II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2066 

To provide housing and Medicaid assistance to families affected by a major 

disaster, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2017 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide housing and Medicaid assistance to families 

affected by a major disaster, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Displacement 

5 Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘disaster housing assistance pro9 gram’’ means a program that provides direct rental 

10 assistance and case management services to individVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Nov 04, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2066.IS S2066

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1 uals and households displaced from their pre-dis2 aster primary residences— 

3 (A) pursuant to sections 408(b) and 426 of 

4 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

5 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(b), 

6 5189d); and 

7 (B) using the authorities, as may be nec8 essary, under— 

9 (i) section 102(b)(2) of the Homeland 

10 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 112(b)(2)); 

11 (ii) section 306(a) of the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

13 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(a)); and 

14 (iii) section 1535 of title 31, United 

15 States Code; and 

16 (2) the term ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 3(b)(6) of the 

18 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

19 1437a(b)(6)). 

20 (b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOLLOWING A MAJOR

21 DISASTER.—Except as provided in subsection (c)— 

22 (1) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel23 opment shall provide funding for, or make tem24 porary adjustments to, assistance provided under 

25 section 8(o), 9(d), or 9(e) of the United States 


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1 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o), 

2 1437g(d), 1437(e)) upon request by a public housing 

3 agency and supported by documentation, as required 

4 by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop5 ment, that demonstrates a need for the additional 

6 funding or adjustment as a consequence of a major 

7 disaster declared by the President under section 401 

8 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer9 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); and 

10 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide 

11 funding for, or make temporary adjustments to, as12 sistance provided under section 504, 515, 521, or 

13 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1474, 

14 1485, 1490a, 1490r) upon request by a State or a 

15 political subdivision of a State and supported by 

16 documentation, as required by the Secretary of Agri17 culture, that demonstrates a need for the additional 

18 funding or adjustment as a consequence of a major 

19 disaster declared by the President under section 401 

20 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer21 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

22 (c) EXCEPTION.—With respect to a request made 

23 under paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of subsection (b), 

24 no additional funding or temporary adjustment shall be 

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1 ing assistance program is established to address the need 

2 for the additional funding or temporary adjustment identi3 fied in the request not later than 7 days after the date 

4 on which the request is made. 

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are appropriated, out of amounts in the Treasury not oth7 erwise obligated, such sums as are necessary to carry out 

8 this section. 

9 SEC. 3. DISASTER RELIEF MEDICAID FOR HURRICANE 

10 MARIA SURVIVORS. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE DISASTER RELIEF

12 MEDICAID.—Notwithstanding any provision of title XIX 

13 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), a 

14 State shall, as a condition of participation in the Medicaid 

15 program established under such title, provide medical as16 sistance to DRM-eligible Maria Survivors (as defined in 

17 subsection (b)) under a State Medicaid plan during the 

18 DRM coverage period in accordance with the following 

19 provisions of this section and without submitting an 

20 amendment to the State Medicaid plan. Such assistance 

21 shall be referred to as ‘‘DRM assistance’’. 

22 (b) DRM-ELIGIBLE MARIA SURVIVOR DEFINED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

24 ‘‘DRM-eligible Maria Survivor’’ means a Maria Sur25 vivor whose family income (as determined under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Nov 04, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2066.IS S2066

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1 tion 1902(e)(14) (relating to modified adjusted gross 

2 income), subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this 

3 subsection) does not exceed the higher of— 

4 (A) the income eligibility standard which 

5 would apply to the Survivor under the Medicaid 

6 plan of the State in which the Survivor had a 

7 primary residence in a direct impact area on 

8 any day during the week preceding September 

9 17, 2017; or 

10 (B) the income eligibility standard that ap11 plies to the Survivor under the Medicaid plan of 

12 the State in which the Survivor temporarily is 

13 residing. 

14 (2) NO RESOURCES, RESIDENCY, OR CATEGOR15 ICAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Eligibility 

16 under paragraph (1) shall be determined without ap17 plication of any resources test, State residency, or 

18 categorical eligibility requirements. 

19 (3) DISREGARD OF UI BENEFITS.—In deter20 mining the family income of a Maria Survivor, the 

21 State shall disregard any amount received under a 

22 law of the United States or of a State which is in 

23 the nature of unemployment compensation by a 

24 Maria Survivor during the DRM coverage period. 


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1 (4) DEFINITION OF CHILD.—For purposes of 

2 paragraph (1), a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor shall 

3 be determined to be a ‘‘child’’ in accordance with the 

4 definition of ‘‘child’’ under the State Medicaid plan. 

