) QUALIFIED VEHICLE.—For purposes of this 

13 subsection, the term ‘‘qualified vehicle’’ means— 

14 (A) any new qualified fuel cell motor vehi15 cle, as defined in subsection (b)(3) of section 

16 30B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

17 (B) any new qualified hybrid motor vehicle, 

18 as defined in subsection (d)(3) of such section, 

19 which is a passenger automobile or light truck 

20 and which has a gross vehicle weight rating of 

21 not more than 8,500 pounds, 

22 (C) any motor vehicle which is converted to 

23 a qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle, 

24 as described in subsection (i)(1) of such section, 


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1 (D) any new qualified plug-in electric drive 

2 motor vehicle, as defined in subsection (d)(1) of 

3 section 30D of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986, and 

5 (E) any qualified 2- or 3-wheeled plug-in 

6 electric vehicle, as defined in subsection (g)(3) 

7 of such section. 

8 (5) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—For purposes of this 

9 subsection, the term ‘‘eligible person’’ means— 

10 (A) any individual that is a bona fide resi11 dent (as defined under section 937 of the Inter12 nal Revenue Code of 1986) of Puerto Rico or 

13 the Virgin Islands, and 

14 (B) any corporation which is organized 

15 under the laws of Puerto Rico or the Virgin Is16 lands. 

17 (6) SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—Any ref18 erence in this subsection to the Secretary of the 

19 Treasury shall be treated as including the Sec20 retary’s delegate. 

21 (b) APPROPRIATIONS.—For fiscal year 2018, there is 

22 hereby appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury 

23 $16,800,000, to remain available until expended, to carry 

24 out the purposes of this section. 


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1 Subtitle C—Transportation, Hous2 ing, and Agriculture Incentives 

3 SEC. 121. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith5 standing any other provision of law, the non-Federal share 

6 of the cost of any program or activity carried out using 

7 funds provided under this subtitle shall be zero. 

8 (b) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING; ADMINISTRATIVE

9 EXPENSES.— 

10 (1) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—The funding 

11 provided to any program or account under this sub12 title shall supplement (and not supplant) any fund13 ing provided for that program or account under any 

14 other provision of law. 

15 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Notwith16 standing any other provision of law (including regu17 lations), of any funds provided for a program or ac18 count under this subtitle, the applicable Federal de19 partment or agency head may use such percentage 

20 for administrative expenses as is established by the 

21 limitation for administrative expenses in applicable 

22 laws (including regulations) relating to the program 

23 or activity. 


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1 SEC. 122. HIGHWAY PROGRAM. 

2 (a) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth3 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary 

4 of Transportation $4,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to 

5 remain available until expended, of which— 

6 (1) $3,000,000,000 shall be made available to 

7 carry out the Puerto Rico Highway Program under 

8 section 165(b) of title 23, United States Code; and 

9 (2) $1,500,000,000 shall be made available to 

10 carry out the territorial highway program in the Vir11 gin Islands under section 165(c) of title 23, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 165(a) of 

14 title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 

16 ‘‘$158,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$3,158,000,000’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking 

19 ‘‘$42,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,542,000,000’’. 

20 SEC. 123. FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY EMERGENCY RELIEF 

21 PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 125(d) of title 23, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by striking paragraph (4); and 

25 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para26 graph (4). 


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1 (b) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth2 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the emer3 gency fund established under section 125 of title 23, 

4 United States Code, $2,122,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, 

5 to remain available until expended, for the repair or recon6 struction of highways, roads, and trails in Puerto Rico and 

7 the Virgin Islands. 

8 SEC. 124. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY RELIEF 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro11 priated, there is appropriated $424,000,000 for fiscal year 

12 2018, to remain available until expended, to the Secretary 

13 of Transportation for the ‘‘Public Transportation Emer14 gency Relief Program’’ as authorized under section 5324 

15 of title 49, United States Code, for recovery and relief ef16 forts in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Provided, 

17 That not more than three-quarters of 1 percent of the 

18 funds retained for public transportation emergency relief 

19 shall be available for the purposes of administrative ex20 penses and ongoing program management oversight as au21 thorized under sections 5334 and 5338(f)(2) of title 49, 

22 United States Code, and shall be in addition to any other 

23 appropriations for such purposes. 


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1 SEC. 125. TIGER DISCRETIONARY GRANTS. 

2 (a) DEFINITION OF TIGER DISCRETIONARY

3 GRANT.—In this section, the term ‘‘TIGER discretionary 

4 grant’’ means a grant awarded and administered by the 

5 Secretary of Transportation using funds made available 

6 for national infrastructure investments under title I of di7 vision L of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 

8 (Public Law 114–113; 129 Stat. 2835). 

9 (b) REQUIREMENT.—Out of funds of the Treasury 

10 not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 

11 Secretary of Transportation $250,000,000 for fiscal year 

12 2018, to remain available until expended, to award 

13 TIGER discretionary grants for eligible programs and ac14 tivities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

15 SEC. 126. PASSENGER AND FREIGHT RAIL IMPROVEMENTS. 

16 (a) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth17 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary 

18 of Transportation $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to 

19 remain available until expended, for planning and capital 

20 costs to build, improve, or expand passenger and freight 

21 rail projects in Puerto Rico under titles 23 and 49, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (b) ELIGIBLE USES.—Of the amounts made available 

24 for each fiscal year under subsection (a)— 

25 (1) not more than 15 percent may be used for 

26 temporary operating assistance for such rail and 


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1 transit projects as the Secretary of Transportation 

2 determines to be eligible; and 

3 (2) not more than 50 percent may be allocated 

4 to another transportation capital investment account 

5 funded under this Act, on approval of the Secretary 

6 of Transportation. 

7 SEC. 127. AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

8 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro9 priated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Trans10 portation $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

11 available until expended, to make grants under the Airport 

12 Improvement Program under subchapter I of chapter 471 

13 of title 49, United States Code, for eligible programs and 

14 activities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

15 SEC. 128. AIRPORT FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT. 

16 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro17 priated, there is appropriated to the Facilities and Equip18 ment Account of the Federal Aviation Administration 

19 $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available 

20 until expended, for expenses in Puerto Rico and the Virgin 

21 Islands, including expenses related to the consequences of 

22 Hurricanes Maria and Irma in Puerto Rico and the Virgin 

23 Islands. 


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1 SEC. 129. CLEAN AND SAFE WATER REVOLVING FUNDS. 

2 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro3 priated, there is appropriated to the Administrator of the 

4 Environmental Protection Agency for fiscal year 2018— 

5 (1) $125,000,000, to remain available until ex6 pended, to make capitalization grants to Puerto Rico 

7 and the Virgin Islands for the purpose of estab8 lishing and maintaining water pollution control re9 volving funds under title VI of the Federal Water 

10 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); and 

11 (2) $125,000,000, to remain available until ex12 pended, to make capitalization grants to Puerto Rico 

13 and the Virgin Islands for the purpose of estab14 lishing and maintaining drinking water treatment 

15 revolving loan funds under section 1452(a) of the 

16 Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(a)). 

17 SEC. 130. CONSTRUCTION OF FERRY BOATS AND FERRY 

18 TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

19 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro20 priated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Trans21 portation $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

22 available until expended, for the construction of ferry 

23 boats and ferry terminal facilities in Puerto Rico and the 

24 Virgin Islands under section 147 of title 23, United States 

25 Code. 


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1 SEC. 131. CORPS OF ENGINEERS FUNDS. 

2 (a) CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNT.—Out of funds of the 

3 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro4 priated to the Construction Account of the Corps of Engi5 neers $3,255,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

6 available until expended, for authorized navigation, coastal 

7 storm and riverine flood damage reduction, ecosystem res8 toration, and environmental infrastructure assistance ac9 tivities, of which— 

10 (1) $1,830,000,000 is for such activities in 

11 Puerto Rico, with priority given to dredging the 

12 Can ̃o Martı ́n Pen ̃a; and 

13 (2) $1,425,000,000 is for such activities in the 

14 Virgin Islands. 

15 (b) OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT.— 

16 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

17 there is appropriated to the Operations and Maintenance 

18 Account of the Corps of Engineers $375,000,000 for fiscal 

19 year 2018, to remain available until expended, for eligible 

20 operations and maintenance costs of coastal harbors and 

21 channels, and for inland harbors, to improve the move22 ment of goods through marine ports in Puerto Rico and 

23 the Virgin Islands. 


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1 SEC. 132. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION AND RESIL2 IENCY. 

3 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro4 priated, there is appropriated to the Director of the Fed5 eral Emergency Management Agency $250,000,000 for 

6 fiscal year 2018, to remain available until expended, to 

7 carry out in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands minor lo8 calized flood reduction projects and major flood risk re9 duction projects under the predisaster hazard mitigation 

10 program under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis11 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 5133). 

13 SEC. 133. BROADBAND PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) BROADBAND INITIATIVES PROGRAM.—Out of 

15 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there 

16 is appropriated $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to re17 main available until expended, for the broadband initia18 tives program established under title VI of the Rural Elec19 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) to expand 

20 access to, and the quality of, broadband service across 

21 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with preference given 

22 to— 

23 (1) public or cooperatively owned telecommuni24 cations systems; or 


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1 (2) telecommunications systems that provide 

2 telehealth, distance learning, and public safety bene3 fits. 

4 (b) BROADBANDUSA PROGRAM.—Out of funds of 

5 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro6 priated $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

7 available until expended, to the National Telecommuni8 cations and Information Administration to carry out the 

9 BroadbandUSA program in Puerto Rico and the Virgin 

10 Islands, with preference given to— 

11 (1) public or cooperatively owned telecommuni12 cations systems; or 

13 (2) telecommunications systems that provide 

14 telehealth, distance learning, and public safety bene15 fits. 

16 SEC. 134. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. 

17 (a) HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PRO18 GRAM.— 

19 (1) ALL PARTICIPATING JURISDICTIONS.—Out 

20 of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

21 there is appropriated $85,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2018, to remain available until expended, for the 

23 HOME Investment Partnerships program authorized 

24 under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af25 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.)— 


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1 (A) to be allocated between Puerto Rico 

2 and the Virgin Islands in the same proportion 

3 as for the most recent fiscal year; and 

4 (B) of which the amount allocated to Puer5 to Rico under subparagraph (A) shall be allo6 cated proportionately among participating juris7 dictions in Puerto Rico in accordance with the 

8 allocation among such jurisdictions for the most 

9 recent fiscal year. 

10 (2) CAN ̃O MARTI ́N PEN ̃A COMMUNITIES.—Out of 

11 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in 

12 addition to the amount appropriated under para13 graph (1), there is appropriated $15,000,000 for fis14 cal year 2018, to remain available until expended, 

15 for the HOME Investment Partnerships program 

16 authorized under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

17 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 

18 et seq.) to be allocated to the HOME Investment 

19 Partnership Program of the Municipality of San 

20 Juan for use by the Can ̃o Martı ́n Pen ̃a Community 

21 Land Trust (also known as ‘‘El Fedeicomiso de la 

22 Tierra del Can ̃o Martı ́n Pen ̃a’’) to create, improve, 

23 and rehabilitate affordable housing in the 8 Can ̃o 

24 Martı ́n Pen ̃a communities, including for the costs of 


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1 relocating homes from the banks of the channel to 

2 other locations in the community. 

3 (b) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 (1) ALL JURISDICTIONS.—Out of funds of the 

6 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro7 priated $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

8 available until expended, for the community develop9 ment block grant program under title I of the Hous10 ing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

11 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.)— 

12 (A) to be allocated between Puerto Rico 

13 and the Virgin Islands in the same proportion 

14 as for the most recent fiscal year; and 

15 (B) of which the amount allocated to Puer16 to Rico under subparagraph (A) shall be allo17 cated proportionately among entitlement com18 munities and nonentitlement communities in 

19 Puerto Rico in accordance with the allocation 

20 among such communities for the most recent 

21 fiscal year. 

22 (2) CAN ̃O MARTI ́N PEN ̃A COMMUNITIES.—Out of 

23 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in 

24 addition to the amount appropriated under para25 graph (1), there is appropriated $25,000,000 for fisVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 cal year 2018, to remain available until expended, 

2 for the community development block grant program 

3 under title I of the Housing and Community Devel4 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) to be 

5 allocated to the Municipality of San Juan for use by 

6 the Martı ́n Pen ̃a Canal ENLACE Project Corpora7 tion (also known as ‘‘La Corporacio ́n del Proyecto 

8 ENLACE del Can ̃o Martı ́n Pen ̃a’’) for housing, 

9 community, and economic development in the 8 

10 Can ̃o Martı ́n Pen ̃a communities. 

11 (c) LOW-INCOME HOUSING OPERATING SUBSIDY.— 

12 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

13 there is appropriated $41,200,000 for fiscal year 2018, 

14 to remain available until expended, for payments to public 

15 housing agencies for the operation and management of 

16 public housing, as authorized under section 9(e) of the 

17 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(e)), 

18 of which— 

19 (1) $40,000,000 is for such payments to public 

20 housing agencies in Puerto Rico; and 

21 (2) $1,200,000 is for such payments to public 

22 housing agencies in the Virgin Islands. 

23 (d) CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS PROGRAM.—Out of 

24 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there 

25 is appropriated $172,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 main available until expended, for competitive grants 

2 under the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative of the Depart3 ment of Housing and Urban Development for trans4 formation, rehabilitation, and replacement housing needs 

5 of both public housing and Department of Housing and 

6 Urban Development-assisted housing and to transform 

7 neighborhoods of poverty into functioning, sustainable 

8 mixed income neighborhoods with appropriate services, 

9 schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs, 

10 of which— 

11 (1) $167,000,000 is for grants for such pur12 poses in Puerto Rico; and 

13 (2) $5,000,000 is for grants for such purposes 

14 in the Virgin Islands. 

15 (e) SECTION 8 ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—Out of 

16 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there 

17 is appropriated $47,600,000 for fiscal year 2018, to re18 main available until expended, for administrative and 

19 other expenses of public housing agencies in administering 

20 the tenant-based rental assistance program under section 

21 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1947 (42 U.S.C. 

22 1437f) in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, of which— 

23 (1) $46,200,000 is for such expenses in Puerto 

24 Rico; and 


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1 (2) $1,400,000 is for such expenses in the Vir2 gin Islands. 

3 (f) PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND.—Out of funds 

4 of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is ap5 propriated $687,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

6 available until expended, for the Public Housing Capital 

7 Fund Program of the Department of Housing and Urban 

8 Development to carry out capital and management activi9 ties for public housing agencies, as authorized under sec10 tion 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1437g), of which— 

12 (1) $667,000,000 is for such activities in Puer13 to Rico; and 

14 (2) $20,000,000 is for such activities in the 

15 Virgin Islands. 

16 (g) EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS.—Out of funds 

17 of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is ap18 propriated $102,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

19 available until expended, for assistance to Puerto Rico and 

20 the Virgin Islands under the Emergency Solutions Grant 

21 Program under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney22 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), 

23 of which— 

24 (1) $99,000,000 is for assistance to Puerto 

25 Rico; and 


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1 (2) $3,000,000 is for assistance to the Virgin 

2 Islands. 

3 SEC. 135. OVERSIGHT. 

4 (a) PLANNING PROCESS.—Puerto Rico and the Vir5 gin Islands may not receive any funds under this subtitle, 

6 unless Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands undertake a 

7 planning process, administered by the respective regu8 latory drinking and waste water and service commissions, 

9 for the water system of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Is10 lands, respectively. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The planning process required 

12 under subsection (a) shall— 

13 (1) contain an assessment of the current water 

14 needs of the customer classes and future, moderniza15 tion and resiliency needs of a rebuilt drinking and 

16 waste water system; 

17 (2) describe a transparent and participatory 

18 process to evaluate and determine the potential op19 tions for meeting the above needs; and 

20 (3) include recommendations for where funds 

21 should be directed for accomplishing the goals de22 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 TITLE II—MEDICAID AND 

2 MEDICARE PARITY 

3 Subtitle A—Medicaid 

4 SEC. 201. ELIMINATION OF GENERAL MEDICAID FUNDING 

5 LIMITATIONS (‘‘CAP’’) FOR TERRITORIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1108 of the Social Secu7 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (f), in the matter preceding 

9 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘subsections (g) and (h)’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (g)(2), in the matter pre12 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘subsection 

13 (h)’’ after ‘‘subject to’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(h) SUNSET OF MEDICAID FUNDING LIMITATIONS

17 FOR PUERTO RICO, THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE

18 UNITED STATES, GUAM, THE NORTHERN MARIANA IS19 LANDS, AND AMERICAN SAMOA.—Subsections (f) and (g) 

20 shall not apply to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 

21 United States, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

22 American Samoa beginning with fiscal year 2019.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 1902(j) of the Social Security Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 1396a(j)) is amended by striking ‘‘, the 

3 limitation in section 1108(f),’’. 

4 (2) Section 1903(u) of the Social Security Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 1396b(u)) is amended by striking para6 graph (4). 

7 (3) Section 1323(c)(1) of the Patient Protection 

8 and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18043(c)(1)) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply beginning with fiscal year 2019. 

12 SEC. 202. ELIMINATION OF SPECIFIC FEDERAL MEDICAL 

13 ASSISTANCE PERCENTAGE (FMAP) LIMITA14 TION FOR TERRITORIES; TEMPORARILY IN15 CREASING THE FMAP FOR PUERTO RICO AND 

16 THE VIRGIN ISLANDS TO 100 PERCENT. 

17 Section 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 1396d(b)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (2), by inserting ‘‘for fiscal years 

20 before fiscal year 2019’’ after ‘‘American Samoa’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen23 tence: ‘‘Notwithstanding the first sentence of this 

24 subsection, for each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019, 


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1 the Federal medical assistance percentage for Puerto 

2 Rico and the Virgin Islands shall be 100 percent.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. APPLICATION OF MEDICAID WAIVER AUTHORITY 

4 TO ALL OF THE TERRITORIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1902(j) of the Social Se6 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(j)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘American Samoa and the 

8 Northern Mariana Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘Puerto 

9 Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, 

10 the Northern Mariana Islands, and American 

11 Samoa’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘American Samoa or the North13 ern Mariana Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘Puerto Rico, 

14 the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, the 

15 Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa’’; 

16 (3) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Notwith17 standing’’; 

18 (4) by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise provided 

19 in this subsection,’’ after ‘‘Notwithstanding any 

20 other requirement of this title’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not waive under this sub23 section with respect to the medical assistance program of 

24 any territory— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the requirement of subsection 

2 (a)(10)(A)(i)(IX) (relating to coverage of adults for3 merly under foster care); 

4 ‘‘(B) the requirement to provide medical assist5 ance for early and periodic screening, diagnostic, 

6 and treatment services (as defined in section 

7 1905(r)) for individuals who are eligible for assist8 ance under the program and who under the age of 

9 21; or 

10 ‘‘(C) the requirement to provide for payment 

11 for services described in section 1905(a)(2)(C) fur12 nished by a Federally-qualified health center and 

13 services described in section 1905(a)(2)(B) furnished 

14 by a rural health clinic in accordance with the provi15 sions of subsection (bb).’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply beginning October 1, 2018. 

18 SEC. 204. PERMITTING MEDICAID DSH ALLOTMENTS FOR 

19 TERRITORIES. 

20 Section 1923(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 1396) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the 

23 following new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(C) TERRITORIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) FISCAL YEAR 2019.—For fiscal 

2 year 2019, the DSH allotment for Puerto 

3 Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United 

4 States, Guam, the Northern Mariana Is5 lands, and American Samoa shall bear the 

6 same ratio to $150,000,000 as the ratio of 

7 the number of individuals who are low-in8 come or uninsured and residing in such re9 spective territory (as estimated from time 

10 to time by the Secretary) bears to the 

11 sums of the number of such individuals re12 siding in all of the territories. 