5 (c) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION; NO CONTINU6 ATION OF DRM ASSISTANCE.— 

7 (1) STREAMLINED ELIGIBILITY PROCESS.—The 

8 State shall use the following streamlined procedures 

9 in processing applications and determining eligibility 

10 for DRM assistance for DRM-eligible Maria Sur11 vivors: 

12 (A) A common 1-page application form de13 veloped by the Secretary in consultation with 

14 the National Association of State Medicaid Di15 rectors. Such form shall— 

16 (i) require an applicant to provide an 

17 expected address for the duration of the 

18 DRM coverage period and to agree to up19 date that information if it changes during 

20 such period; 

21 (ii) include notice regarding the pen22 alties for making a fraudulent application; 

23 (iii) require the applicant to assign to 

24 the State any rights of the applicant (or 

25 any other person who is a DRM-eligible 


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1 Maria Survivor and on whose behalf the 

2 applicant has the legal authority to execute 

3 an assignment of such rights) under any 

4 group health plan or other third-party cov5 erage for health care; and 

6 (iv) require the applicant to list any 

7 health insurance coverage which the appli8 cant was enrolled in immediately prior to 

9 submitting such application. 

10 (B) Self-attestation by the applicant that 

11 the applicant— 

12 (i) is a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor; 

13 and 

14 (ii) if applicable, requires home and 

15 community-based services provided under 

16 such DRM assistance. 

17 (C) No requirement for documentation evi18 dencing the basis on which the applicant quali19 fies to be a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor or, if 

20 applicable, requires home and community-based 

21 services. 

22 (D) Issuance of a DRM assistance eligi23 bility card to an applicant who completes such 

24 application, including the self-attestation re25 quired under subparagraph (B). Such card shall 


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1 be valid as long as the DRM coverage period is 

2 in effect and shall be accompanied by notice of 

3 the termination date for the DRM coverage pe4 riod and, if applicable, notice that such termi5 nation date may be extended. If the Secretary 

6 extends the DRM coverage period, the State 

7 shall notify DRM-eligible Maria Survivors en8 rolled in DRM assistance of the new termi9 nation date for the DRM coverage period. 

10 (E) If an applicant completes the applica11 tion and presents it to a provider or facility 

12 participating in the State Medicaid plan that is 

13 qualified to make presumptive eligibility deter14 minations under such plan (which at a min15 imum shall consist of facilities identified in sec16 tion 1902(a)(55) of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(55))) and it appears to the 

18 provider that the applicant is a DRM-eligible 

19 Maria Survivor based on the information in the 

20 application, the applicant will be deemed to be 

21 a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor eligible for 

22 DRM assistance in accordance with this section. 

23 (F) Continuous eligibility, without the need 

24 for any redetermination of eligibility, for the 

25 duration of the DRM coverage period. 


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1 (2) NO CONTINUATION OF DRM ASSISTANCE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraphs (B) and (C), no DRM assistance 

4 shall be provided after the end of the DRM cov5 erage period. 

6 (B) PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY.—In the 

7 case of any DRM-eligible Maria Survivor who is 

8 receiving DRM assistance from a State in ac9 cordance with this section and who, as of the 

10 end of the DRM coverage period, has an appli11 cation pending for medical assistance under the 

12 State Medicaid plan for periods beginning after 

13 the end of such period, the State shall provide 

14 such Survivor with a period of presumptive eli15 gibility for medical assistance under the State 

16 Medicaid plan (not to exceed 60 days) until a 

17 determination with respect to the Survivor’s ap18 plication has been made. 

19 (C) PREGNANT WOMEN.—In the case of a 

20 DRM-eligible Maria Survivor who is receiving 

21 DRM assistance from a State in accordance 

22 with this section and whose pregnancy ended 

23 during the 60-day period prior to the end of the 

24 DRM coverage period, or who is pregnant as of 

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1 tinue to be eligible for DRM assistance after 

2 the end of the DRM coverage period, including 

3 (but not limited to) for all pregnancy-related 

4 and postpartum medical assistance available 

5 under the State Medicaid plan, through the end 

6 of the month in which the 60-day period (begin7 ning on the last day of her pregnancy) ends. 

8 (3) TREATMENT OF MARIA SURVIVORS PRO9 VIDED ASSISTANCE PRIOR TO DATE OF ENACT10 MENT.—Any Maria Survivor who is provided medical 

11 assistance under a State Medicaid plan in accord12 ance with guidance from the Secretary during the 

13 period that begins on September 17, 2017, and ends 

14 on the date of enactment of this Act shall be treated 

15 as a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor, without the need 

16 to file an additional application, for purposes of eli17 gibility for DRM assistance under this section. 

18 (d) SCOPE OF COVERAGE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall treat a 

20 DRM-eligible Maria Survivor as an individual eligi21 ble for medical assistance under the State Medicaid 

22 plan on the same basis for eligibility under the State 

23 Medicaid plan as would apply to the Survivor if the 

24 Survivor were a permanent resident of the State in 

25 which the Survivor temporarily is residing. Coverage 


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1 for such assistance shall be retroactive to items and 

2 services furnished on or after September 17, 2017. 