13 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEAR.— 

14 For each subsequent fiscal year, the DSH 

15 allotment for each such territory is subject 

16 to an increase in accordance with para17 graph (2).’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (9), by inserting before the pe19 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, and includes, begin20 ning with fiscal year 2019, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 

21 Islands of the United States, Guam, the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands, and American Samoa’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Medicare 

2 PART I—PART A 

3 SEC. 211. CALCULATION OF MEDICARE DSH PAYMENTS FOR 

4 IPPS HOSPITALS IN PUERTO RICO. 

5 Section 1886(d)(9)(D)(iii) of the Social Security Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(9)(D)(iii)) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(iii) Subparagraph (F) (relating to dispropor9 tionate share payments), including application of 

10 subsection (r), except that for this purpose— 

11 ‘‘(I) the sum described in clause (ii) of this 

12 subparagraph shall be substituted for the sum 

13 referred to in paragraph (5)(F)(ii)(I); and 

14 ‘‘(II) for discharges occurring on or after 

15 October 1, 2017, subclause (I) of paragraph 

16 (5)(F)(vi) shall be applied by substituting for 

17 the numerator described in such subclause the 

18 number of subsection (d) Puerto Rico hospital’s 

19 patient days for the cost reporting period in20 volved which were made up of patients who (for 

21 such days) were entitled to benefits under part 

22 A of this title and were— 

23 ‘‘(aa) entitled to supplementary secu24 rity income benefits (excluding any State 


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1 supplementation) under title XVI of this 

2 Act; 

3 ‘‘(bb) eligible for medical assistance 

4 under a State plan under title XIX; or 

5 ‘‘(cc) receiving aid or assistance under 

6 any plan of the State approved under title 

7 I, X, XIV, or XVI.’’. 

8 SEC. 212. REBASING TARGET AMOUNT FOR HOSPITALS IN 

9 TERRITORIES. 

10 Section 1886(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(M)(i) For each cost reporting period be14 ginning on or after October 1, 2017, in the case 

15 of a hospital located in a territory of the United 

16 States, there shall be substituted for the target 

17 amount otherwise determined under subpara18 graph (A) the rebased target amount (as de19 fined in clause (ii)), if such substitution results 

20 in an amount of payment under this section to 

21 the hospital for such period that is greater than 

22 the amount of payment that would be made 

23 under this section to the hospital for such pe24 riod if this subparagraph were not to apply. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, 

2 the term ‘rebased target amount’ has the mean3 ing given the term ‘target amount’ in subpara4 graph (A), except that— 

5 ‘‘(I) there shall be substituted for the 

6 base cost reporting period the 12-month 

7 cost reporting period beginning during fis8 cal year 2015; 

9 ‘‘(II) any reference in subparagraph 

10 (A)(i) to the ‘first such cost reporting pe11 riod’ is deemed a reference to the first cost 

12 reporting period beginning on or after Oc13 tober 1, 2017; and 

14 ‘‘(III) the applicable percentage in15 crease shall only be applied under subpara16 graph (B)(ii) for cost reporting periods be17 ginning on or after October 1, 2017. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Nothing in this subparagraph shall 

19 affect any rebasing request by a hospital for 

20 any cost reporting period beginning during a 

21 fiscal year before fiscal year 2015.’’. 

22 SEC. 213. MEDICARE DSH TARGET ADJUSTMENT FOR HOS23 PITALS IN TERRITORIES. 

24 Section 1886(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)), as amended by section 212, is 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(N)(i) For each cost reporting period be4 ginning on or after October 1, 2017, in the case 

5 of a hospital that is located in a territory of the 

6 United States other than Puerto Rico and that 

7 would be a subsection (d) hospital if it were lo8 cated in one of the 50 States, the target 

9 amount shall be increased by— 

10 ‘‘(I) in the case that such hospital has 

11 a disproportionate patient percentage of 

12 not less than 15 percent and not greater 

13 than 40 percent, 10 percent; and 

14 ‘‘(II) in the case that such hospital 

15 has a disproportionate patient percentage 

16 of greater than 40 percent, 10 percent plus 

17 60 percent of the number of percentage 

18 points by which such hospital’s dispropor19 tionate patient percentage exceeds 40 per20 cent. 

21 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, 

22 the term ‘disproportionate patient percentage’ 

23 has the meaning given such term in subsection 

24 (d)(5)(F)(vi), except that in applying such 

25 meaning any reference under such subsection to 


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1 individuals entitled to supplementary security 

2 income under title XVI shall be deemed for pur3 poses of this subparagraph to include individ4 uals— 

5 ‘‘(I) eligible for medical assistance 

6 under a State plan under title XIX; or 

7 ‘‘(II) receiving aid or assistance under 

8 any plan of the territory approved under 

9 title I, X, XIV, or XVI.’’. 

10 PART II—PART B 

11 SEC. 221. APPLICATION OF PART B DEEMED ENROLLMENT 

12 PROCESS TO RESIDENTS OF PUERTO RICO; 

13 SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND LIMIT 

14 ON LATE ENROLLMENT PENALTIES. 

15 (a) APPLICATION OF PART B DEEMED ENROLLMENT

16 PROCESS TO RESIDENTS OF PUERTO RICO.—Section 

17 1837(f)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 1395p(f)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘, exclusive of Puerto 

19 Rico’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

21 subsection (a) shall apply to individuals whose initial en22 rollment period under section 1837(d) of the Social Secu23 rity Act begins on or after the first day of the effective 

24 month, specified by the Secretary of Health and Human 


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1 Services under section 1839(j)(1)(C) of such Act, as added 

2 by subsection (c)(2). 

3 (c) TRANSITION PROVIDING SPECIAL ENROLLMENT

4 PERIOD AND LIMIT ON LATE ENROLLMENT PENALTIES

5 FOR CERTAIN MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES.—Section 1839 

6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395r) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by in9 serting ‘‘subject to section 1839(j)(2),’’ after ‘‘sub10 section (i)(4) or (l) of section 1837,’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF

14 PUERTO RICO.— 

15 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD, COVERAGE

16 PERIOD FOR RESIDENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE BUT

17 NOT ENROLLED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a tran19 sition individual (as defined in paragraph (3)) 

20 who is not enrolled under this part as of the 

21 day before the first day of the effective month 

22 (as defined in subparagraph (C)), the Secretary 

23 shall provide for a special enrollment period 

24 under section 1837 of 7 months beginning with 


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1 such effective month during which the indi2 vidual may be enrolled under this part. 

3 ‘‘(B) COVERAGE PERIOD.—In the case of 

4 such an individual who enrolls during such spe5 cial enrollment period, the coverage period 

6 under section 1838 shall begin on the first day 

7 of the second month after the month in which 

8 the individual enrolls. 

9 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE MONTH DEFINED.—In 

10 this section, the term ‘effective month’ means a 

11 month, not earlier than October 2018 and not 

12 later than January 2019, specified by the Sec13 retary. 

14 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION IN LATE ENROLLMENT PEN15 ALTIES FOR CURRENT ENROLLEES AND INDIVID16 UALS ENROLLING DURING TRANSITION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a tran18 sition individual who is enrolled under this part 

19 as of the day before the first day of the effec20 tive month or who enrolls under this part on or 

21 after the date of the enactment of this sub22 section but before the end of the special enroll23 ment period under paragraph (1)(A), the 

24 amount of the late enrollment penalty imposed 

25 under section 1839(b) shall be recalculated by 


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1 reducing the penalty to 15 percent of the pen2 alty otherwise established. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

4 shall be applied in the case of a transition indi5 vidual who— 

6 ‘‘(i) is enrolled under this part as of 

7 the month before the effective month, for 

8 premiums for months beginning with such 

9 effective month; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) enrolls under this part on or 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act 

12 and before the end of the special enroll13 ment period under paragraph (1)(A), for 

14 premiums for months during the coverage 

15 period under this part which occur during 

16 or after the effective month. 

17 ‘‘(C) LOSS OF REDUCTION IF INDIVIDUAL

18 TERMINATES ENROLLMENT.—Subparagraph 

19 (A) shall not apply to a transition individual if 

20 the individual terminates enrollment under this 

21 part after the end of the special enrollment pe22 riod under paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSITION INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘transition individual’ means 

25 an individual who resides in Puerto Rico and who 


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1 would have been deemed enrolled under this part 

2 pursuant to section 1837(f) before the first day of 

3 the effective month but for the fact that the indi4 vidual was a resident of Puerto Rico, regardless of 

5 whether the individual is enrolled under this part as 

6 of such first day.’’. 

7 PART III—MEDICARE ADVANTAGE (PART C) 

8 SEC. 231. ADJUSTMENT IN BENCHMARK FOR LOW-BASE 

9 PAYMENT COUNTIES IN PUERTO RICO. 

10 Section 1853(n) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 1395w–103(n)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and (5)’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘, (5), and (6)’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘In no case’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (6), in no 

16 case’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULES FOR BLENDED BENCH20 MARK AMOUNT FOR TERRITORIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

22 (2), the blended benchmark amount for an area 

23 in a territory for a year (beginning with 2018) 

24 shall not be less than 80 percent of the national 

25 average of the base payment amounts specified 


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1 in paragraph (2)(E) for such year for areas 

2 within the 50 States and the District of Colum3 bia. 

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In no case shall the 

5 blended benchmark amount for an area in a 

6 territory for a year under subparagraph (A) ex7 ceed the lowest blended benchmark amount for 

8 any area within the 50 States and the District 

9 of Columbia for such year.’’. 

10 PART IV—PART D 

11 SEC. 241. IMPROVED USE OF ALLOCATED PRESCRIPTION 

12 DRUG FUNDS BY TERRITORIES. 

13 Section 1935(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 1396u–5(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(5) IMPROVED USE OF FUNDS FOR LOW-IN17 COME PART D ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—This sub18 section shall be applied beginning with fiscal year 

19 2018 as follows, notwithstanding any other provision 

20 of this title: 

21 ‘‘(A) CLARIFYING STATE FLEXIBILITY TO

22 COVER NON-DUAL-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—In 

23 this title, the term ‘medical assistance’ includes 

24 financial assistance furnished by a State under 

25 this subsection to part D eligible individuals 


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1 who, if they were residing in one of the 50 

2 States or the District of Columbia, would qual3 ify as subsidy eligible individuals under section 

4 1860D–14(a)(3), and without regard to wheth5 er such individuals otherwise qualify for medical 

6 assistance under this title. 

7 ‘‘(B) 100 PERCENT FMAP TO REFLECT NO

8 STATE MATCHING REQUIRED FOR PART D LOW9 INCOME SUBSIDIES.—The Federal medical as10 sistance percentage applicable to the assistance 

11 furnished under this subsection is 100 percent. 

12 ‘‘(C) LIMITED FUNDING FOR SPECIAL

13 RULES.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B), and the 

14 provision of medical assistance for covered part 

15 D drugs to low-income part D eligible individ16 uals for a State and period under this sub17 section, is limited to the amount specified in 

18 paragraph (3) for such State and period, with19 out regard to the application of subsection (f) 

20 or (g) of section 1108.’’. 

21 SEC. 242. REPORT ON TREATMENT OF TERRITORIES 

22 UNDER MEDICARE PART D. 

23 Paragraph (4) of section 1935(e) of the Social Secu24 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396u–5(e)) is amended to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPORT ON APPLICATION OF SUB2 SECTION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Feb4 ruary 1, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 Congress a report on the application of this 

6 subsection during the period beginning with fis7 cal year 2006 and ending fiscal year 2019. 

8 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN

9 REPORT.—Such report shall include— 

10 ‘‘(i) program guidance issued by the 

11 Secretary to implement this subsection; 

12 ‘‘(ii) for each territory, information on 

13 the increased amount under paragraph (3) 

14 and how the territory has applied such 

15 amount, including the territory’s program 

16 design, expenditures, and number of indi17 viduals (and dual-eligible individuals) as18 sisted; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) a description of differences be20 tween how such territories are treated 

21 under part D of title XVIII and under this 

22 title compared with the treatment of the 

23 50 States and the District of Columbia 

24 under such part and this title for different 


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1 fiscal years within the period covered 

2 under the report. 

3 ‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Such report 

4 shall include recommendations for improving 

5 prescription drug coverage for low-income indi6 viduals in each territory, including rec7 ommendations regarding each of the following 

8 alternative approaches: 

9 ‘‘(i) Adjusting the aggregate amount 

10 specified in paragraph (3)(B). 

11 ‘‘(ii) Allowing residents of the terri12 tories to be subsidy eligible individuals 

13 under section 1860D–14, notwithstanding 

14 subsection (a)(3)(F) of such section, or 

15 providing substantially equivalent low-in16 come prescription drug subsidies to such 

17 residents.’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 

19 SEC. 251. MODIFIED TREATMENT OF TERRITORIES WITH 

20 RESPECT TO APPLICATION OF ACA ANNUAL 

21 HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER FEES. 

22 Section 9010 of the Patient Protection and Afford23 able Care Act (26 U.S.C. 4001 note prec.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘subject 

2 to subsection (j)(1),’’ after ‘‘With respect to each 

3 covered entity,’’; and 

4 (2) by striking subsection (j) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL RULES FOR TREATMENT OF TERRI7 TORIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In applying this section 

9 with respect to United States health risks located 

10 outside of the 50 States or the District of Columbia 

11 for years beginning with 2018— 

12 ‘‘(A) the amount of the fee under sub13 section (b) shall be 50 percent of the amount 

14 of the fee otherwise determined; 

15 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall deposit the 

16 amount of such fees collected for each territory 

17 into a separate account; and 

18 ‘‘(C) amounts in such an account for a ter19 ritory for a year are appropriated and shall be 

20 available to the territory in accordance with 

21 paragraph (2). 

22 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

23 available to a territory under paragraph (1)(C) with 

24 respect to a territory for a year shall be made avail25 able to the territory, upon application of the terriVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 tory to the Secretary of Health and Human Serv2 ices, only for the following purposes, as elected by 

3 the territory in such application: 

4 ‘‘(A) INCREASED PRESCRIPTION DRUG AS5 SISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME PART D ELIGIBLE

6 INDIVIDUALS.—For increasing the amount of 

7 funds made available to the territory under sec8 tion 1935(e)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1396u–5(e)(3)) for assistance for low-in10 come part D eligible individuals in obtaining 

11 part D covered drugs. 

12 ‘‘(B) SATISFYING STATE MEDICAID

13 MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of 

14 the territory meeting non-Federal matching re15 quirements imposed with respect to obtaining 

16 Federal financial participation under title XIX 

17 of the Social Security Act.’’. 

18 SEC. 252. MEDICAID AND CHIP TERRITORY TRANSPARENCY 

19 AND INFORMATION. 

20 (a) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON FEDERAL

21 EXPENDITURES UNDER MEDICAID AND CHIP IN THE

22 TERRITORIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services shall publish, and periodically update, on 

25 the Internet site of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 


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1 Services information on Medicaid and CHIP carried out 

2 in the territories of the United States. Such information 

3 shall include, with respect to each such territory— 

4 (1) the income levels established by the terri5 tory for purposes of eligibility of an individual to re6 ceive medical assistance under Medicaid or child 

7 health assistance under CHIP; 

8 (2) the number of individuals enrolled in Med9 icaid and CHIP in such territory; 

10 (3) any State plan amendments in effect to 

11 carry out Medicaid or CHIP in such territory; 

12 (4) any waiver of the requirements of title XIX 

13 or title XXI issued by the Secretary to carry out 

14 Medicaid or CHIP in the territory, including a waiv15 er under section 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 1315), any application for such a waiver, and 

17 any documentation related to such application (in18 cluding correspondence); 

19 (5) the amount of the Federal and non-Federal 

20 share of expenditures under Medicaid and CHIP in 

21 such territory; 

22 (6) the systems in place for the furnishing of 

23 health care items and services under Medicaid and 

24 CHIP in such territory; 

25 (7) the design of CHIP in such territory; and 


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1 (8) other information regarding the carrying 

2 out of Medicaid and CHIP in the territory that is 

3 published on such Internet site with respect to car4 rying out Medicaid and CHIP in each State and the 

5 District of Columbia. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) CHIP.—The term ‘‘CHIP’’ means the 

8 State Children’s Health Insurance Program under 

9 title XXI of the Social Security Act. 

10 (2) MEDICAID.—The term ‘‘Medicaid’’ means 

11 the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social 

12 Security Act. 

13 (3) TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘territory of the 

14 United States’’ includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is15 lands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and 

16 American Samoa. 

17 SEC. 253. REPORT ON EXCLUSION OF TERRITORIES FROM 

18 EXCHANGES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1, 2020, 

20 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit 

21 to Congress a report that details the adverse impacts in 

22 each territory from the practical exclusion of the terri23 tories from the provisions of part II of subtitle D of title 

24 I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act inso25 far as such provisions provide for the establishment of an 


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1 American Health Benefit Exchange or the administration 

2 of a federally facilitated Exchange in each State and in 

3 the District of Columbia for the purpose of making health 

4 insurance more affordable and accessible for individuals 

5 and small businesses. 

6 (b) INFORMATION IN REPORT.—The report shall in7 clude information on the following: 

8 (1) An estimate of the total number of unin9 sured and underinsured individuals residing in each 

10 territory with respect to health insurance coverage. 

11 (2) A description of the number of health insur12 ance issuers in each territory and the health insur13 ance plans these issuers offer. 

14 (3) An estimate of the number of individuals re15 siding in each territory who are denied premium and 

16 cost-sharing assistance that would otherwise be 

17 available to them for obtaining health insurance cov18 erage through an Exchange if they resided in one of 

19 the 50 States or in the District of Columbia. 

20 (4) An estimate of the amount of Federal as21 sistance described in paragraph (3) that is not being 

22 made available to residents of each territory. 

23 (5) An estimate of the number of small employ24 ers in each territory that would be eligible to pur25 chase health insurance coverage through a Small 


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1 Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Market2 place that would operate as part of an Exchange if 

3 the employers were in one of the 50 States or in the 

4 District of Columbia. 

5 SEC. 254. ACCESS TO COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN CER6 TAIN AREAS WITHOUT ANY AVAILABLE EX7 CHANGE PLANS. 

8 Part 2 of subtitle D of title I of the Patient Protec9 tion and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031 et seq.) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1314. ACCESS TO COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN 

12 CERTAIN AREAS WITHOUT ANY AVAILABLE 

13 EXCHANGE PLANS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COVERAGE THROUGH DC SHOP EX16 CHANGE.—Not later than 3 months after the date of 

17 enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consulta18 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Di19 rector of the Office of Personnel Management, shall 

20 establish a mechanism to ensure that, for any plan 

21 year beginning on or after the date described in sub22 section (d), any individual described in paragraph 

23 (2) may enroll in health insurance coverage in the 

24 small group market through the Exchange operating 

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1 surance coverage that is available to Members of 

2 Congress and congressional staff (as defined in sec3 tion 1312(d)(3)(D)). 

4 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An individual 

5 described in this paragraph is any individual who— 

6 ‘‘(A) is not eligible to enroll in an em7 ployer-sponsored health plan; and 

8 ‘‘(B) resides in a possession of the United 

9 States in which the Secretary certifies that no 

10 qualified health plan is offered through an Ex11 change established under this title. 

12 ‘‘(3) POSSESSION OF THE UNITED STATES.— 

13 For purposes of this section, the term ‘possession of 

14 the United States’ shall include such possessions as 

15 are specified in section 937(a)(1) of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986. 

17 ‘‘(b) PREMIUM ASSISTANCE TAX CREDITS AND

18 COST-SHARING.—Any individual described in paragraph 

19 (a)(2) who enrolls in health insurance coverage through 

20 the Exchange operating in the District of Columbia pursu21 ant to subsection (a)(1) shall be eligible for any premium 

22 tax credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986, or reduced cost-sharing under section 1402, that 

24 the individual would otherwise be eligible for if enrolling 

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1 ance coverage in the individual market through the Ex2 change operating in the District of Columbia. 

3 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF POSSESSIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO POSSESSIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) MIRROR CODE POSSESSION.—The 

6 Secretary of the Treasury shall periodically (but 

7 not less frequently than annually) pay to each 

8 possession of the United States with a mirror 

9 code tax system amounts equal to the loss to 

10 that possession by reason of the application of 

11 this section (determined without regard to para12 graph (2)) with respect to taxable years begin13 ning after the date described in subsection (d). 

14 Such amounts shall be determined by the Sec15 retary of the Treasury based on information 

16 provided by the government of the respective 

17 possession. 

18 ‘‘(B) OTHER POSSESSIONS.—The Sec19 retary of the Treasury shall periodically (but 

20 not less frequently than annually) pay to each 

21 possession of the United States which does not 

22 have a mirror code tax system amounts esti23 mated by the Secretary of the Treasury as 

24 being equal to the aggregate benefits that would 

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1 sion by reason of the application of this section 

2 for any taxable years beginning after the date 

3 described in subsection (d) if a mirror code tax 

4 system had been in effect in such possession. 

5 The preceding sentence shall not apply with re6 spect to any possession of the United States un7 less such possession has a plan, which has been 

8 approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, 

9 under which such possession will promptly dis10 tribute such payments to the residents of such 

11 possession. 

12 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH CREDIT ALLOWED

13 AGAINST UNITED STATES INCOME TAXES.—No cred14 it shall be allowed against United States income 

15 taxes for any taxable year under section 36B of the 

16 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to any person— 

17 ‘‘(A) to whom a credit is allowed against 

18 taxes imposed by the possession by reason of 

19 this section (determined without regard to this 

20 paragraph) for such taxable year, or 

21 ‘‘(B) who is eligible for a payment under 

22 a plan described in paragraph (1)(B) with re23 spect to such taxable year. 

24 ‘‘(3) MIRROR CODE TAX SYSTEM.—For pur25 poses of this subsection, the term ‘mirror code tax 


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1 system’ means, with respect to any possession of the 

2 United States, the income tax system of such posses3 sion if the income tax liability of the residents of 

4 such possession under such system is determined by 

5 reference to the income tax laws of the United 

6 States as if such possession were the United States. 

7 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—For pur8 poses of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 

9 States Code, or any similar rule of law, the pay10 ments under this subsection shall be treated in the 

11 same manner as a refund due from the credit al12 lowed under section 36B of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986. 

14 ‘‘(d) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described in this 

15 subsection is the date on which the Secretary establishes 

16 the mechanism described in subsection (a)(1).’’. 

17 SEC. 255. EXTENSION OF FAMILY-TO-FAMILY HEALTH IN18 FORMATION CENTERS PROGRAM TO TERRI19 TORIES. 

20 Section 501(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 701(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and 

24 each fiscal year thereafter, such centers shall be 

25 developed in all States’’ and inserting ‘‘and 


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1 each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year 

2 2017, such centers shall be developed in each of 

3 the 50 States and the District of Columbia’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

6 subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(D) With respect to fiscal year 2018 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter, such centers shall be 

9 developed in each State (as defined for purposes 

10 of this title).’’; and 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (5). 

12 SEC. 256. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN SOCIAL SERVICES 

13 BLOCK GRANT ALLOTMENTS FOR PUERTO 

14 RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of increasing the 

16 allotments for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for fis17 cal year 2018 under section 2003 of the Social Security 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1397b) in accordance with subsection (b), 

19 there is appropriated $138,600,000 for fiscal year 2018. 

20 (b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro22 priated under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

23 Health and Human Services shall increase the 

24 amount of the allotments for Puerto Rico and the 

25 Virgin Islands for fiscal year 2018 under section 


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1 2003 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 1397b)— 

3 (A) in the case of Puerto Rico, by 

4 $126,000,000; and 

5 (B) in the case of the Virgin Islands, by 

6 $12,600,000. 

7 (2) NO EFFECT ON ALLOTMENTS TO OTHER

8 STATES.—The increase to the allotments for fiscal 

9 year 2018 for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 

10 under paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) shall be made after the determination 

12 of the allotments for Puerto Rico and the Vir13 gin Islands for fiscal year 2018 under section 

14 2003 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1397b); and 

16 (B) shall not affect the amount of the al17 lotment determined for fiscal year 2018 for any 

18 other State under such section. 

19 (c) SPECIAL RULES.— 

20 (1) Notwithstanding section 2002(c) of the So21 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397a(c)), the increase 

22 in the allotments for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Is23 lands for fiscal year 2018 shall remain available 

24 until expended, without fiscal year limitation. 


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1 (2) Paragraphs (1) and (4) of section 2005(a) 

2 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397d(a)) 

3 shall not apply to the increase in the allotments for 

4 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for fiscal year 

5 2018 under subsection (b). 

6 TITLE III—AGRICULTURE 

7 SEC. 301. RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS.—Out 

9 of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there 

10 is appropriated to the Administrator of the Rural Utilities 

11 Service $284,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

12 available until expended, to provide for eligible programs 

13 and activities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands— 

14 (1) water or waste disposal grants under sec15 tion 306(a)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

16 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(2)); 

17 (2) rural water or wastewater technical assist18 ance and training grants under section 306(a)(14) 

19 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(14)); 

20 (3) emergency community water assistance 

21 grants under section 306A of that Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 1926a); and 

23 (4) solid waste management grants under sec24 tion 310B(b) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(b)). 


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1 (b) ELECTRIC PROGRAM.—Out of funds of the Treas2 ury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to 

3 the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service 

4 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available 

5 until expended, to provide electric infrastructure grants 

6 for eligible programs and activities in Puerto Rico and the 

7 Virgin Islands under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

8 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 302. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 

10 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro11 priated, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Agri12 culture $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

13 available until expended, to provide financial assistance 

14 and grants for eligible programs and activities in Puerto 

15 Rico and the Virgin Islands under section 9007 of the 

16 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

17 U.S.C. 8107). 

18 SEC. 303. RURAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES PROGRAM. 

19 Of the amounts made available for each of fiscal 

20 years 2018 through 2027 for the ‘‘Rural Housing Service, 

21 Rural Community Facilities Program Account’’, the 

22 ‘‘Rural Business—Cooperative Service, Rural Business 

23 Program Account’’, and the ‘‘Rural Utilities Service, 

24 Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account’’, the 

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1 cent for assistance in one or more county-equivalent sub2 divisions in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands the aver3 age percentage of the population of which living in poverty 

4 during the 30-year period ending on the date of enactment 

5 of this Act is not less than 20 percent, as measured by 

6 the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses. 

7 SEC. 304. RURAL HOUSING. 

8 (a) OTHER SPECIAL LOANS AND GRANTS FOR MINOR

9 IMPROVEMENTS TO FARM HOUSING AND BUILDINGS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the 

11 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro12 priated to the Secretary of Agriculture $20,600,000, 

13 to remain available until expended, for the cost of 

14 grants for very low-income housing repair and rural 

15 housing preservation under section 504 of the Hous16 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1474) in a covered dis17 aster area. 

18 (2) LIMITATION ON GRANTS.—Notwithstanding 

19 any limitation established by the Secretary of Agri20 culture under the third sentence of section 504(a) of 

21 the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1474(a)), the 

22 maximum amount of a grant under paragraph (1) 

23 shall be $20,000. 

24 (b) MUTUAL AND SELF-HELP HOUSING.—Out of 

25 any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 


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1 there is appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture 

2 $5,150,000, to remain available until expended, for the 

3 cost of grants and contracts under section 523(b)(1)(A) 

4 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490c(b)(1)(A)), 

5 which shall be used to support grants made under sub6 section (a)(1). 

7 SEC. 305. WATERSHED AND FLOOD PREVENTION OPER8 ATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the Treasury 

10 not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture $18,044,000 for ‘‘Watershed and 

12 Flood Prevention Operations’’ in Puerto Rico and the Vir13 gin Islands, of which $9,022,000 shall be for necessary 

14 expenses to purchase and restore floodplain easements as 

15 authorized by section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act 

16 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203). 

17 (b) REQUIREMENT.—Funds appropriated under sub18 section (a) shall be allocated to projects that can be fully 

19 funded and completed with the funds appropriated by this 

20 Act and to activities that can commence promptly after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 306. COMMUNITY FACILITIES GRANTS. 

23 Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

24 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) is amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(27) PRIORITY FOR GRANTS FOR ESSENTIAL

2 COMMUNITY FACILITIES DAMAGED DUE TO HURRI3 CANE OR SEVERE WIND.—To the maximum extent 

4 practicable, in providing community facility grants 

5 under paragraphs (19), (20), and (21), the Sec6 retary shall give priority to applicants that would 

7 use the grant— 

8 ‘‘(A) to rebuild essential community facili9 ties in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the 

10 United States Virgin Islands that were dam11 aged or destroyed due to a hurricane or severe 

12 wind; or 

13 ‘‘(B) to construct essential community fa14 cilities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or 

15 the United States Virgin Islands to improve 

16 food security and food independence in an area 

17 that was damaged by a hurricane or severe 

18 wind.’’. 

19 SEC. 307. WAIVER OF NONINSURED CROP DISASTER AS20 SISTANCE PROGRAM SERVICE FEE. 

21 Section 196(k)(2) of the Federal Agriculture Im22 provement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333(k)(2)) 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1) in the case of’’ and 

24 inserting the following: ‘‘paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, in 

2 the case of a county located in— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Commonwealth of Puerto 

4 Rico; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the United States Virgin Islands; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of’’. 

8 SEC. 308. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS. 

9 Section 25 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

10 (7 U.S.C. 2034) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN HURRICANE RECOVERY

14 PROJECTS.—For each of fiscal years 2018 through 

15 2027, not less than 10 percent of the amount of 

16 grants under this section shall be made available for 

17 grants for community food projects described in sub18 section (d)(6).’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking the 

23 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(6) for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

2 2027, assist communities affected by hurricanes and 

3 severe wind.’’; and 

4 (3) in subsection (e)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 

6 Federal’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

7 paragraph (4), the Federal’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN HURRICANE RECOVERY

10 PROJECTS.—For each of fiscal years 2018 through 

11 2027, in the case of a community food project de12 scribed in subsection (d)(6), the Federal share de13 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be 100 percent.’’. 

14 SEC. 309. PARTICIPATION OF PUERTO RICO, AMERICAN 

15 SAMOA, AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA IS16 LANDS IN SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION AS17 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (1) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Food and 

20 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amend21 ed— 

22 (A) in subsection (r), by inserting ‘‘the 

23 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

24 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (u)(3), by inserting ‘‘the 

2 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

3 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

4 Mariana Islands,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.—Section 5 of the 

6 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, 

9 by inserting ‘‘the Commonwealth of Puerto 

10 Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

11 the Northern Mariana Islands,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

13 Guam,’’ and inserting ‘‘Guam, the Common14 wealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and 

15 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is16 lands,’’; and 

17 (C) in subsection (e)— 

18 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting 

19 ‘‘the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Amer20 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

21 Northern Mariana Islands,’’ after ‘‘Ha22 waii,’’ each place it appears; and 

23 (ii) in paragraph (6)(B), by inserting 

24 ‘‘the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Amer25 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 


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1 Northern Mariana Islands,’’ after 

2 ‘‘Guam,’’. 

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made 

5 by this subsection shall be effective with respect 

6 to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, or the Com7 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as 

8 applicable, on the date described in subpara9 graph (B) if the Secretary of Agriculture sub10 mits to Congress a certification under sub11 section (f)(3) of section 19 of the Food and Nu12 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028). 

13 (B) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date referred 

14 to in subparagraph (A) is, with respect to Puer15 to Rico, American Samoa, or the Common16 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

17 date established by Puerto Rico, American 

18 Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands, respectively, in the applicable 

20 plan of operation submitted to the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture under subsection (f)(1)(A) of sec22 tion 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

23 (7 U.S.C. 2028). 


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1 (b) TRANSITION.—Section 19 of the Food and Nutri2 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028) is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f) TRANSITION OF PUERTO RICO, AMERICAN

5 SAMOA, AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS TO SUP6 PLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PLAN BY PUERTO RICO, 

8 AMERICAN SAMOA, AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA

9 ISLANDS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF PLAN

11 OF OPERATION.—If a State agency is des12 ignated by a governmental entity and submits 

13 to the Secretary a request to participate in the 

14 supplemental nutrition assistance program and 

15 a plan of operation under section 11 (including 

16 a date on which the governmental entity will 

17 begin to participate in the supplemental nutri18 tion assistance program), the Secretary shall 

19 determine whether that governmental entity 

20 and State agency satisfy the requirements that 

21 would apply under this Act for approval of that 

22 plan if the governmental entity were one of the 

23 several States. 

24 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 approve a plan of operation under subpara3 graph (A) if the governmental entity and 

4 State agency satisfy the requirements de5 scribed in that subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary 

7 does not approve a plan of operation under 

8 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall pro9 vide to the governmental entity a state10 ment that describes each requirement that 

11 is not satisfied by the plan. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF RETAIL FOOD STORES.—If 

13 the Secretary approves a plan of operation under 

14 paragraph (1)(B)(i), the Secretary shall accept from 

15 retail food stores located in the applicable govern16 mental entity applications under section 9 for ap17 proval to participate in the supplemental nutrition 

18 assistance program. 

19 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF CERTIFICATION TO CON20 GRESS.—The Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

21 certification that a governmental entity qualifies to 

22 participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance 

23 program as if the governmental entity were a State 

24 if the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(A) approves the plan of operation under 

2 paragraph (1)(B)(i); and 

3 ‘‘(B) approves the applications under para4 graph (2) of a number of retail food stores lo5 cated in the governmental entity requesting to 

6 participate in the supplemental nutrition assist7 ance program that would be sufficient to satisfy 

8 the requirements of this Act if the govern9 mental entity were one of the several States. 

10 ‘‘(4) CASH BENEFITS PROVIDED IN PUERTO

11 RICO.—As part of a plan of operation submitted 

12 under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall allow 

13 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to provide a per14 centage of benefits under the supplemental nutrition 

15 assistance program in the form of cash. 

16 ‘‘(5) FAMILY MARKET PROGRAM IN PUERTO

17 RICO.—As part of a plan of operation submitted 

18 under paragraph (1)(A), notwithstanding subsection 

19 (g), the Secretary shall allow the Commonwealth of 

20 Puerto Rico to continue to carry out, under the sup21 plemental nutrition assistance program, the Family 

22 Market Program established under this section. 

23 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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1 ments made by section 308(a) of the Puerto Rico 

2 and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2018 

3 such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2018, to 

4 remain available until expended. 

5 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a) through (e) 

7 shall cease to be effective with respect to the Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, or the 

9 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as 

10 applicable, on the date described in paragraph (2) if 

11 the Secretary submits to Congress a certification 

12 under subsection (f)(3). 

13 ‘‘(2) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date referred to 

14 in paragraph (1) is, with respect to the Common15 wealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

17 date established by the Commonwealth of Puerto 

18 Rico, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the 

19 Northern Mariana Islands, respectively, in the appli20 cable plan of operation submitted to the Secretary 

21 under subsection (f)(1)(A).’’. 


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1 SEC. 310. PAYMENT LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN PRO2 DUCERS IN DISASTER AREAS. 

3 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL AGRICULTURAL DISASTER AS4 SISTANCE.—Section 1501 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

5 (7 U.S.C. 9081) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

8 (3), and (4) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and 

9 (6), respectively; 

10 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

11 so redesignated) the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) DISASTER COUNTY.—The term ‘disaster 

13 county’ means a county included in the geographical 

14 area covered by a qualifying natural disaster dec15 laration for calendar year 2017 for which the re16 quest for that declaration was submitted during the 

17 period beginning on January 1, 2017, and ending on 

18 the date of enactment of the Puerto Rico and Virgin 

19 Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2018.’’; and 

20 (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so 

21 redesignated) the following: 

22 ‘‘(5) QUALIFYING NATURAL DISASTER DEC23 LARATION.—The term ‘qualifying natural disaster 

24 declaration’ means— 

25 ‘‘(A) a natural disaster declared by the 

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1 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

2 U.S.C. 1961(a)); or 

3 ‘‘(B) a major disaster or emergency des4 ignated by the President under the Robert T. 

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

7 (2) in subsection (e)(4)(B)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

11 (ii), the total’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(ii) CERTAIN PRODUCERS IN DIS14 ASTER COUNTIES.—The total amount of 

15 payments received, directly or indirectly, 

16 by a person or legal entity (excluding a 

17 joint venture or general partnership) in a 

18 disaster county under this subsection may 

19 not exceed $625,000 for the period of the 

20 2017 through 2022 crop years.’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (f)(2)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), the total’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN PRODUCERS IN DISASTER

3 COUNTIES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PAY5 MENTS AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR

6 LIVESTOCK, HONEY BEES, AND FARM7 RAISED FISH.—The total amount of pay8 ments received, directly or indirectly, by a 

9 person or legal entity (excluding a joint 

10 venture or general partnership) in a dis11 aster county under subsections (b) and (d) 

12 may not exceed $625,000 for the period of 

13 the 2017 through 2022 crop years. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER

15 PROGRAM.—Payments to a person or legal 

16 entity (excluding a joint venture or general 

17 partnership) in a disaster county under 

18 subsection (c) shall be subject to subpara19 graph (A).’’. 

20 (b) NONINSURED CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

21 Section 196(i) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

22 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333(i)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection, the’’ and in25 serting the following ‘‘subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) DISASTER COUNTY.—The term ‘dis2 aster county’ means a county included in the 

3 geographical area covered by a qualifying nat4 ural disaster declaration for calendar year 2017 

5 for which the request for that declaration was 

6 submitted during the period beginning on Janu7 ary 1, 2017, and ending on the date of enact8 ment of the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Eq9 uitable Rebuild Act of 2018. 

10 ‘‘(B) LEGAL ENTITY; PERSON.—The’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING NATURAL DISASTER

13 DECLARATION.—The term ‘qualifying natural 

14 disaster declaration’ means— 

15 ‘‘(i) a natural disaster declared by the 

16 Secretary under section 321(a) of the Con17 solidated Farm and Rural Development 

18 Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) a major disaster or emergency 

20 designated by the President under the 

21 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

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

23 5121 et seq.).’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘The total’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara4 graph (B), the total’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN PRODUCERS IN DISASTER

7 COUNTIES.—The total amount of payments re8 ceived, directly or indirectly, by a person or 

9 legal entity (excluding a joint venture or gen10 eral partnership) in a disaster county under 

11 this subsection may not exceed $625,000 for 

12 the period of the 2017 through 2022 crop 

13 years.’’. 

14 SEC. 311. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PRODUCERS AS SO15 CIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND 

16 RANCHERS. 

17 Section 2501 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

18 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PRODUCERS.—For 

21 purposes of administering any grant program and con22 servation program of the Department of Agriculture, the 

23 Secretary shall consider an agricultural producer oper24 ating in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 


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1 States Virgin Islands, or both, to be a socially disadvan2 taged farmer or rancher.’’. 

3 SEC. 312. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROTECTION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

6 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—For each of fiscal years 

9 2018 through 2022, the Federal share of the cost of any 

10 emergency measure under this section or section 7 of the 

11 Act of June 28, 1938 (33 U.S.C. 701b–1), in the Com12 monwealth of Puerto Rico or the United States Virgin Is13 lands shall be 100 percent.’’. 

14 SEC. 313. EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

15 Section 407(d) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

16 (16 U.S.C. 2206(d)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘Payments’’ and inserting the 

18 following: 

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

20 payments’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(2) PUERTO RICO AND VIRGIN ISLANDS.—For 

23 each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, payments 

24 made under subsection (b) shall be 100 percent of 

25 the total cost of the emergency measures carried out 


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1 by an owner of nonindustrial private forest land in 

2 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the United 

3 States Virgin Islands.’’. 

4 SEC. 314. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PRODUCERS AS LIM5 ITED RESOURCE PRODUCERS. 

6 Title IV of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 

7 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 408. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PRODUCERS AS LIM10 ITED RESOURCE PRODUCERS. 

11 ‘‘In carrying out sections 401 and 402, the Secretary 

12 shall consider an agricultural producer operating in the 

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

14 Islands, or both to be a limited resource producer, as de15 termined by the Secretary.’’. 

16 SEC. 315. RETROACTIVE AVAILABILITY OF CATASTROPHIC 

17 LEVEL OF PROTECTION UNDER NONINSURED 

18 CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

19 Section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

20 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(m) RETROACTIVE AVAILABILITY FOR CERTAIN

23 PRODUCERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of 

25 enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall 


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1 retroactively make available to producers in disaster 

2 counties (as defined in subsection (i)(1)) in the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United 

4 States Virgin Islands the catastrophic level of pro5 tection under this section for the 2017 crop year. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—A producer desiring assist7 ance under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Sec8 retary an application for the assistance not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

10 subsection.’’. 

11 SEC. 316. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE FOR 

12 EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS UNDER 

13 THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT TO 

14 PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

15 The matter under the heading ‘‘CHILD NUTRITION

16 PROGRAMS’’ of title IV of division A of the Consolidated 

17 Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115–31), is amend18 ed by inserting before the period at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘Provided further, That any amounts made available 

20 under this heading to provide competitive grants to State 

21 agencies for subgrants to local educational agencies and 

22 schools to purchase the equipment needed to serve 

23 healthier meals, improve food safety, or to help support 

24 the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the school 

25 breakfast program that remain unexpended on the date 


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1 of enactment of the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equi2 table Rebuild Act of 2018 shall be distributed to State 

3 agencies in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for those 

4 purposes’’. 

5 SEC. 317. SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM 

6 FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the Treasury 

8 not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 

9 Secretary of Agriculture $14,000,000 to make grants to 

10 States (as defined in section 15 of the Child Nutrition Act 

11 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1784)) for the purposes described in 

12 section 17(h)(10) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(10)) in 

13 response to covered disasters. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The amount appropriated 

15 under subsection (a)— 

16 (1) shall remain available for obligation until 

17 September 30, 2019; 

18 (2) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise 

19 made available to carry out section 17(h)(10) of the 

20 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

21 1786(h)(10)); and 

22 (3) is designated by the Congress as being for 

23 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

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1 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 

2 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

3 SEC. 318. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION. 

4 Any applicant desiring a grant or other assistance 

5 under this title or an amendment made by this title shall 

6 submit an application for the grant or other assistance by 

7 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act. 

9 TITLE IV—VETERANS AFFAIRS 

10 SEC. 401. APPROPRIATION OF AMOUNTS FOR DEPARTMENT 

11 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ADDRESS CON12 SEQUENCES OF HURRICANE IRMA AND HUR13 RICANE MARIA IN PUERTO RICO AND THE 

14 VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

15 Out of the funds in the Treasury not otherwise appro16 priated, there is appropriated $200,000,000 for necessary 

17 expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating 

18 to— 

19 (1) the repair of medical facilities, including 

20 hospitals and clinics, of the Department located in 

21 Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands that were dam22 aged by Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria; 

23 (2) personnel requirements of the Department 

24 at such facilities; and 


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1 (3) the provision of emergency services by the 

2 Department in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

3 TITLE V—EDUCATION 

4 RECOVERY 

5 Subtitle A—Educational Assistance 

6 Funds 

7 SEC. 501. EDUCATION AND HEAD START FUNDING. 

8 (a) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FUNDING.—The 

9 following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the 

10 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to address Hurri11 cane Irma and Hurricane Maria for the fiscal year ending 

12 September 30, 2018, and for other purposes, namely for 

13 assisting in meeting the educational needs of individuals 

14 affected by a covered disaster in calendar year 2017: 

15 (1) $3,157,000,000, to remain available 

16 through September 30, 2018, of which— 

17 (A) $930,000,000 shall be available to 

18 State educational agencies until expended to 

19 carry out section 512; 

20 (B) $5,000,000 shall be available to carry 

21 out section 516; and 

22 (C) $1,100,000,000 shall be available to 

23 carry out section 517. 

24 (2) $2,000,000, to remain available until ex25 pended, shall be available for the Project SERV proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 gram under section 4631(a)(1)(A) of the Elementary 

2 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 7281(a)(1)(A)) to provide education-related services, 

4 which may include student counseling, to eligible en5 tities in which the learning environment has been 

6 disrupted by a traumatic crisis due to the needs of 

7 students who have been affected by a covered dis8 aster, including eligible entities serving significant 

9 numbers of students who have been displaced from 

10 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

11 (3) $310,000,000, to remain available through 

12 September 30, 2018, shall be available— 

13 (A) to provide assistance under the pro14 grams authorized by subparts 3 and 4 of part 

15 A and part C of title IV, and part B of title VII 

16 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, for stu17 dents attending institutions of higher education 

18 (as defined in section 102 of that Act) that are 

19 located in a covered disaster area and who qual20 ify for assistance under subparts 3 and 4 of 

21 part A and part C of title IV of the Higher 

22 Education Act of 1965, of which— 

23 (i) funds shall be made available to 

24 provide assistance under such title IV pro25 grams notwithstanding any requirements 


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1 relating to matching, Federal share, res2 ervation of funds, or maintenance of effort 

3 that would otherwise be applicable to that 

4 assistance; and 

5 (ii) funds shall be made available to 

6 provide emergency assistance based on 

7 demonstrated need under part B of title 

8 VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 

9 which may be used for student financial 

10 assistance, faculty and staff salaries, 

11 equipment and instruments, or any pur12 pose authorized under the Higher Edu13 cation Act of 1965, to institutions of high14 er education that are located in an area af15 fected by Hurricane Irma or Hurricane 

16 Maria in calendar year 2017; 

17 (B) to provide emergency assistance based 

18 on demonstrated need to institutions of higher 

19 education that are located in an area affected 

20 by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in cal21 endar year 2017 and were forced to close, relo22 cate or significantly curtail their activities as a 

23 result of damage directly sustained by such 

24 hurricanes; and 


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1 (C) to provide payments to institutions of 

2 higher education to help defray the unexpected 

3 expenses associated with enrolling displaced 

4 students from institutions of higher education 

5 directly affected or at which operations have 

6 been disrupted due to Hurricane Irma or Hur7 ricane Maria in calendar year 2017, in accord8 ance with criteria as are established by the Sec9 retary and made publicly available without re10 gard to section 437 of the General Education 

11 Provisions Act or section 553 of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (b) HEAD START FUNDING.—There are appro14 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

15 appropriated, $810,000,000, for an additional amount for 

16 the appropriations account appropriated under the head17 ing ‘‘CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS’’, for 

18 Head Start to serve children displaced by Hurricane Irma 

19 or Hurricane Maria in calendar year 2017, notwith20 standing subsections (a)(1) and (g)(1) of section 640 of 

21 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835), and to cover the 

22 costs of renovating those Head Start facilities which were 

23 affected by these hurricanes, to the extent reimbursements 

24 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and in25 surance companies do not fully cover such costs: Provided, 


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1 That of the amount provided under this heading, 

2 $800,000,000 shall be available for Head Start programs 

3 in Puerto Rico and $10,000,000 shall be available for 

4 Head Start programs in the Virgin Islands. 

5 Subtitle B—Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Disaster Re7 lief 

8 SEC. 511. DEFINITIONS. 

9 Unless otherwise specified in this subtitle— 

10 (1) the terms used in this subtitle have the 

11 meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Ele12 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

13 U.S.C. 7801); 

14 (2) the terms ‘‘child with a disability’’ and ‘‘in15 fant or toddler with a disability’’ have the meanings 

16 given those terms in section 602 of the Individuals 

17 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401); 

18 and 

19 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

20 of Education. 

21 SEC. 512. IMMEDIATE AID TO RESTART SCHOOL OPER22 ATIONS. 

23 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section— 

24 (1) to provide immediate services or assistance 

25 to local educational agencies in Puerto Rico and the 


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1 Virgin Islands that serve a covered disaster area; 

2 and 

3 (2) to assist school administrators and per4 sonnel of such agencies with expenses related to the 

5 restart of operations in, the re-opening of, and the 

6 re-enrollment of students in, elementary schools and 

7 secondary schools in such areas. 

8 (b) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

10 to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary is authorized 

11 to make payments, in accordance with paragraph 

12 (2), to State educational agencies in Puerto Rico 

13 and the Virgin Islands to enable such agencies to 

14 provide services or assistance to local educational 

15 agencies serving a covered disaster area. 

16 (2) PAYMENT BASIS.—The Secretary shall 

17 make payments under paragraph (1) on such basis 

18 as the Secretary determines appropriate, taking into 

19 consideration the number of students who were en20 rolled, during the 2015–2016 school year, in elemen21 tary schools and secondary schools that were 

22 closed— 

23 (A) on September 7, 2017, as a result of 

24 Hurricane Irma; or 


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1 (B) on September 20, 2017, as a result of 

2 Hurricane Maria. 

3 (c) ELIGIBILITY AND CONSIDERATION.—From the 

4 payment provided by the Secretary under subsection (b), 

5 the State educational agency shall provide services and as6 sistance to local educational agencies, consistent with the 

7 provisions of this section. In determining the amount to 

8 be provided for services or assistance under this section, 

9 the State educational agency shall consider the following: 

10 (1) The number of school-aged children served 

11 by the local educational agency in the academic year 

12 preceding the academic year for which the services 

13 or assistance are provided. 

14 (2) The severity of the impact of Hurricane 

15 Irma or Hurricane Maria on the local educational 

16 agency and the extent of the needs in each local edu17 cational agency in a covered disaster area. 

18 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Each local educational agency 

19 desiring services or assistance under this section shall sub20 mit an application to the State educational agency at such 

21 time, in such manner, and accompanied by such informa22 tion as the State educational agency may reasonably re23 quire to ensure expedited and timely provision of services 

24 or assistance to the local educational agency. 

25 (e) USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 

2 receiving services or assistance from the State edu3 cational agency under this section shall use such 

4 services or assistance for— 

5 (A) recovery of student and personnel 

6 data, and other electronic information; 

7 (B) replacement of school district informa8 tion systems, including hardware and software; 

9 (C) financial operations; 

10 (D) reasonable transportation costs; 

11 (E) rental of mobile educational units and 

12 leasing of neutral sites or spaces; 

13 (F) initial replacement of instructional ma14 terials and equipment, including textbooks; 

15 (G) redeveloping instructional plans, in16 cluding curriculum development; 

17 (H) initiating and maintaining education 

18 and support services; and 

19 (I) such other activities related to the pur20 pose of this section that are approved by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (2) USE WITH OTHER AVAILABLE FUNDS.—A 

23 local educational agency receiving services or assist24 ance under this section may use such services or as25 sistance in coordination with other Federal, State, or 


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1 local funds available for the activities described in 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 (f) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), services or assistance made available 

6 under this section shall be used to supplement, not 

7 supplant, any funds made available through the Fed8 eral Emergency Management Agency or through 

9 Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not pro11 hibit the provision of Federal assistance under this 

12 section to an eligible State educational agency or 

13 local educational agency that is or may be entitled 

14 to receive, from another source, benefits for the 

15 same purposes as under this section if— 

16 (A) such State educational agency or local 

17 educational agency has not received such other 

18 benefits by the time of application for Federal 

19 assistance under this section; and 

20 (B) such State educational agency or local 

21 educational agency agrees to repay all duplica22 tive Federal assistance received to carry out the 

23 purposes of this section. 


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1 SEC. 513. ALLOCATIONS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN2 CIES FOR THE LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT 

3 OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES. 

4 (a) PURPOSE.—Funds made available under this sec5 tion shall be for the purpose of supporting the immediate 

6 recovery and long-term improvements to public school fa7 cilities in covered disaster areas. 

8 (b) ALLOCATIONS.— 

9 (1) QUALIFIED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

10 ALLOCATIONS.—From the total amount appro11 priated to carry out this section for each fiscal year, 

12 the Secretary shall allocate to each qualified local 

13 educational agency that has a plan approved by the 

14 Secretary under subsection (c) for such fiscal year, 

15 an amount that bears the same relation to such total 

16 amount appropriated as the number of children, 

17 aged 5 to 17, inclusive, from families with incomes 

18 below the poverty level (weighted for the relative 

19 construction costs for the State in which the local 

20 educational agency is located) served by the qualified 

21 local educational agency for the most recent fiscal 

22 year for which data are available bears to all chil23 dren, aged 5 to 17, inclusive, from families with in24 comes below the poverty level served by all qualified 

25 local educational agencies for the most recent fiscal 

26 year for which data are available. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE RESERVATION.—A quali2 fied local educational agency may reserve not more 

3 than 5 percent of the allocation received under para4 graph (1) for administrative expenses associated 

5 with carrying out this section. 

6 (3) DIGITAL LEARNING RESERVATION.—A 

7 qualified local educational agency may reserve not 

8 more than 10 percent of the allocation received 

9 under paragraph (1) to improve or provide digital 

10 learning, including to leverage existing public pro11 grams or public-private partnerships to expand ac12 cess to high-speed broadband sufficient for digital 

13 learning. 

14 (c) QUALIFIED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

15 PLAN.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive an 

17 allocation under this section, a qualified local edu18 cational agency shall submit to the Secretary a plan 

19 that— 

20 (A) describes how the qualified local edu21 cational agency will use the allocation to make 

22 long-term improvements to public school facili23 ties; 

24 (B) identifies the period of time, and at 

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1 cy will maintain fiscal effort for the activities 

2 supported by the allocation after the qualified 

3 local educational agency no longer receives the 

4 allocation; and 

5 (C) includes such other information as the 

6 Secretary may require. 

7 (2) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL.—The Sec8 retary shall have the authority to approve or dis9 approve a qualified local educational agency plan 

10 submitted under paragraph (1). 

11 (3) PUBLICATION REQUIRED.—A qualified local 

12 educational agency that receives an allocation under 

13 this section shall make the plan submitted by such 

14 qualified local educational agency under paragraph 

15 (1) available to the public, including by posting the 

16 information on a publicly accessible website of the 

17 State in which such qualified local educational agen18 cy is located. 

19 (d) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving an allo20 cation under this section, a qualified local educational 

21 agency shall agree to the following: 

22 (1) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The qualified 

23 local educational agency shall provide an assurance 

24 to the Secretary that the combined fiscal effort per 

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1 fied local educational agency with respect to the ac2 tivities supported by the allocation under this section 

3 for fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year for 

4 which the allocation is received will be not less than 

5 90 percent of the combined fiscal effort or aggregate 

6 expenditures by the qualified local educational agen7 cy for such purposes for the year preceding the fiscal 

8 year for which the allocation is received. 

9 (2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The quali10 fied local educational agency shall use an allocation 

11 under this section only to supplement the level of 

12 Federal, State, and local public funds that would, in 

13 absence of such allocation, be made available for the 

14 activities supported by the allocation, and not to 

15 supplant such funds. 

16 (e) FACILITIES MASTER PLAN.— 

17 (1) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after receiving an allocation under this section, a 

19 qualified local educational agency shall submit to the 

20 Secretary a comprehensive 10-year facilities master 

21 plan. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—The facilities master plan re23 quired under paragraph (1) shall include, with re24 spect to all public school facilities of the qualified 

25 local educational agency, a description of— 


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1 (A) the extent to which public school facili2 ties meet students’ educational needs and sup3 port the agency’s educational mission and vi4 sion; 

5 (B) the physical condition of the public 

6 school facilities; 

7 (C) the current health, safety, and environ8 mental conditions of the public school facilities, 

9 including— 

10 (i) indoor air quality; 

11 (ii) the presence of hazardous and 

12 toxic substances and chemicals; 

13 (iii) the safety of drinking water at 

14 the tap and water used for meal prepara15 tion, including the level of lead and other 

16 contaminants in such water; 

17 (iv) energy and water efficiency; 

18 (v) excessive classroom noise; and 

19 (vi) other health, safety, and environ20 mental conditions that would impact the 

21 health, safety, and learning ability of stu22 dents; 

23 (D) how the local educational agency will 

24 address any conditions identified under sub25 paragraph (C); 


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1 (E) the impact of current and future stu2 dent enrollment levels on the design of current 

3 and future public school facilities, as well as the 

4 financial implications of such enrollment levels; 

5 and 

6 (F) the dollar amount and percentage of 

7 funds the local educational agency will dedicate 

8 to capital construction projects as well as main9 tenance and operations related to maintaining 

10 public school facilities. 

11 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the facili12 ties master plan required under paragraph (1), the 

13 qualified local educational agency shall consult with 

14 teachers, principals and other school leaders, custo15 dial and maintenance staff, emergency first respond16 ers, school facilities directors, students and families, 

17 community residents, and Indian Tribes and Tribal 

18 organizations (as applicable). 

19 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 (1) AUTHORIZED USE.—A qualified local edu21 cational agency that receives covered funds may use 

22 such funds to— 

23 (A) develop the facilities master plan re24 quired under subsection (e); 


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1 (B) construct, modernize, renovate, or ret2 rofit public school facilities, which may include 

3 seismic retrofitting for schools vulnerable to 

4 natural disasters; 

5 (C) carry out major repairs of public 

6 school facilities; 

7 (D) install furniture or fixtures with at 

8 least a 10-year life in public school facilities; 

9 (E) construct new public school facilities; 

10 (F) acquire and prepare sites on which 

11 new public school facilities will be constructed; 

12 (G) extend the life of basic systems and 

13 components of public school facilities; 

14 (H) reduce current or anticipated over15 crowding in public school facilities; 

16 (I) ensure the building envelopes of public 

17 school facilities are structurally sound, secure, 

18 and protects occupants and interiors from the 

19 elements; 

20 (J) improve energy and water efficiency to 

21 lower the costs of energy and water consump22 tion in public school facilities; 

23 (K) improve indoor air quality in public 

24 school facilities; 

25 (L) reduce or eliminate the presence of— 


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1 (i) toxins and chemicals, including 

2 mercury, radon, PCBs, lead, and asbestos; 

3 (ii) mold and mildew; or 

4 (iii) rodents and pests; 

5 (M) ensure the safety of drinking water at 

6 the tap and water used for meal preparation in 

7 public school facilities, which may include test8 ing of the potability of water at the tap for the 

9 presence of lead and other contaminants; 

10 (N) bring public school facilities into com11 pliance with applicable fire, health, and safety 

12 codes; 

13 (O) make public school facilities accessible 

14 to people with disabilities through compliance 

15 with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

16 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 

17 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

18 U.S.C. 794); 

19 (P) provide instructional program space 

20 improvements for programs relating to early 

21 learning (including early learning programs op22 erated by partners of the agency), special edu23 cation, science, technology, career and technical 

24 education, physical education, or the arts; 


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1 (Q) increase the use of public school facili2 ties for the purpose of community-based part3 nerships that provide students with academic, 

4 health, and social services; 

5 (R) ensure the health of students and staff 

6 during the construction or modernization of 

7 public school facilities; or 

8 (S) reduce or eliminate excessive classroom 

9 noise. 

10 (2) PROHIBITED USES.—A qualified local edu11 cational agency that receives covered funds may not 

12 use such funds for— 

13 (A) payment of routine and predictable 

14 maintenance costs and minor repairs; 

15 (B) any facility that is primarily used for 

16 athletic contests or exhibitions or other events 

17 for which admission is charged to the general 

18 public; 

19 (C) vehicles; or 

20 (D) central offices, operation centers, or 

21 other facilities that are not primarily used to 

22 educate students. 

23 (g) ANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

25 30 of each fiscal year beginning after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit 

2 to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

3 on the projects carried out with funds made avail4 able under this section. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

6 (1) shall include, with respect to the fiscal year pre7 ceding the year in which the report is submitted, the 

8 following: 

9 (A) An identification of each qualified local 

10 educational agency that received an allocation 

11 under this section. 

12 (B) With respect to each such agency, a 

13 description of— 

14 (i) the demographic composition of 

15 the student population served by the agen16 cy, disaggregated by— 

17 (I) race; 

18 (II) the number and percentage 

19 of students counted under section 

20 1124(c) of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

23 (III) the number and percentage 

24 of students who are eligible for a free 

25 or reduced price lunch under the 


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1 Richard B. Russell National School 

2 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

3 (ii) the population density of the geo4 graphic area served by the agency; 

5 (iii) the projects for which the agency 

6 used the allocation received under this sec7 tion; 

8 (iv) the demonstrable or expected ben9 efits of the projects; and 

10 (v) the estimated number of jobs cre11 ated by the projects. 

12 (C) The total dollar amount of all alloca13 tions received by local educational agencies 

14 under this section. 

15 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means the Committee on Education and 

19 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

21 Pensions of the Senate. 

22 (2) COVERED FUNDS.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 funds’’ means funds received under this section. 

24 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

25 ‘‘local educational agency’’— 


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1 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec2 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and 

4 (B) includes a public board of education or 

5 other public authority legally constituted within 

6 an outlying area for either administrative con7 trol or direction of, or to perform a service 

8 function for, public elementary schools or sec9 ondary schools in such outlying area. 

10 (4) PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES.—The term 

11 ‘‘public school facilities’’ means the facilities of a 

12 public elementary school or a public secondary 

13 school. 

14 (5) QUALIFIED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN15 CY.—The term ‘‘qualified local educational agency’’ 

16 means a local educational agency that— 

17 (A) receives funds under part A of title I 

18 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.); and 

20 (B) is located in a covered disaster area. 

21 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

23 appropriated $1,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

24 2018 through 2020 to carry out this section. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under 

2 paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 514. HOLD HARMLESS FOR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 

4 AGENCIES SERVING MAJOR DISASTER AREAS. 

5 In the case of a local educational agency that serves 

6 a covered disaster area, the amount made available for 

7 such local educational agency under each of sections 1124, 

8 1124A, 1125, and 1125A of the Elementary and Sec9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333, 6334, 

10 6335, and 6337) for fiscal year 2018 shall be not less than 

11 the amount made available for such local educational 

12 agency under each of such sections for fiscal year 2017. 

13 SEC. 515. PARAPROFESSIONAL RECIPROCITY; DELAY. 

14 (a) AFFECTED PARAPROFESSIONAL.—In this sub15 section, the term ‘‘affected paraprofessional’’ means a 

16 paraprofessional who— 

17 (1) is displaced due to Hurricane Irma and re18 locates to a State that is different from the State in 

19 which such paraprofessional resided on September 5, 

20 2017; or 

21 (2) is displaced due to Hurricane Maria and re22 locates to a State that is different from the State in 

23 which such paraprofessional resided on September 

24 16, 2017. 


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1 (b) RECIPROCITY.—A local educational agency may 

2 consider an affected paraprofessional hired by such agency 

3 who does not meet the professional standards for para4 professionals described in section 1111(g)(2)(M) of the El5 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 6311(g)(2)(M)) in the State in which such agency 

7 is located to satisfy such requirements, for purposes of 

8 such section, for the 2017–2018 school year, if such para9 professional satisfied such requirements on or before— 

10 (1) in the case of an affected paraprofessional 

11 displaced by Hurricane Irma, September 5, 2017, in 

12 the State in which such paraprofessional resided on 

13 such date; or 

14 (2) in the case of an affected paraprofessional 

15 displaced by Hurricane Maria, September 16, 2017, 

16 in the State in which such paraprofessional resided 

17 on such date. 

18 SEC. 516. REGULATORY AND FINANCIAL RELIEF. 

19 (a) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsections (b) 

20 and (c), in providing any grant or other assistance, di21 rectly or indirectly, to an entity in a covered disaster area, 

22 the Secretary may, as applicable, waive or modify, in order 

23 to ease fiscal burdens, any requirement relating to the fol24 lowing: 

25 (1) Maintenance of effort. 


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1 (2) The use of Federal funds to supplement, 

2 not supplant, non-Federal funds. 

3 (3) Any non-Federal share or capital contribu4 tion required to match Federal funds provided under 

5 programs administered by the Secretary. 

6 (b) DURATION.—A waiver under this section shall be 

7 for the fiscal year 2018. 

8 (c) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 (1) RELATION TO IDEA.—Nothing in this sec10 tion shall be construed to waive or modify any provi11 sion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 

13 (2) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Sec14 retary grants a waiver or modification under this 

15 section waiving or modifying a requirement relating 

16 to maintenance of effort for fiscal year 2018, the 

17 level of effort required for fiscal year 2019 shall not 

18 be reduced because of the waiver or modification. 

19 SEC. 517. ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN AND 

20 YOUTHS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide as22 sistance to local educational agencies serving homeless 

23 children and youths displaced by a covered disaster, con24 sistent with section 723 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

25 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11433), including— 


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1 (1) identification and enrollment assistance; 

2 (2) assessment and school placement assistance; 

3 (3) transportation; 

4 (4) coordination of school services; 

5 (5) referrals for health and mental health; and 

6 (6) emergency services and supplies necessary 

7 to enable homeless children and youths to enroll, at8 tend, and succeed in school. 

9 (b) EXCEPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

10 (1) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of providing as11 sistance under subsection (a), section 722(c) and 

12 subsections (b) and (c) of section 723 of the McKin13 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11432(c), 11433(b) and (c)) shall not apply. 

15 (2) DISBURSEMENT.— 

16 (A) DISBURSEMENT BY SECRETARY.—The 

17 Secretary shall disburse funding provided under 

18 subsection (a) to State educational agencies 

19 based on demonstrated need, as determined by 

20 the Secretary, and based on the number of 

21 homeless children and youths enrolled as a re22 sult of displacement by a covered disaster. 

23 (B) DISBURSEMENT BY STATE EDU24 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Each State educational 

25 agency receiving funding under subparagraph 


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1 (A) shall distribute funds that are appropriated 

2 under section 601 and available to carry out 

3 this section to local educational agencies based 

4 on demonstrated need and based on the number 

5 of homeless children and youths enrolled in the 

6 area served by the local educational agency as 

7 a result of displacement by a covered disaster, 

8 for the purposes of carrying out subtitle B of 

9 title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As10 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). 

11 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘homeless 

12 children and youths’’ has the meaning given the term in 

13 section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 

15 SEC. 518. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY IMPACT AID FOR DIS16 PLACED STUDENTS. 

17 (a) TEMPORARY EMERGENCY IMPACT AID AUTHOR18 IZED.— 

19 (1) AID TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

20 From amounts appropriated to carry out this sub21 title, the Secretary shall provide emergency impact 

22 aid to State educational agencies to enable the State 

23 educational agencies to make emergency impact aid 

24 payments to eligible local educational agencies and 

25 eligible BIA-funded schools to enable such eligible 


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1 local educational agencies and schools to provide for 

2 the instruction of students served by such agencies 

3 and schools. 

4 (2) AID TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES

5 AND BIA-FUNDED SCHOOLS.—A State educational 

6 agency shall make emergency impact aid payments 

7 to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 

8 BIA-funded schools in accordance with subsection 

9 (d). 

10 (3) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—The 

11 State educational agency for Puerto Rico or the Vir12 gin Islands, as the case may be, shall carry out the 

13 activities of eligible local educational agencies that 

14 are unable to carry out this section, including any 

15 eligible local educational agency where the authori16 ties normally exercised by local educational agencies 

17 are exercised by the government of Puerto Rico or 

18 the Virgin Islands. 

19 (4) NOTICE OF FUNDS AVAILABILITY.—Not 

20 later than 14 calendar days after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the 

22 Federal Register a notice of the availability of funds 

23 under this section. 

24 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DISPLACED STUDENT.—The term ‘‘dis2 placed student’’ means a student who— 

3 (A) enrolled in a public elementary school 

4 or secondary school (other than the school that 

5 the student was enrolled in, or was eligible to 

6 be enrolled in, on September 5, 2017) because 

7 such student resides or resided on September 5, 

8 2017, in a covered disaster area due to Hurri9 cane Irma; or 

10 (B) enrolled in a public elementary school 

11 or secondary school (other than the school that 

12 the student was enrolled in, or was eligible to 

13 be enrolled in, on September 16, 2017) because 

14 such student resides or resided on September 

15 16, 2017, in a covered disaster area due to 

16 Hurricane Maria. 

17 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN18 CIES.—The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ 

19 means a local educational agency that serves a pub20 lic elementary school or secondary school in which 

21 there is enrolled a displaced student. 

22 (3) ELIGIBLE BIA-FUNDED SCHOOL.—In this 

23 section, the term ‘‘eligible BIA-funded school’’ 

24 means a school funded by the Bureau of Indian Af25 fairs in which there is enrolled a displaced student. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.— 

2 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—A State 

3 educational agency that desires to receive emergency 

4 impact aid under this section shall submit an appli5 cation to the Secretary, not later than 7 calendar 

6 days after the date by which an application under 

7 paragraph (2) must be submitted, in such manner, 

8 and accompanied by such information as the Sec9 retary may reasonably require, including information 

10 on the total displaced student child count of the 

11 State provided by eligible local educational agencies 

12 in the State and eligible BIA-funded schools in the 

13 State under paragraph (2). 

14 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES AND BIA15 FUNDED SCHOOLS.—An eligible local educational 

16 agency or eligible BIA-funded school that desires an 

17 emergency impact aid payment under this section 

18 shall submit an application to the State educational 

19 agency, not later than 14 calendar days after the 

20 date of the publication of the notice described in 

21 subsection (a)(4), in such manner, and accompanied 

22 by such information as the State educational agency 

23 may reasonably require, including documentation 

24 submitted quarterly for the 2017–2018 school year 

25 that indicates the following: 


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1 (A) In the case of an eligible local edu2 cational agency, the number of displaced stu3 dents enrolled in the public elementary schools 

4 and secondary schools (including the number of 

5 displaced students who are children with dis6 abilities) served by such agency for such quar7 ter. 

8 (B) In the case of an eligible BIA-funded 

9 school, the number of displaced students, in10 cluding the number of displaced students who 

11 are children with disabilities, enrolled in such 

12 school for such quarter. 

13 (3) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF DIS14 PLACED STUDENTS.—In determining the number of 

15 displaced students for a quarter under paragraph 

16 (2), an eligible local educational agency or eligible 

17 BIA-funded school shall include the number of dis18 placed students served— 

19 (A) in the case of a determination for the 

20 first quarterly installment, during the quarter 

21 prior to the date of enactment of this Act; and 

22 (B) in the case of a determination for each 

23 subsequent quarterly installment, during the 

24 quarter immediately preceding the quarter for 

25 which the installment is provided. 


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1 (d) AMOUNT OF EMERGENCY IMPACT AID.— 

2 (1) AID TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of emer4 gency impact aid received by a State edu5 cational agency for the 2017–2018 school year 

6 shall equal the sum of— 

7 (i) the product of the number of dis8 placed students (who are not children with 

9 disabilities), as determined by the eligible 

10 local educational agencies and eligible BIA11 funded schools in the State under sub12 section (c)(2), times $6,000; and 

13 (ii) the product of the number of dis14 placed students who are children with dis15 abilities, as determined by the eligible local 

16 educational agencies and eligible BIA-fund17 ed schools in the State under subsection 

18 (c)(2), times $7,500. 

19 (B) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount 

20 available under this section to provide emer21 gency impact aid under this subsection is insuf22 ficient to pay the full amount that a State edu23 cational agency is eligible to receive under this 

24 section, the Secretary shall ratably reduce the 

25 amount of such emergency impact aid. 


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1 (C) RETENTION OF STATE SHARE.—In the 

2 case of a State educational agency that has 

3 made a payment prior to the date of enactment 

4 of this Act to a local educational agency for the 

5 purpose of covering additional costs incurred as 

6 a result of enrolling a displaced student in a 

7 school served by the local educational agency, 

8 the State educational agency may retain a por9 tion of the payment described in paragraph 

10 (2)(B) that bears the same relation to the total 

11 amount of the payment under such paragraph 

12 as the sum of such prior payments bears to the 

13 total cost of attendance for all students in that 

14 local educational agency for whom the State 

15 educational agency made such prior payments. 

16 (2) AID TO ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

17 AGENCIES AND ELIGIBLE BIA-FUNDED SCHOOLS.— 

18 (A) QUARTERLY INSTALLMENTS.—A State 

19 educational agency shall provide emergency im20 pact aid payments under this section on a quar21 terly basis for the 2017–2018 school year by 

22 such dates as determined by the Secretary. 

23 Such quarterly installment payments shall be 

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1 ported under subsection (c)(2) and in the 

2 amount determined under subparagraph (B). 

3 (B) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—Each quarterly 

4 installment payment under subparagraph (A) 

5 shall equal 25 percent of the sum of— 

6 (i) the number of displaced students 

7 (who are not children with disabilities) re8 ported by the eligible local educational 

9 agency or eligible BIA-funded school for 

10 such quarter (as determined under sub11 section (c)(2)) times $6,000; and 

12 (ii) the number of displaced students 

13 who are children with disabilities reported 

14 by the eligible local educational agency or 

15 eligible BIA-funded school for such quarter 

16 (as determined under subsection (c)(2)) 

17 times $7,500. 

18 (C) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall estab19 lish a timeline for quarterly reporting on the 

20 number of displaced students in order to make 

21 the appropriate disbursements in a timely man22 ner. 

23 (D) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If, for any 

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1 sufficient to pay the full amount that an eligible 

2 local educational agency or eligible BIA-funded 

3 school is eligible to receive under this section, 

4 the State educational agency shall ratably re5 duce the amount of such payments. 

6 (3) DISPLACED STUDENTS.—Subject to the 

7 succeeding sentence, an eligible local educational 

8 agency or eligible BIA-funded school receiving emer9 gency impact aid payments under this section shall 

10 use the payments to provide services and assistance 

11 to public elementary schools and secondary schools 

12 served by such agency, or to such BIA-funded 

13 school, that enrolled a displaced student. 

14 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

15 (1) AUTHORIZED USES.—The authorized uses 

16 of funds are the following: 

17 (A) Paying the compensation of personnel, 

18 including teacher aides, in schools enrolling dis19 placed students. 

20 (B) Identifying and acquiring curricular 

21 material, including the costs of providing addi22 tional classroom supplies, and mobile edu23 cational units and leasing sites or spaces. 


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1 (C) Basic instructional services for such 

2 students, including tutoring, mentoring, or aca3 demic counseling. 

4 (D) Reasonable transportation costs. 

5 (E) Health and counseling services. 

6 (F) Education and support services. 

7 (2) PROVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND

8 RELATED SERVICES AND EARLY INTERVENTION

9 SERVICES.—In the case of a displaced student who 

10 is a child with a disability or an infant or toddler 

11 with a disability, any payment made on behalf of 

12 such student to an eligible local educational agency 

13 shall be used to pay for special education and re14 lated services (as such terms are defined in section 

15 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

16 Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)) or early intervention services 

17 for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 

18 families described in part C of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 1431 et seq.), as applicable, consistent with such 

20 Act. 

21 (f) RETURN OF AID.— 

22 (1) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY OR

23 ELIGIBLE BIA-FUNDED SCHOOL.—An eligible local 

24 educational agency or eligible BIA-funded school 

25 that receives an emergency impact aid payment 


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1 under this section shall return to the State edu2 cational agency any payment provided to the eligible 

3 local educational agency or school under this section 

4 that the eligible local educational agency or school 

5 has not obligated by the end of the 2017–2018 

6 school year in accordance with this section. 

7 (2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—A State 

8 educational agency that receives emergency impact 

9 aid under this section, shall return to the Sec10 retary— 

11 (A) any aid provided to the agency under 

12 this section that the agency has not obligated 

13 by the end of the 2017–2018 school year in ac14 cordance with this section; and 

15 (B) any payment funds returned to the 

16 State educational agency under paragraph (1). 

17 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF AID AND PAYMENTS.— 

18 Aid and payments provided under this section shall only 

19 be used for expenses incurred during the 2017–2018 

20 school year. 

21 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A State edu22 cational agency that receives emergency impact aid under 

23 this section may use not more than 1 percent of such aid 

24 for administrative expenses. An eligible local educational 

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1 gency impact aid payments under this section may use not 

2 more than 2 percent of such payments for administrative 

3 expenses. 

4 (i) SPECIAL FUNDING RULE.—In calculating funding 

5 under section 8003 of the Elementary and Secondary 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703) for an eligible 

7 local educational agency that receives an emergency im8 pact aid payment under this section, the Secretary shall 

9 not count displaced students served by such agency for 

10 whom an emergency impact aid payment is received under 

11 this section, nor shall such students be counted for the 

12 purpose of calculating the total number of children in av13 erage daily attendance at the schools served by such agen14 cy as provided in section 8003(b)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (20 

15 U.S.C. 7703(b)(3)(B)(i)). 

16 (j) TREATMENT OF STATE AID.—A State shall not 

17 take into consideration emergency impact aid payments 

18 received under this section by a local educational agency 

19 in the State in determining the eligibility of such local edu20 cational agency for State aid, or the amount of State aid, 

21 with respect to free public education of children. 

22 SEC. 519. SEVERABILITY. 

23 If any provision of this subtitle, an amendment made 

24 by this subtitle, or the application of such provision or 

25 amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be 


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1 unconstitutional, the remainder of this subtitle, the 

2 amendments made by this subtitle, and the application of 

3 the provisions of such to any person or circumstance shall 

4 not be affected thereby. 

5 SEC. 520. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

7 as may be necessary to carry out sections 512, 517, and 

8 518. 

9 SEC. 521. SUNSET PROVISION. 

10 Except as provided in sections 513 and 516, the pro11 visions of this subtitle shall be effective for the period be12 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending 

13 on August 1, 2018. 

14 Subtitle C—Higher Education 

15 Disaster Relief 

16 SEC. 531. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this subtitle: 

18 (1) AFFECTED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘af19 fected individual’’ means an individual who has ap20 plied for or received student financial assistance 

21 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

22 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) and— 

23 (A) who is an affected student; or 

24 (B) whose primary place of employment or 

25 residency was— 


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1 (i) as of September 5, 2017, in a cov2 ered disaster area due to Hurricane Irma; 

3 or 

4 (ii) as of September 16, 2017, in a 

5 covered disaster area due to Hurricane 

6 Maria. 

7 (2) AFFECTED INSTITUTION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘affected in9 stitution’’ means an institution of higher edu10 cation that— 

11 (i) is located in an area affected by a 

12 covered disaster; and 

13 (ii) has temporarily ceased operations 

14 as a consequence of a covered disaster, as 

15 determined by the Secretary. 

16 (B) LENGTH OF TIME.—In determining 

17 eligibility for assistance under this subtitle, the 

18 Secretary, using consistent, objective criteria, 

19 shall determine the time period for which an in20 stitution of higher education is an affected in21 stitution. 

22 (C) SPECIAL RULE.—An organizational 

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1 ered as part of such affected institution for pur2 poses of receiving assistance under this subtitle. 

3 (3) AFFECTED STUDENT.—The term ‘‘affected 

4 student’’ means an individual who was enrolled or 

5 accepted for enrollment on— 

6 (A) September 5, 2017, at an affected in7 stitution that closed due to Hurricane Irma; or 

8 (B) September 16, 2017, at an affected in9 stitution that closed due to Hurricane Maria. 

10 (4) CANCELLED ENROLLMENT PERIOD.—The 

11 term ‘‘cancelled enrollment period’’ means any pe12 riod of enrollment at an affected institution during 

13 the academic year 2017–2018, during which stu14 dents were unable to attend such institution. 

15 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means— 

17 (A) an institution covered by the definition 

18 of such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 

20 (B) an institution described in subpara21 graph (A) or (B) of section 102(a)(1) of such 

22 Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)(A), (B)). 

23 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 SEC. 532. GENERAL WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, unless enacted with specific reference to this 

4 section, the Secretary is authorized to waive or modify any 

5 statutory or regulatory provision described in section 

6 2(a)(2) of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for 

7 Students Act of 2003 (20 U.S.C. 1098bb(a)(2)) to ensure 

8 that— 

9 (1) administrative requirements placed on af10 fected students, affected individuals, affected institu11 tions, lenders, guaranty agencies, and grantees are 

12 minimized to the extent possible without impairing 

13 the integrity of the higher education programs under 

14 the Higher Education Act of 1965, to ease the bur15 den on such participants; or 

16 (2) institutions of higher education, lenders, 

17 guaranty agencies, and other entities participating in 

18 the student financial assistance programs under title 

19 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, that serve 

20 a covered disaster area may be granted temporary 

21 relief from requirements that are rendered infeasible 

22 or unreasonable due to the effects of a covered dis23 aster, including due diligence requirements and re24 porting deadlines. 

25 (b) AUTHORITY TO EXTEND OR WAIVE REPORTING

26 REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 131(a).—The Secretary 


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1 is authorized to extend reporting deadlines or waive re2 porting requirements under section 131(a) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1015(a)) for an af4 fected institution. 

5 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subtitle shall be 

6 construed— 

7 (1) to allow the Secretary to waive or modify 

8 any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements 

9 prohibiting discrimination in a program or activity, 

10 or in employment or contracting, under existing law 

11 (in existence on the date of the Secretary’s action); 

12 or 

13 (2) to authorize any refunding of any repay14 ment of a loan. 

15 SEC. 533. MODIFICATION OF PART A OF TITLE II GRANTS 

16 AUTHORIZED. 

17 The Secretary is authorized to approve modifications 

18 to the requirements for Teacher Quality Enhancement 

19 Grants for States and Partnerships under part A of title 

20 II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1022 

21 et seq.), at the request of the grantee— 

22 (1) to assist States and local educational agen23 cies to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers in 

24 a school district located in a covered disaster area; 

25 and 


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1 (2) to assist institutions of higher education, lo2 cated in such area to recruit and retain faculty nec3 essary to prepare teachers and provide professional 

4 development. 

5 SEC. 534. AUTHORIZED USES OF TRIO, GEAR-UP, PART A OR 

6 B OF TITLE III, TITLE V, AND OTHER GRANTS. 

7 The Secretary is authorized to modify the required 

8 and allowable uses of funds under chapters 1 and 2 of 

9 subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education 

10 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq., 1070a–21 et 

11 seq.), under part A or B of title III of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

12 1057 et seq., 1060 et seq.), under title V of such Act (20 

13 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), and under any other competitive 

14 grant program, at the request of an affected institution 

15 or other grantee, with respect to affected institutions and 

16 other grantees located in a covered disaster area. The Sec17 retary may, under the authority of this section, authorize 

18 new construction, renovation, or improvement of class19 rooms, libraries, laboratories, or other instructional facili20 ties that is not authorized under the institution’s grant 

21 award, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 under part A or B of title III, or title V, of the Higher 

23 Education Act of 1965. 


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1 SEC. 535. PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A financial aid administrator 

3 shall be considered to be making an adjustment in accord4 ance with section 479A(a) of the Higher Education Act 

5 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087tt(a)) if the financial aid adminis6 trator makes the adjustment with respect to the calcula7 tion of the expected student or parent contribution (or 

8 both) for an affected student, or for a student or a parent 

9 who resides or resided, or was employed— 

10 (1) in a covered disaster area due to Hurricane 

11 Irma, on September 5, 2017; or 

12 (2) in a covered disaster area due to Hurricane 

13 Maria, on September 16, 2017. 

14 (b) DOCUMENTATION.—The financial aid adminis15 trator shall adequately document the need for the adjust16 ment. 

17 SEC. 536. EXPANDING INFORMATION DISSEMINATION RE18 GARDING ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL PELL 

19 GRANTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make special 

21 efforts, in conjunction with State efforts, to notify affected 

22 students and if applicable, their parents, who qualify for 

23 means-tested Federal benefit programs, of their potential 

24 eligibility for a maximum Federal Pell Grant under section 

25 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


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1 1070a), and shall disseminate such informational mate2 rials as the Secretary deems appropriate. 

3 (b) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PRO4 GRAM.—For the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘means5 tested Federal benefit program’’ means a mandatory 

6 spending program of the Federal Government, other than 

7 a program under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), in which eligibility for the program’s 

9 benefits, or the amount of such benefits, or both, are de10 termined on the basis of income or resources of the indi11 vidual or family seeking the benefit, and may include such 

12 programs as the supplemental security income program 

13 under title XVI of the Social Security Act, the food stamp 

14 program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the free and 

15 reduced price school lunch program established under the 

16 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the tem17 porary assistance to needy families program established 

18 under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, and 

19 the women, infants, and children program established 

20 under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and 

21 other programs identified by the Secretary. 

22 SEC. 537. PROCEDURES. 

23 (a) REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS INAPPLICABLE.— 

24 Sections 482(c) and 492 of the Higher Education Act of 


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1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089(c), 1098a) and section 553 of title 

2 5, United States Code, shall not apply to this subtitle. 

3 (b) NOTICE OF WAIVERS, MODIFICATIONS, OR EX4 TENSIONS.—Notwithstanding section 437 of the General 

5 Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232) and section 

6 553 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary shall 

7 make publicly available, by notice in the Federal Register, 

8 the waivers, modifications, or extensions granted under 

9 this subtitle. 

10 (c) CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.—The Secretary is not re11 quired to exercise any waiver or modification authority 

12 under this subtitle on a case-by-case basis. 

13 SEC. 538. TEMPORARY DEFERRAL FOR AFFECTED FED14 ERAL STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, an affected borrower of a covered Federal stu17 dent loan shall be eligible for deferment, in the same man18 ner and subject to the same conditions as deferments are 

19 provided for covered Federal student loans under section 

20 428(b)(1)(M) or 455(f)(1) of the Higher Education Act 

21 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M); 1087e(f)(1)), for the 

22 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (b) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend a 

25 deferment provided under subsection (a) for not more than 


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1 two 1-year periods, if the Secretary determines that condi2 tions warrant such an extension. 

3 (c) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER LAW.—Any deferment 

4 provided to an affected borrower under this section shall 

5 not impact the affected borrower’s eligibility for any other 

6 deferment under section 428(b)(1)(M) or 455(f)(2) of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M), 

8 1087e(f)(2)). 

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) AFFECTED BORROWER.—In this section, 

11 the term ‘‘affected borrower’’ means an individual— 

12 (A) who is a borrower of a covered Federal 

13 student loan; and 

14 (B) whose primary place of residency was, 

15 as of September 5, 2017, in Puerto Rico or the 

16 Virgin Islands. 

17 (2) COVERED FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN.—The 

18 term ‘‘covered Federal student loan’’ means a loan 

19 made, insured, or guaranteed under part B or D of 

20 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1078a et seq.). 

22 SEC. 539. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

23 The authority of the Secretary to issue waivers or 

24 modifications under this subtitle (except for section 538) 


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1 shall expire at the conclusion of the 2017–2018 academic 

2 year. 

3 SEC. 540. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO COLLEGE AC4 CESS. 

5 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

6 establish a program that enables college-bound residents 

7 of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to have greater 

8 choices among institutions of higher education. 

9 (b) GRANTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the total amount ap11 propriated under subsection (o) for a fiscal year, the 

12 Secretary shall provide to each Governor for such 

13 fiscal year an amount that bears the same relation 

14 to such total amount appropriated as the population, 

15 aged 15 to 17, inclusive, in the Governor’s State in 

16 the preceding fiscal year bears to the sum of the 

17 populations, aged 15 to 17, inclusive, in both the 

18 Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, in the preceding fis19 cal year. Such amounts provided to each Governor 

20 shall be used to award grants to eligible institutions 

21 that enroll eligible students to pay the difference be22 tween the tuition and fees charged for in-State stu23 dents and the tuition and fees charged for out-of24 State students on behalf of each eligible student en25 rolled in the eligible institution. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNTS.—The grant 

2 amount paid on behalf of an eligible student under 

3 this section shall be— 

4 (A) not more than $15,000 for any one 

5 award year (as defined in section 481 of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1088)); and 

8 (B) not more than $45,000 in the aggre9 gate. 

10 (3) PRORATION.—Each Governor shall prorate 

11 payments under this section for students who attend 

12 an eligible institution on less than a full-time basis. 

13 (c) REDUCTION FOR INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIA14 TIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 

16 pursuant to subsection (o) for any fiscal year are in17 sufficient to award a grant in the amount deter18 mined under subsection (b) on behalf of each eligible 

19 student enrolled in an eligible institution, then each 

20 Governor, in consultation with the Secretary, shall— 

21 (A) first, ratably reduce the amount of the 

22 tuition and fee payment made on behalf of each 

23 eligible student who has not received funds 

24 under this section for a preceding year; and 


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1 (B) after making reductions under sub2 paragraph (A), ratably reduce the amount of 

3 the tuition and fee payments made on behalf of 

4 all other eligible students. 

5 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Each Governor, in con6 sultation with the Secretary, may adjust the amount 

7 of tuition and fee payments made under paragraph 

8 (1) based on— 

9 (A) the financial need of the eligible stu10 dents to avoid undue hardship to the eligible 

11 students; or 

12 (B) undue administrative burdens on the 

13 Governor. 

14 (3) FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwith15 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), each Governor 

16 may prioritize the making or amount of tuition and 

17 fee payments under this subsection based on the in18 come and need of eligible students. 

19 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec20 tion shall be construed to require an institution of higher 

21 education to alter the institution’s admissions policies or 

22 standards in any manner to enable an eligible student to 

23 enroll in the institution. 

24 (e) APPLICATIONS.—Each student desiring that a 

25 Governor award a grant under this section to an eligible 


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1 institution on behalf of the student shall submit an appli2 cation to the eligible institution at such time, in such man3 ner, and accompanied by such information as the eligible 

4 institution may require. 

5 (f) EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub7 section (h), each application submitted under sub8 section (e) shall contain or be accompanied by an 

9 agreement by the applicant that the applicant will— 

10 (A) maintain full-time employment within 

11 the State where the applicant was domiciled, as 

12 described in subsection (m)(3)(A), for a period 

13 of not less than 2 years within the 4-year pe14 riod after the date the applicant completes the 

15 course of study for which the applicant received 

16 grant assistance under this section; and 

17 (B) submit evidence of such employment in 

18 the form of a certification by the employer upon 

19 completion of each year of such employment. 

20 (2) FAILURE OR REFUSAL TO CARRY OUT EM21 PLOYMENT OBLIGATION.—In the event that an ap22 plicant is determined to have failed or refused to 

23 carry out the employment obligation described in 

24 paragraph (1), the sum of the grant assistance 

25 under this section received by such applicant shall be 


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1 treated as a loan and collected from the applicant in 

2 accordance with subsection (g) and the policies and 

3 procedures under subsection (i)(2). 

4 (g) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE EM5 PLOYMENT.—In the event that any recipient of a grant 

6 under this section fails or refuses to comply with the em7 ployment obligation in the agreement under subsection (f), 

8 the sum of the amounts of any such grant received by 

9 such recipient shall, upon a determination of such a failure 

10 or refusal in such employment obligation, be treated as 

11 a loan, and shall be subject to repayment, together with 

12 interest thereon accruing from the date of the grant 

13 award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified 

14 by the Governor through policies and procedures under 

15 subsection (i)(2). 

16 (h) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall estab18 lish categories of extenuating circumstances under 

19 which a recipient of grant assistance under this sec20 tion who is unable to fulfill all or part of the recipi21 ent’s employment obligation under subsection (f) 

22 may be excused from fulfilling that portion of the 

23 employment obligation. 

24 (2) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT.—If a recipient 

25 of grant assistance under this section is continuously 


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1 enrolled at an institution of higher education in one 

2 or more postbaccalaureate programs and is main3 taining satisfactory progress in the course of study 

4 the student is pursuing in accordance with section 

5 484(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1091(c)), the employment obligation in the 

7 agreement under subsection (f) shall begin once such 

8 recipient is no longer continuously enrolled. 

9 (i) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Governor shall carry 

11 out the program authorized under this section in 

12 consultation with the Secretary. Each Governor may 

13 enter into a grant, contract, or cooperative agree14 ment with another public or private entity to admin15 ister the program under this section if the Governor 

16 determines that doing so is a more efficient way of 

17 carrying out the program. 

18 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Each Gov19 ernor, in consultation with institutions of higher 

20 education eligible for participation in the program 

21 authorized under this section, shall develop policies 

22 and procedures for the administration of the pro23 gram. 


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1 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Each 

2 Governor and the Secretary shall enter into a Memo3 randum of Agreement that describes— 

4 (A) the manner in which the Governor 

5 shall consult with the Secretary with respect to 

6 administering the program authorized under 

7 this section; and 

8 (B) any technical or other assistance to be 

9 provided to the Governor by the Secretary for 

10 purposes of administering the program (which 

11 may include access to the information in the 

12 common financial reporting form developed 

13 under section 483 of the Higher Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090)). 

15 (j) GOVERNOR’S REPORT.—Each Governor shall re16 port to the authorizing committees annually regarding— 

17 (1) the number of eligible students attending 

18 each eligible institution and the amount of the grant 

19 assistance paid to such institutions on behalf of the 

20 eligible students; 

21 (2) the extent, if any, to which a ratable reduc22 tion was made in the amount of tuition and fee pay23 ments made on behalf of eligible students; 


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1 (3) the progress in obtaining recognized aca2 demic credentials of the cohort of eligible students 

3 for each year; and 

4 (4) the number of eligible students whose grant 

5 assistance under this section has been converted to 

6 a loan, and the repayment of such loans. 

7 (k) GAO REPORT.—Beginning on the date of enact8 ment of this section, the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States shall monitor the effect of the program au10 thorized under this section on educational opportunities 

11 for eligible students. The Comptroller General shall ana12 lyze whether eligible students had difficulty gaining admis13 sion to eligible institutions because of any preference af14 forded in-State residents by eligible institutions, and shall 

15 expeditiously report any findings regarding such difficulty 

16 to the authorizing committees and each Governor. In addi17 tion, the Comptroller General shall— 

18 (1) analyze the extent to which there are an in19 sufficient number of eligible institutions to which 

20 students from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico 

21 can gain admission, including admission aided by as22 sistance provided under this section, due to— 

23 (A) caps on the number of out-of-State 

24 students the institution will enroll; 


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1 (B) significant barriers imposed by aca2 demic entrance requirements (such as grade 

3 point average and standardized scholastic ad4 missions tests); and 

5 (C) absence of admission programs benefit6 ting minority students; and 

7 (2) report the findings of the analysis described 

8 in paragraph (1) to the authorizing committees and 

9 each Governor. 

10 (l) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall arrange 

12 for the assignment of an individual, pursuant to sub13 chapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, to serve as an adviser to each Governor with 

15 respect to the program authorized under this sec16 tion. 

17 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Each Gov18 ernor may use not more than 5 percent of the funds 

19 made available for the program authorized under 

20 this section for a fiscal year to pay the administra21 tive expenses of the program for the fiscal year. 

22 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—The pro23 gram authorized under this section shall be subject 

24 to audit and other review by the Inspector General 

25 of the Department of Education in the same manner 


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1 as programs are audited and reviewed under the In2 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

3 (4) GIFTS.—Each Governor may accept, use, 

4 and dispose of donations of services or property for 

5 purposes of carrying out this section. 

6 (5) MAXIMUM STUDENT AMOUNT ADJUST7 MENTS.—Each Governor shall establish rules to ad8 just the maximum student amounts described in 

9 subsection (b)(2)(B) for eligible students who trans10 fer between the eligible institutions. 

11 (m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) AUTHORIZING COMMITTEES.—The term 

13 ‘‘authorizing committees’’ has the meaning given the 

14 term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 

15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi17 ble institution’’ means an institution that— 

18 (A) is a public 4-year institution of higher 

19 education located in one of the several States of 

20 the United States, the District of Columbia, or 

21 Guam; 

22 (B) is eligible to participate in the student 

23 financial assistance programs under title IV of 

24 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 1070 et seq.); and 


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1 (C) enters into an agreement with a Gov2 ernor containing such terms and conditions as 

3 the Governor and institution may jointly speci4 fy, including a requirement that the institution 

5 use the funds made available under this section 

6 to supplement and not supplant assistance that 

7 otherwise would be provided to eligible students. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 student’’ means an individual who— 

10 (A) was domiciled in the Virgin Islands or 

11 Puerto Rico for not less than the 12 consecutive 

12 months preceding the commencement of the 

13 freshman year of the individual at an institu14 tion of higher education; 

15 (B) graduated from a secondary school in 

16 the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, or received 

17 the recognized equivalent of a secondary school 

18 diploma while domiciled in the Virgin Islands or 

19 Puerto Rico, on or after January 1, 2013; 

20 (C) begins the individual’s undergraduate 

21 course of study within the 3 calendar years (ex22 cluding any period of service on active duty in 

23 the Armed Forces, or service under the Peace 

24 Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or subtitle 

25 C of title I of the National and Community 


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1 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.)) 

2 of graduation from a secondary school, or ob3 taining the recognized equivalent of a secondary 

4 school diploma; 

5 (D) is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, 

6 on at least a half-time basis, in a baccalaureate 

7 degree or other program (including a program 

8 of study abroad approved for credit by the eligi9 ble institution at which such student is en10 rolled) leading to a recognized educational cre11 dential at an eligible institution; 

12 (E) if enrolled in an eligible institution, is 

13 maintaining satisfactory progress in the course 

14 of study the student is pursuing in accordance 

15 with section 484(c) of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(c)); 

17 (F) while enrolled in an eligible institution, 

18 maintains the State where the applicant was 

19 domiciled pursuant to subparagraph (A) as the 

20 individual’s principal place of residence for pur21 poses of the laws of such State; and 

22 (G) has not completed the individual’s first 

23 undergraduate baccalaureate degree course of 

24 study. 


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1 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

5 (5) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

6 the Governor of the Virgin Islands or the Governor 

7 of Puerto Rico. 

8 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec9 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

10 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Education. 

14 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean15 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 

16 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 

17 (n) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

18 with respect to payments for periods of instruction that 

19 begin on or after January 1, 2017. 

20 (o) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $330,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 

23 2023, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

24 succeeding fiscal years. Such funds shall remain available 

25 until expended. 


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1 Subtitle D—Disaster Relief for 

2 Other Education and Related 

3 Programs 

4 SEC. 551. DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise specified in this 

6 subtitle, the terms used in this subtitle have the meanings 

7 given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 (b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of 

10 this subtitle: 

11 (1) AFFECTED HEAD START AGENCY.—The 

12 term ‘‘affected Head Start agency’’ means a Head 

13 Start agency, including an early Head Start agency, 

14 receiving a significant number of children from a 

15 covered disaster area. 

16 (2) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

17 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the meaning given such 

18 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

20 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti21 ty’’ means— 

22 (A) a local educational agency (as defined 

23 in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil24 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)) if such 

25 agency is located in a covered disaster area; 


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1 (B) a State educational agency (as defined 

2 in section 602 of such Act) of Puerto Rico or 

3 the Virgin Islands; or 

4 (C) a State interagency coordinating coun5 cil established under section 641 of such Act 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1441) if such council is located in 

7 a covered disaster area. 

8 (4) INDIVIDUAL ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY A

9 COVERED DISASTER.—The term ‘‘individual ad10 versely affected by a covered disaster’’ means an in11 dividual who was living, working, or attending 

12 school— 

13 (A) on September 5, 2017, in a covered 

14 disaster area due to Hurricane Irma; or 

15 (B) on September 16, 2017, in a covered 

16 disaster area due to Hurricane Maria. 

17 (5) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS18 ABILITY.—The term ‘‘infant or toddler with a dis19 ability’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

20 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

21 Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 

22 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Education. 


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1 SEC. 552. AGREEMENTS TO EXTEND CERTAIN DEADLINES 

2 OF THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES 

3 EDUCATION ACT TO FACILITATE THE PROVI4 SION OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES TO CHIL5 DREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may enter into an 

7 agreement described in subsection (b) with an eligible enti8 ty to extend certain deadlines under the Individuals with 

9 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) re10 lated to providing special education and related services, 

11 including early intervention services, to individuals ad12 versely affected by a covered disaster. 

13 (b) TERMS OF AGREEMENTS.—An agreement re14 ferred to in subsection (a) is an agreement with an eligible 

15 entity made in accordance with subsection (e) that may 

16 extend the applicable deadlines under one or more of the 

17 following sections: 

18 (1) Section 612(a)(15)(C) of the Individuals 

19 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

20 1412(a)(15)(C)), by extending up to an additional 

21 30 days the deadline for submission of the annual 

22 report to the Secretary and the public regarding the 

23 progress of the State and of children with disabilities 

24 in the State. 

25 (2) Section 616(b)(1)(A) of such Act (20 

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1 tional 30 days the deadline for finalization of the 

2 State performance plan. 

3 (3) Section 641(e)(1)(D) of such Act (20 

4 U.S.C. 1441(e)(1)(D)), by extending up to an addi5 tional 30 days the deadline for submission to the 

6 Governor of a State and the Secretary of the report 

7 on the status of early intervention programs for in8 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their families 

9 operated within the State. 

10 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed— 

12 (1) as permitting the waiver of— 

13 (A) any applicable Federal civil rights law; 

14 (B) any student or family privacy protec15 tions, including provisions requiring parental 

16 consent for evaluations and services; 

17 (C) any procedural safeguards required 

18 under section 615 or 639 of the Individuals 

19 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

20 1415, 1439); or 

21 (D) any requirements not specified in sub22 section (b); or 

23 (2) as removing the obligation of the eligible en24 tity to provide a child with a disability or an infant 

25 or toddler with a disability and their families— 


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1 (A) a free appropriate public education 

2 under part B of the Individuals with Disabil3 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); or 

4 (B) early intervention services under part 

5 C of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 

6 (d) DURATION OF AGREEMENT.—An agreement 

7 under this section shall terminate at the conclusion of the 

8 2017–2018 academic year. 

9 (e) REQUEST TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT.—To 

10 enter into an agreement under this section, an eligible en11 tity shall submit a request to the Secretary at such time, 

12 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

13 Secretary may require. 

14 SEC. 553. HEAD START AND CHILD CARE AND DEVELOP15 MENT BLOCK GRANTS. 

16 (a) HEAD START.— 

17 (1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, GUIDANCE, AND

18 RESOURCES.—From the amount made available for 

19 Head Start in this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services shall provide training and technical 

21 assistance, guidance, and resources through the Re22 gion 2 offices of the Administration for Children and 

23 Families (and may provide training and technical as24 sistance, guidance, and resources through other re25 gional offices of the Administration, at the request 


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1 of such offices that administer affected Head Start 

2 agencies) to Head Start agencies in a covered dis3 aster area, and to affected Head Start agencies, to 

4 assist the agencies and entities involved to address 

5 the health and counseling needs of infants, toddlers, 

6 and young children affected by a covered disaster. 

7 Such training and technical assistance may be pro8 vided by contract or cooperative agreement with 

9 qualified national, regional, or local providers. 

10 (2) WAIVER.—For such period up to September 

11 30, 2018, and to such extent as the Secretary of 

12 Health and Human Services considers appropriate, 

13 the Secretary of Health and Human Services— 

14 (A) may waive section 640(b) of the Head 

15 Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(b)) for Head Start 

16 agencies located in a covered disaster area and 

17 other affected Head Start agencies; and 

18 (B) shall waive requirements of docu19 mentation for individuals adversely affected by 

20 a covered hurricane disaster who participate in 

21 a Head Start program or an Early Head Start 

22 program funded under the Head Start Act. 

23 (b) CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK

24 GRANT.— 


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1 (1) CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK

2 GRANT ACT OF 1990.—For such period up to Sep3 tember 30, 2018, and to such extent as the Sec4 retary of Health and Human Services considers to 

5 be appropriate, the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services may waive, for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is7 lands, and any State serving significant numbers of 

8 individuals adversely affected by a covered disaster, 

9 provisions of the Child Care and Development Block 

10 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)— 

11 (A) relating to Federal income limitations 

12 on eligibility to receive child care services for 

13 which assistance is provided under such Act; 

14 (B) relating to work requirements applica15 ble to eligibility to receive child care services for 

16 which assistance is provided under such Act; 

17 (C) relating to limitations on the use of 

18 funds under section 658G of the Child Care 

19 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

20 U.S.C. 9858e); 

21 (D) preventing children designated as evac22 uees from receiving priority for child care serv23 ices provided under such Act, except that chil24 dren residing in a State and currently receiving 


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1 services should not lose such services to accom2 modate evacuee children; and 

3 (E) relating to any non-Federal or capital 

4 contribution required (including copayment or 

5 other cost sharing by parents receiving child 

6 care assistance) to match Federal funds pro7 vided under programs administered by the Sec8 retary of Health and Human Services. 

9 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GUIDANCE.— 

10 The Secretary of Health and Human Services may 

11 provide assistance to States for the purpose of pro12 viding training, technical assistance, and guidance to 

13 eligible child care providers (as defined in section 

14 658P of the Child Care and Development Block 

15 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n)) who are li16 censed and regulated, as applicable, by the States, to 

17 enable such providers to provide child care services 

18 for children and families described in paragraph (1). 

19 Such training and technical assistance may be pro20 vided through intermediary organizations, including 

21 those with demonstrated experience in providing 

22 training and technical assistance to programs serv23 ing school-age children up to age 13, involved in re24 instituting child care services on a broad scale in a 

25 covered disaster area. 


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1 TITLE VI—ECONOMIC DEVELOP2 MENT ASSISTANCE AND 

3 WORKER PROTECTIONS 

4 SEC. 601. TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of funds of the Treasury not 

6 otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated for the fiscal 

7 year ending September 30, 2018: For an additional 

8 amount for ‘‘Training and Employment Services’’, 

9 $25,000,000, for the dislocated workers national reserve 

10 to provide assistance under subparagraph (B) or (as ap11 propriate) subparagraph (C) of section 170(b)(1) of the 

12 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

13 3225(b)(1)) for necessary expenses in Puerto Rico and the 

14 Virgin Islands directly related to Hurricanes Irma and 

15 Maria, to remain available until expended. 

16 (b) TRANSFERS.—The Secretary of Labor may trans17 fer up to $3,500,000 of the amount described in sub18 section (a) to any other Department of Labor account for 

19 other reconstruction and recovery needs, including worker 

20 protection activities, in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 

21 related to Hurricanes Irma and Maria. 


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1 SEC. 602. EQUITABLE TREATMENT FOR POSSESSIONS OF 

2 THE UNITED STATES WITH RESPECT TO THE 

3 EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT AND THE 

4 CHILD TAX CREDIT. 

5 (a) EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32 of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(n) TREATMENT OF POSSESSIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO POSSESSIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) MIRROR CODE POSSESSION.—The 

12 Secretary of the Treasury shall periodically (but 

13 not less frequently than annually) pay to each 

14 possession of the United States with a mirror 

15 code tax system amounts equal to the loss to 

16 that possession by reason of the application of 

17 this section (determined without regard to para18 graph (2)) with respect to taxable years begin19 ning after December 31, 2016. Such amounts 

20 shall be determined by the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury based on information provided by the 

22 government of the respective possession. 

23 ‘‘(B) OTHER POSSESSIONS.—The Sec24 retary of the Treasury shall periodically (but no 

25 less frequently than annually) pay to each pos26 session of the United States which does not 


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1 have a mirror code tax system amounts esti2 mated by the Secretary of the Treasury as 

3 being equal to the aggregate benefits that would 

4 have been provided to residents of such posses5 sion by reason of the application of this section 

6 for taxable years beginning after December 31, 

7 2016, if a mirror code tax system had been in 

8 effect in such possession. The preceding sen9 tence shall not apply with respect to any posses10 sion of the United States unless such possession 

11 has a plan, which has been approved by the 

12 Secretary of the Treasury, under which such 

13 possession will promptly distribute such pay14 ments to the residents of such possession. 

15 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH CREDIT ALLOWED

16 AGAINST UNITED STATES INCOME TAXES.—No cred17 it shall be allowed under this section for any taxable 

18 year to any person— 

19 ‘‘(A) to whom a credit is allowed against 

20 taxes imposed by the possession by reason of 

21 this section (determined without regard to this 

22 paragraph) for such taxable year, or 

23 ‘‘(B) who is eligible for a payment under 

24 a plan described in paragraph (1)(B) with re25 spect to such taxable year. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) POSSESSION OF THE UNITED

3 STATES.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

4 term ‘possession of the United States’ includes 

5 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the 

6 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is7 lands. 

8 ‘‘(B) MIRROR CODE TAX SYSTEM.—For 

9 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘mirror 

10 code tax system’ means, with respect to any 

11 possession of the United States, the income tax 

12 system of such possession if the income tax li13 ability of the residents of such possession under 

14 such system is determined by reference to the 

15 income tax laws of the United States as if such 

16 possession were the United States, and such 

17 system includes a tax credit substantially iden18 tical to the credit allowed under this section. 

19 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—For 

20 purposes of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, 

21 United States Code, or any similar rule of law, 

22 any payment made under this subsection shall 

23 be treated in the same manner as a refund due 

24 from the credit allowed under this section.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by this subsection shall apply with respect to taxable 

3 years beginning after December 31, 2016. 

4 (b) EQUITABLE TREATMENT FOR RESIDENTS OF

5 PUERTO RICO WITH RESPECT TO THE REFUNDABLE

6 PORTION OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 24(d)(1) of the In8 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by insert9 ing ‘‘or section 933’’ after ‘‘section 112’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

11 by paragraph (1) shall apply to taxable years begin12 ning after December 31, 2016. 

13 (c) PAYMENTS TO VIRGIN ISLANDS AND GUAM FOR

14 LOST REVENUE WITH RESPECT TO THE CHILD TAX

15 CREDIT.—Section 24 of such Code is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(h) PAYMENTS TO VIRGIN ISLANDS AND GUAM FOR

18 LOST REVENUE.—The Secretary shall make annual pay19 ments to the Virgin Islands and to Guam in amounts 

20 equal to the aggregate loss to the Virgin Islands or Guam, 

21 as the case may be, by reason of the application of this 

22 section with respect to taxable years beginning after 2016. 

23 Such amounts shall be determined by the Secretary based 

24 on information provided by the Virgin Islands and Guam. 

25 For purposes of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 


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1 States Code, the payments under this subsection shall be 

2 treated in the same manner as a refund due from the cred3 it allowed under this section.’’. 

4 SEC. 603. REQUIREMENT TO USE LOCAL LABOR. 

5 In carrying out relief and recovery efforts relating to 

6 a covered disaster in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, 

7 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

8 Agency shall ensure that— 

9 (1) to the greatest extent practicable, individ10 uals who carry out such efforts are individuals who 

11 reside in a covered disaster area; 

12 (2) workers are protected by project labor 

13 agreements; and 

14 (3) local, family-sustaining union jobs are pro15 tected. 

16 SEC. 604. MINIMUM WAGE FOR YOUNG EMPLOYEES IN 

17 PUERTO RICO. 

18 Section 6(g) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

19 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(g)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating 

21 paragraphs (3) through (5) as paragraphs (2) 

22 through (4), respectively; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by 

24 striking ‘‘or (2)’’; and 


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1 (3) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by 

2 striking ‘‘20 years, except’’ and all that follows 

3 through the period and inserting ‘‘20 years.’’. 

4 SEC. 605. OVERTIME HOURS PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS 

5 IN PUERTO RICO. 

6 Section 404 of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Manage7 ment, and Economic Stability Act (48 U.S.C. 2193) is re8 pealed. 

9 SEC. 606. UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR PUERTO RICO 

10 AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

11 (a) EXTENSION OF DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT BEN12 EFIT PERIOD.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

14 410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

15 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5177(a)) or 

16 any regulations implementing that section— 

17 (A) in the case of an individual who is ap18 plying for unemployment assistance under that 

19 section 410(a) as a result of a covered dis20 aster— 

21 (i) the individual shall file the applica22 tion for unemployment assistance not later 

23 than July 11, 2018; and 

24 (ii) the individual shall submit all doc25 umentation required to be submitted in 


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1 support of an application described in 

2 clause (i) not later than 90 days after the 

3 date on which the application was filed; 

4 and 

5 (B) in the case of an individual who is eli6 gible to receive unemployment assistance under 

7 that section 410(a) as a result of a covered dis8 aster, the President shall make such assistance 

9 available for 52 weeks after the date on which 

10 the President declared the covered disaster. 

11 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor 

12 may prescribe any operating instructions or regula13 tions necessary to carry out this subsection. 

14 (b) OTHER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—Section 

15 903 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1103) is amend16 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘Special Transfer in Fiscal Year 2018 

18 ‘‘(h) Not later than 10 days after the date of the en19 actment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Treasury 

20 shall transfer from the Federal unemployment account, to 

21 remain available until expended— 

22 ‘‘(1) $325,000,000 to the account of the Com23 monwealth of Puerto Rico in the Unemployment 

24 Trust Fund; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) $25,000,000 to the account of the United 

2 States Virgin Islands in the Unemployment Trust 

3 Fund.’’. 

4 SEC. 607. EXTENSION OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY 

5 INCOME PROGRAM TO TERRITORIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Social Security 

7 Amendments of 1972 (86 Stat. 1484) is amended by strik8 ing subsection (b). 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

10 (1) DEFINITION OF STATE.—Section 

11 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1301(a)(1)) is amended by striking the fifth sen13 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Such term when 

14 used in title XVI includes Puerto Rico, the United 

15 States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American 

16 Samoa.’’. 

17 (2) ELIMINATION OF LIMIT ON TOTAL PAY18 MENTS TO THE TERRITORIES.—Section 1108 of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 

20 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘; 

21 LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS’’; 

22 (B) by striking subsection (a); and 

23 (C) in subsection (c), by striking para24 graphs (2) and (4) and redesignating paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00175 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 graphs (3) and (5) as paragraphs (2) and (4), 

2 respectively. 

3 (3) UNITED STATES NATIONALS TREATED THE

4 SAME AS CITIZENS.—Section 1614(a)(1)(B) of such 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(1)(B)) is amended— 

6 (A) in clause (i)(I), by inserting ‘‘or na7 tional,’’ after ‘‘citizen’’; 

8 (B) in clause (i)(II), by adding ‘‘; or’’ at 

9 the end; and 

10 (C) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘or na11 tional’’ after ‘‘citizen’’. 

12 (4) TERRITORIES INCLUDED IN GEOGRAPHIC

13 MEANING OF UNITED STATES.—Section 1614(e) of 

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(e)) is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘and the District of Columbia’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

16 the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United 

17 States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American 

18 Samoa’’. 

19 (c) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Commissioner of So20 cial Security may waive or modify any statutory require21 ment relating to the provision of benefits under the Sup22 plemental Security Income Program under title XVI of the 

23 Social Security Act in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

24 Guam, or American Samoa, to the extent that the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00176 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 missioner deems it necessary in order to adapt the pro2 gram to the needs of the territory involved. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend4 ments made by this section shall take effect on the first 

5 day of the first Federal fiscal year that begins one year 

6 or more after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 608. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PRO8 GRAMS. 

9 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro10 priated, there is appropriated, pursuant to section 703 of 

11 the Public Works and Economic Development Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 3233), an additional amount for ‘‘Economic Devel13 opment Assistance Programs’’, for necessary expenses re14 lated to disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration 

15 of infrastructure in areas covered by the declaration of a 

16 major disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

18 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, 

19 $235,612,500 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available 

20 until expended, of which— 

21 (1) $228,750,000 shall be made available for 

22 Puerto Rico; and 

23 (2) $6,862,500 shall be made available for the 

24 Virgin Islands. 


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1 SEC. 609. APPROPRIATION TO CDFI FUND FOR DISASTER 

2 RELIEF IN PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN IS3 LANDS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘community development financial 

6 institution’’ has the meaning given the term in sec7 tion 103 of the Community Development Banking 

8 and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 

9 4702); and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Community 

11 Development Financial Institutions Fund established 

12 under section 104(a) of the Community Develop13 ment Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 

14 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)). 

15 (b) APPROPRIATION.—Out of funds of the Treasury 

16 not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 

17 Fund $250,000,000, which shall— 

18 (1) be used for financial and technical assist19 ance to community development financial institu20 tions for costs relating to disaster relief and long21 term recovery in covered disaster areas; and 

22 (2) remain available during the 5-year period 

23 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (c) SUSPENSION OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

25 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the 5- 

26 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act, there shall be no requirement to match any assistance 

2 provided by the Fund to community development financial 

3 institutions for costs relating to disaster relief and long4 term recovery in covered disaster areas with funds from 

5 sources other than the Federal Government. 

6 SEC. 610. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

7 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro8 priated, there is appropriated to the Community Develop9 ment Fund of the Department of Housing and Urban De10 velopment $48,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to re11 main available until expended, for necessary expenses for 

12 activities authorized under title I of the Housing and Com13 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 

14 related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration 

15 of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization 

16 in the most impacted and distressed areas that are covered 

17 disaster areas, of which $46,000,000,000 shall be for such 

18 areas in Puerto Rico and $2,000,000,000 shall be for such 

19 areas in the Virgin Islands: Provided, That funds shall be 

20 awarded directly to the State or unit of general local gov21 ernment at the discretion of the Secretary of Housing and 

22 Urban Development (referred to in this section as the 

23 ‘‘Secretary’’): Provided further, That as a condition of 

24 making any grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance 

25 that such grantee has in place proficient financial controls 


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1 and procurement processes and has established adequate 

2 procedures to prevent any duplication of benefits as de3 fined in section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

4 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), 

5 to ensure timely expenditure of funds, to maintain com6 prehensive websites regarding all disaster recovery activi7 ties assisted with these funds, and to detect and prevent 

8 waste, fraud, and abuse of funds: Provided further, That 

9 prior to the obligation of funds a grantee shall submit a 

10 plan to the Secretary for approval detailing the proposed 

11 use of all funds, including criteria for eligibility and how 

12 the use of these funds will address long-term recovery and 

13 restoration of infrastructure and housing and economic re14 vitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas: 

15 Provided further, That such funds may not be used for 

16 activities reimbursable by, or for which funds are made 

17 available by, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

18 or the Army Corps of Engineers: Provided further, That 

19 funds allocated under this section shall not be considered 

20 relevant to the non-disaster formula allocations made 

21 under section 106 of the Housing and Community Devel22 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306): Provided further, 

23 That a State, subdivision thereof, or unit of general local 

24 government may use not more than 5 percent of its alloca25 tion for administrative costs: Provided further, That in adVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 ministering the funds under this section, the Secretary 

2 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any 

3 provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary 

4 administers in connection with the obligation by the Sec5 retary or the use by the recipient of these funds (except 

6 for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimina7 tion, labor standards, and the environment), if the Sec8 retary finds that good cause exists for the waiver or alter9 native requirement and such waiver or alternative require10 ment would not be inconsistent with the overall purpose 

11 of title I of the Housing and Community Development Act 

12 of 1974: Provided further, That, notwithstanding the pre13 ceding proviso, recipients of funds provided under this sec14 tion that use such funds to supplement Federal assistance 

15 provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, or 502 

16 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

17 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) may adopt, with18 out review or public comment, any environmental review, 

19 approval, or permit performed by a Federal agency, and 

20 such adoption shall satisfy the responsibilities of the re21 cipient with respect to such environmental review, ap22 proval, or permit: Provided further, That, notwithstanding 

23 section 104(g)(2) of the Housing and Community Devel24 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2)), the Secretary 

25 may, upon receipt of a request for release of funds and 


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1 certification, immediately approve the release of funds for 

2 an activity or project assisted under this section if the re3 cipient has adopted an environmental review, approval, or 

4 permit under the preceding proviso or the activity or 

5 project is categorically excluded from review under the Na6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

7 et seq.): Provided further, That the Secretary shall publish 

8 via notice in the Federal Register any waiver, or alter9 native requirement, to any statute or regulation that the 

10 Secretary administers under title I of the Housing and 

11 Community Development Act of 1974 not later than 5 

12 days before the effective date of the waiver or alternative 

13 requirement: Provided further, That of the amounts made 

14 available under this section, not more than $10,000,000 

15 may be transferred, in aggregate, to ‘‘Department of 

16 Housing and Urban Development—Program Office Sala17 ries and Expenses—Community Planning and Develop18 ment’’ for necessary costs, including information tech19 nology costs, of administering and overseeing the obliga20 tion and expenditure of amounts under this section. 

21 SEC. 611. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER 

22 LOANS. 

23 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro24 priated, there is appropriated to the Disaster Loans Pro25 gram Account of the Small Business Administration 


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1 $2,730,729,378 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available 

2 until expended, to carry out the loan program authorized 

3 under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 636(b)) in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

5 SEC. 612. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NEW MARKETS TAX 

6 CREDIT FOR INVESTMENTS IN COMMUNITY 

7 DEVELOPMENT ENTITIES SERVING COVERED 

8 DISASTER AREAS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of section 45D of 

10 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) TEMPORARILY INCREASED SPECIAL ALLO13 CATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ENTITIES

14 SERVING DISASTER AREAS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of cal16 endar year 2018, the new markets tax credit 

17 limitation shall be increased by an amount 

18 equal to $1,000,000,000, to be allocated among 

19 qualified community development entities to 

20 make qualified low-income community invest21 ments within any covered federally declared dis22 aster area. 

23 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF INCREASE.—The 

24 amount of the increase in limitation under sub25 paragraph (A) shall be allocated by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 retary under paragraph (2) to qualified commu2 nity development entities and the Secretary 

3 shall give priority, when appropriate, to such 

4 entities with a record of having successfully 

5 provided capital or technical assistance to busi6 nesses or communities within any covered feder7 ally declared disaster area or areas for which 

8 the allocation is requested. 

9 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION OF CARRYFORWARD.— 

10 Paragraph (3) shall be applied separately with 

11 respect to the amount of any increase under 

12 subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(D) COVERED FEDERALLY DECLARED

14 DISASTER AREA.—For purposes of this para15 graph, the term ‘covered federally declared dis16 aster area’ means any disaster area in Puerto 

17 Rico or the Virgin Islands resulting from any 

18 federally declared disaster occurring in calendar 

19 year 2017. For purposes of the preceding sen20 tence, the terms ‘Federally declared disaster’ 

21 and ‘disaster area’ have the meanings given 

22 such terms in section 165(i)(5). 

23 ‘‘(E) PAYMENTS TO VIRGIN ISLANDS FOR

24 LOST REVENUE.—The Secretary shall make an25 nual payments to the Virgin Islands in amounts 


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1 equal to the aggregate loss to the Virgin Is2 lands, as the case may be, by reason of the ap3 plication of this section with respect to taxable 

4 years beginning after 2017. Such amounts shall 

5 be determined by the Secretary based on infor6 mation provided by the Virgin Islands. For pur7 poses of section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 

8 States Code, the payments under this sub9 section shall be treated in the same manner as 

10 a refund due from the credit allowed under this 

11 section.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to calendar years beginning after 

14 2017. 

15 SEC. 613. FULL RUM COVER OVER. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7652 of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking subsection (f); and 

19 (2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

20 subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply with respect to distilled spirits 

23 brought into the United States after December 31, 2016. 


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1 SEC. 614. TEMPORARY MODIFICATION TO TAX HOME AND 

2 CLOSER CONNECTION TEST. 

3 For purposes of paragraph (2) of section 937(a) of 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, in the case of the tax5 able year of an individual that includes September 5, 

6 2017, if such individual does not have a tax home outside 

7 the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, and does not have a 

8 closer connection to the United States or a foreign coun9 try, for the period of such taxable year preceding such 

10 date, such section shall be applied without regard to such 

11 paragraph for the period of such taxable year on or after 

12 such date. 

13 SEC. 615. INCOME ALLOCABLE TO FIXED PLACE OF BUSI14 NESS. 

15 For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

16 (including determining source and transfer pricing), any 

17 person that has a fixed place of business in the Virgin 

18 Islands or Puerto Rico at any time during the period be19 ginning on January 1, 2017, and ending on August 31, 

20 2017, may elect to treat income in connection with such 

21 business for the period beginning September 5, 2017, and 

22 ending on December 31, 2017, as derived from the con23 duct of a trade or business within the Virgin Islands or 

24 Puerto Rico. 


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1 SEC. 616. FEDERAL PERMITTING. 

2 During the 5-year period beginning on the date of 

3 enactment of this Act, the President shall take necessary 

4 actions to expedite the issuance of Federal permits re5 quired for construction projects in Puerto Rico and the 

6 Virgin Islands. 

7 TITLE VII—ENVIRONMENTAL 

8 REMEDIATION 

9 SEC. 701. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC PRESERVA10 TION FUND. 

11 (a) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth12 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Historic 

13 Preservation Fund of the National Park Service 

14 $2,130,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available until 

15 expended, for necessary expenses relating to the con16 sequences of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, of 

17 which— 

18 (1) $1,300,000 is for necessary expenses in 

19 Puerto Rico; and 

20 (2) $830,000 is for necessary expenses in the 

21 Virgin Islands. 

22 (b) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the non-Federal share 

24 of the cost of any program or activity carried out using 

25 funds provided under this section shall be zero. 


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1 SEC. 702. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ENVI2 RONMENTAL PROGRAMS AND MANAGEMENT. 

3 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro4 priated, there is appropriated to the Environmental Pro5 grams and Management Account of the Environmental 

6 Protection Agency $1,100,000 for fiscal year 2018, to re7 main available until expended, for necessary expenses re8 lating to the consequences of Hurricane Irma and Hurri9 cane Maria, of which— 

10 (1) $700,000 is for necessary expenses in Puer11 to Rico; and 

12 (2) $400,000 is for necessary expenses in the 

13 Virgin Islands. 

14 SEC. 703. HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE SUPERFUND. 

15 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro16 priated, there is appropriated to the Hazardous Substance 

17 Superfund established by section 9507(a) of the Internal 

18 Revenue Code of 1986 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, 

19 to remain available until expended, for necessary expenses 

20 in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands relating to the con21 sequences of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. 

22 SEC. 704. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK FUND. 

23 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro24 priated, there is appropriated to the Leaking Underground 

25 Storage Tank Trust Fund established by section 9508(a) 

26 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 $2,760,000 for fisVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00188 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 cal year 2018, to remain available until expended, for nec2 essary expenses relating to the consequences of Hurricane 

3 Irma and Hurricane Maria, of which— 

4 (1) $2,600,000 is for necessary expenses in 

5 Puerto Rico; and 

6 (2) $160,000 is for necessary expenses in the 

7 Virgin Islands. 

8 SEC. 705. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GRANTS. 

9 (a) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth10 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Secretary 

11 of the Interior $7,054,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

12 available until expended, of which— 

13 (1) $6,800,000 is for grants— 

14 (A) to restore and rebuild units of the Na15 tional Park System, units of the National Wild16 life Refuge System, and other Federal public 

17 assets in Puerto Rico; and 

18 (B) to increase the resiliency and capacity 

19 of coastal habitat and infrastructure in Puerto 

20 Rico to withstand storms and reduce the dam21 age caused by storms; and 

22 (2) $254,000 is for grants— 

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1 life Refuge System, and other Federal public 

2 assets in the Virgin Islands; and 

3 (B) to increase the resiliency and capacity 

4 of coastal habitat and infrastructure in the Vir5 gin Islands to withstand storms and reduce the 

6 damage caused by storms. 

7 (b) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith8 standing any other provision of law, the non-Federal share 

9 of the cost of any program or activity carried out using 

10 funds provided under this section shall be zero. 

11 SEC. 706. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL 

12 RESTORATION. 

13 (a) PUERTO RICO.— 

14 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION, ARMY.— 

15 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro16 priated, there is appropriated to the Environmental 

17 Restoration, Army account of the Department of 

18 Defense $6,335,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

19 available until expended, to carry out environmental 

20 restoration activities at Army locations in Puerto 

21 Rico. 

22 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION, NAVY.— 

23 Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise appro24 priated, there is appropriated to the Environmental 

25 Restoration, Navy account of the Department of DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00190 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 fense $333,677,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

2 available until expended, to carry out environmental 

3 restoration activities at Navy locations in Puerto 

4 Rico. 

5 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION, AIR

6 FORCE.—Out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise 

7 appropriated, there is appropriated to the Environ8 mental Restoration, Air Force account of the De9 partment of Defense $1,408,000 for fiscal year 

10 2018, to remain available until expended, to carry 

11 out environmental restoration activities at Air Force 

12 locations in Puerto Rico. 

13 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION, FORMERLY

14 USED DEFENSE SITES.—Out of funds of the Treas15 ury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro16 priated to the Environmental Restoration, Formerly 

17 Used Defense Sites account of the Department of 

18 Defense $161,028,000 for fiscal year 2018, to re19 main available until expended, to carry out environ20 mental restoration activities at sites formerly used 

21 by the Department of Defense in Puerto Rico. 

22 (5) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BASE CLOSURE

23 ACCOUNT.—Out of funds of the Treasury not other24 wise appropriated, there is appropriated to the De25 partment of Defense Base Closure Account estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00191 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 lished by section 2906(a) of the Defense Base Clo2 sure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title 

3 XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 

4 note) $46,896,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain 

5 available until expended, to carry out environmental 

6 restoration activities at properties in Puerto Rico 

7 disposed of pursuant to a base closure law. 

8 (b) VIRGIN ISLANDS.—Out of funds of the Treasury 

9 not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the 

10 Environmental Restoration, Formerly Used Defense Sites 

11 account of the Department of Defense $6,406,000 for fis12 cal year 2018, to remain available until expended, to carry 

13 out environmental restoration activities at sites formerly 

14 used by the Department of Defense in the Virgin Islands. 

15 SEC. 707. ADDITIONAL RECOVERY ASSISTANCE FOR PUER16 TO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS FUND. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab18 lished in the Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Addi19 tional Recovery Assistance for Puerto Rico and the Virgin 

20 Islands Fund’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), 

21 consisting of such amounts as are appropriated to the 

22 Fund under subsection (b). 

23 (b) FUNDING.—Out of funds of the Treasury not oth24 erwise appropriated, there is appropriated to the Fund 


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1 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, to remain available until 

2 expended. 

3 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 

4 shall be available without further appropriation to the Ad5 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

6 Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Defense, and the 

7 Secretary of the Interior to carry out projects authorized 

8 under this title in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that 

9 are not eligible for assistance under the public assistance 

10 grant program. 

11 SEC. 708. UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 

12 CONSTRUCTION. 

13 Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise ap14 propriated, there is appropriated for an additional amount 

15 for the Construction Account of the United States Fish 

16 and Wildlife Service $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2018, to 

17 remain available until expended, for necessary expenses re18 lated to the consequences of Hurricanes Irma and Maria 

19 in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

20 SEC. 709. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE CHIEF OF EN21 GINEERS IN PUERTO RICO. 

22 In carrying out activities under this title in Puerto 

23 Rico, the Chief of Engineers— 

24 (1) shall prioritize recycling and composting; 

25 and 


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1 (2) may not use air curtain incinerators in 

2 cleaning up debris. 

3 SEC. 710. LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND PARITY. 

4 Section 200305(b) of title 54, United States Code, 

5 is amended by striking paragraph (5). 

6 TITLE VIII—LONG-TERM RESIL7 IENT EMERGENCY DISASTER 

8 RELIEF PLAN 

9 SEC. 801. LONG-TERM DISASTER RELIEF PLAN FOR PUER10 TO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 8 months after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

13 Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination 

14 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Adminis15 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sec16 retary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary 

17 of the Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv18 ices, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary 

19 of Commerce, shall submit to Congress a plan for Federal 

20 disaster relief response in the case of Puerto Rico or the 

21 Virgin Islands experiencing a category 4 or higher hurri22 cane event. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan required to be estab24 lished under subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (1) include a strategy for providing disaster re2 lief to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands after expe3 riencing 2 or more consecutive category 4 or higher 

4 hurricane events; and 

5 (2) be developed in consultation with the may6 ors and other elected officials of each unit of local 

7 government affected by Hurricane Irma or Maria. 

8 TITLE IX—FEMA PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 901. WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIRE10 MENTS. 

11 (a) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.—Not12 withstanding any other provision of law, any amounts 

13 awarded for a covered disaster area relating to a covered 

14 disaster under the public assistance grant program shall 

15 not be subject to a non-Federal share requirement. 

16 (b) HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM.—The 

17 President shall contribute 100 percent of the cost of eligi18 ble hazard mitigation measures in a covered disaster area 

19 under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re20 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c). 

21 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS OTHER

22 NEEDS UNDER INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO23 GRAM.—Notwithstanding section 408(g)(2)(A) of the Rob24 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(g)(2)(A)), or any other provision of 


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1 law, for purposes of financial assistance provided under 

2 subsection (c) of such section to an individual or household 

3 located in a covered disaster area, the Federal share shall 

4 be 100 percent. 

5 SEC. 902. HAZARD MITIGATION. 

6 (a) PERCENTAGE FOR HMGP CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

7 Notwithstanding sections 322 and 404 of the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5165 and 5170c), the total contributions under 

10 such section 404 shall not exceed 20 percent of the esti11 mated aggregate amount of grants to be made (less any 

12 associated administrative costs) under such Act. 

13 (b) ADVANCE ASSISTANCE PERCENTAGE.—For haz14 ard mitigation measures to be carried out in a covered 

15 disaster area relating to a covered disaster, section 404(e) 

16 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

17 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(e)) shall be applied by 

18 substituting ‘‘shall provide 25 percent’’ for ‘‘may provide 

19 not more than 25 percent’’. 

20 (c) MINIMUM AMOUNT FOR HAZARD MITIGATION

21 BASED ON 6-MONTH ESTIMATE.—For a covered disaster, 

22 the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made in 

23 a covered disaster area for purposes of section 404 of the 

24 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist25 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) shall not be less than the estiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:23 Jan 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00196 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4782.IH H4782

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1 mate of such aggregate amount of grants in the projection 

2 described in section 207.5(b)(2) of title 44, Code of Fed3 eral Regulations. 

4 SEC. 903. REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF 

5 DAMAGED FACILITIES. 

6 (a) COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF MITIGATION MEAS7 URES.—For purposes of contributions for mitigation 

8 measures for a facility in a covered disaster area under 

9 section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

10 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) a mitigation 

11 measure shall be considered to be cost-effective if the cost 

12 of the measures does not exceed 25 percent of the total 

13 eligible repair cost of the facility. 

14 (b) BENEFIT-COST METHODOLOGY.—If a benefit15 cost analysis methodology is used to determine the cost16 effectiveness of a mitigation measure that exceeds 25 per17 cent of the total eligible repair cost of the facility, as de18 scribed in subsection (a), under section 406 of the Robert 

19 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 5172), the benefit-cost analysis methodology 

21 shall take into consideration— 

22 (1) hazard mitigation benefits; 

23 (2) expected economic benefits, including job 

24 creation; and 

25 (3) expected environmental benefits. 


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1 SEC. 904. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS. 

2 (a) TREATMENT AS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN3 MENTS.—Notwithstanding section 102 of the Robert T. 

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 5122), for purposes of assistance under section 

6 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer7 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184), with respect to 

8 a covered disaster— 

9 (1) Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands shall be 

10 deemed to be local governments; and 

11 (2) an instrumentality or local government of 

12 Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands shall be deemed 

13 to be a local government. 

14 (b) REPAYMENT CANCELLATION.—Repayment of a 

15 loan made to a local government in a covered disaster area 

16 under section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re17 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184), in18 cluding any interest on such loan, shall not be required. 

19 (c) ELIGIBLE USE OF LOAN.—Any loan made to a 

20 local government in a covered disaster area under section 

21 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer22 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) may be used at 

23 the discretion of the loan recipient to pay the upfront costs 

24 of any project relating to the covered disaster for which 

25 amounts are awarded under the public assistance grant 

26 program. 


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1 (d) LIMITATION ON USE OF LOAN.—Any loan made 

2 under section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re3 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) in 

4 a covered disaster area may not be used to pay principal 

5 or interest due on a bond or other debt that was issued 

6 or incurred before the date of the covered disaster. 

7 SEC. 905. WAIVER OF LIMIT ON MANAGEMENT COSTS. 

8 For a covered disaster, the $20,000,000 limit on 

9 management costs described in section 207.5(c) of title 44, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, 

11 shall not apply. 

12 SEC. 906. MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVID13 UALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PROGRAM. 

14 For purposes of financial assistance provided under 

15 section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

16 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) to an indi17 vidual or household located in a covered disaster area, sub18 section (h)(1) of such section shall be applied by sub19 stituting ‘‘$75,000’’ for ‘‘$25,000’’. 

20 SEC. 907. RESTORATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRA21 STRUCTURE. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

23 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(13) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER.—The 

2 term ‘telecommunications carrier’ has the meaning 

3 given that term in section 3 of the Communications 

4 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).’’. 

5 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF FEDERAL RESOURCES.—Section 

6 403(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

7 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION OF

10 COMMUNICATIONS.—Using Federal equipment, sup11 plies, facilities, personnel, and other resources, other 

12 than the extension of credit, to assist telecommuni13 cations carriers in the maintenance and restoration 

14 of communications during or in the aftermath of a 

15 major disaster.’’. 

16 SEC. 908. AVAILABILITY OF TRANSLATORS. 

17 (a) FEMA AND CORPS OF ENGINEERS.—Until the 

18 end of the period for providing assistance relating to a 

19 covered disaster, the Administrator of the Federal Emer20 gency Management Agency and the Chief of Engineers 

21 shall ensure that the Federal Emergency Management 

22 Agency and the Corps of Engineers, respectively, have 

23 each assigned not less than 2 translators who are fluent 

24 in English and Spanish to each of the following regions: 


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1 (1) The region surrounding San Juan, Puerto 

2 Rico. 

3 (2) The region surrounding Arecibo, Puerto 

4 Rico. 

5 (3) The region surrounding Mayagu ̈ez, Puerto 

6 Rico. 

7 (4) The region surrounding Ponce, Puerto Rico. 

8 (b) OTHER AGENCIES.—Until the end of the period 

9 for providing assistance relating to a covered disaster, the 

10 head of each other agency providing assistance in Puerto 

11 Rico relating to a covered disaster shall ensure that the 

12 agency has assigned not less than 1 translator who is flu13 ent in English and Spanish to Puerto Rico. 

14 TITLE X—EMERGENCY FUNDING 

15 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

16 SEC. 1001. EXTENSION OF CLAIM FILING DEADLINE. 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any re18 quest for assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

19 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 

20 seq.) in relation to a covered disaster shall be submitted 

21 not later than 240 days after the date of the covered dis22 aster. 

23 SEC. 1002. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

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1 quirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal2 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

3 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

4 Subtitle B—Puerto Rico and Virgin 

5 Islands Hurricane Damage Res6 toration Account 

7 SEC. 1011. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this subtitle: 

9 (1) CERTIFIED REQUISITION.—The term ‘‘cer10 tified requisition’’ means a requisition made under 

11 section 1013. 

12 (2) COVERED TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘covered 

13 territory’’ means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

14 and the Virgin Islands. 

15 (3) EMERGENCY AND RECOVERY PERIOD.—The 

16 term ‘‘emergency and recovery period’’ means the 4- 

17 year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

18 this Act. 

19 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Puer20 to Rico and United States Virgin Islands Hurricane 

21 Damage Restoration Account established under sec22 tion 1012. 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Treasury. 


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1 SEC. 1012. PUERTO RICO AND UNITED STATES VIRGIN IS2 LANDS HURRICANE DAMAGE RESTORATION 

3 ACCOUNT. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established on the 

5 books of the Treasury of the United States an account 

6 to be known as the Puerto Rico and United States Virgin 

7 Islands Hurricane Damage Restoration Account. 

8 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

9 deposit funds granted under section 1013 to the Fund for 

10 distribution to the covered territories and instrumental11 ities of the covered territories pursuant to the terms of 

12 this Act. 

13 SEC. 1013. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE 

14 PUERTO RICO AND VIRGIN ISLANDS EMER15 GENCY CREDIT FACILITY. 

16 (a) EMERGENCY GRANT FUNDING.—There are here17 by appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not oth18 erwise appropriated, to the Fund such sums as may be 

19 necessary to carry out this subtitle, for the exclusive pur20 pose of assisting the covered territories and the instrumen21 talities of covered territories to meet any cash-flow short22 falls that result from damage to the covered territories 

23 caused by Hurricane Irma or Maria. 

24 (b) DISBURSEMENTS.—Disbursements made from 

25 the Fund are subject to the certified requisition under 


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1 subsection (d) and other conditions established by this 

2 Act. 

3 (c) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make a grant, not 

4 later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary 

5 receives a certified requisition, of funds from time to time 

6 during the emergency and recovery period, out of any 

7 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to 

8 meet any cash-flow shortfalls that result from damage to 

9 a covered territory or any instrumentality of a covered ter10 ritory caused by Hurricane Irma or Maria if— 

11 (1) the Governor of the covered territory deter12 mines that disbursements provided under subsection 

13 (b) and any supplemental amounts that may be 

14 made available under subsection (a) through future 

15 appropriations are inadequate to address any cash16 flow shortfalls that result from the damage to the 

17 covered territory caused by Hurricane Irma or 

18 Maria; and 

19 (2) the conditions described in subsection (d) 

20 are satisfied. 

21 (d) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall make a grant 

22 under this section if— 

23 (1) the Governor of a covered territory, with re24 spect to Puerto Rico, or an authorized representative 

25 of an instrumentality of the covered territory, in 


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1 consultation with appropriate authorities according 

2 to the law of the covered territory, delivers to the 

3 Secretary a certified requisition for a grant under 

4 this section; and 

5 (2) the Governor and appropriate authorities as 

6 subject to the law of the covered territory certify 

7 that the grant is necessary— 

8 (A) to support the liquidity needs of the 

9 covered territory or an instrumentality of the 

10 territory, as applicable; and 

11 (B) to meet ongoing recovery needs from 

12 Hurricanes Maria and Irma. 

13 (e) PROCEDURES.—Certified requisitions shall be 

14 submitted on a quarterly basis. 

15 (f) LIMITATION.—The total amount of grants made 

16 under this subtitle shall not exceed— 

17 (1) $57,206,000,000 with respect to Puerto 

18 Rico; and 

19 (2) $5,000,000,000 with respect to the Virgin 

20 Islands. 

Æ 


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