3 (2) CHILDREN BORN TO PREGNANT WOMEN.— 

4 In the case of a child born to a DRM-eligible Maria 

5 Survivor who is provided DRM assistance during the 

6 DRM coverage period, such child shall be treated as 

7 having been born to a pregnant woman eligible for 

8 medical assistance under the State Medicaid plan 

9 and shall be eligible for medical assistance under 

10 such plan in accordance with section 1902(e)(4) of 

11 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(e)(4)). 

12 The Federal medical assistance percentage applica13 ble to the State Medicaid plan shall apply to medical 

14 assistance provided to a child under such plan in ac15 cordance with the preceding sentence. 

16 (e) 100-PERCENT FEDERAL MATCHING PAY17 MENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

19 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 1396d(b)), the Federal medical assistance percent21 age or the Federal matching rate otherwise applied 

22 under section 1903(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 1396b(a)) shall be 100 percent for— 


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1 (A) providing DRM assistance to DRM-eli2 gible Maria Survivors during the DRM coverage 

3 period in accordance with this section; 

4 (B) costs directly attributable to adminis5 trative activities related to the provision of such 

6 DRM assistance; and 

7 (C) DRM assistance provided in accord8 ance with subparagraph (B) or (C) of sub9 section (c)(2) after the end of the DRM cov10 erage period. 

11 (2) DISREGARD OF PAYMENTS.—Payments pro12 vided to a State in accordance with this subsection 

13 shall be disregarded for purposes of applying sub14 sections (f) and (g) of section 1108 of the Social Se15 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1308). 

16 (3) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State that 

17 receives payments in accordance with this subsection 

18 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the 

19 funds provided under this subsection will be used to 

20 supplement and not supplant other Federal and 

21 State funds used to provide medical assistance under 

22 the State Medicaid plan. 

23 (f) VERIFICATION OF STATUS AS A MARIA SUR24 VIVOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall make a good 

2 faith effort to verify the status of an individual who 

3 is enrolled in the State Medicaid plan as a DRM-eli4 gible Maria Survivor under the provisions of this 

5 section. Such effort shall not delay the determina6 tion of the eligibility of the Survivor for DRM assist7 ance under this section. 

8 (2) EVIDENCE OF VERIFICATION.—A State may 

9 satisfy the verification requirement under subpara10 graph (A) with respect to an individual by showing 

11 that the State providing DRM assistance obtained 

12 information from the Social Security Administration, 

13 the Internal Revenue Service, or the State Medicaid 

14 Agency for the State from which the individual is 

15 from (if the individual was not a resident of such 

16 State on any day during the week preceding Sep17 tember 17, 2017). 

18 (g) EXEMPTION FROM ERROR RATE PENALTIES.— 

19 All payments attributable to providing DRM assistance in 

20 accordance with this section shall be disregarded for pur21 poses of section 1903(u) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1396b(u)). 

23 (h) PROVIDER PAYMENT RATES.—In the case of any 

24 DRM assistance provided in accordance with this section 

25 to a DRM-eligible Maria Survivor that is covered under 


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1 the State Medicaid plan (as applied without regard to this 

2 section) the State shall pay a provider of such assistance 

3 the same payment rate as the State would otherwise pay 

4 for the assistance if the assistance were provided under 

5 the State Medicaid plan (or, if no such payment rate ap6 plies under the State Medicaid plan, the usual and cus7 tomary prevailing rate for the item or service for the com8 munity in which it is provided). 

9 (i) APPLICATION TO INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR

10 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.—Nothing in this section shall be 

11 construed as affecting any rights accorded to an individual 

12 who is a recipient of medical assistance under a State 

13 Medicaid plan who is determined to be a DRM-eligible 

14 Maria Survivor but the provision of DRM assistance to 

15 such individual shall be limited to the provision of such 

16 assistance in accordance with this section. 

17 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) DIRECT IMPACT AREA.—The term ‘‘direct 

19 impact area’’ means an area for which a major dis20 aster has been declared by the President before Oc21 tober 1, 2017, under the Robert T. Stafford Dis22 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by rea23 son of Hurricane Maria and which the President has 

24 determined warrants individual and public assistance 


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1 from the Federal Government under such Act by 

2 reason of Hurricane Maria. 

3 (2) DRM COVERAGE PERIOD.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘DRM cov5 erage period’’ means the period beginning on 

6 September 17, 2017, and, subject to subpara7 graph (B), ending on such date as is deter8 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

9 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man10 agement Agency, but not earlier than 24 

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (B) SECRETARY AUTHORITY TO EXTEND

13 DRM COVERAGE PERIOD.—The Secretary may 

14 extend the DRM coverage period for an addi15 tional 6 months. Any reference to the term 

16 ‘‘DRM coverage period’’ in this section shall in17 clude any extension under this subparagraph. 

18 (3) MARIA SURVIVOR.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Maria Sur20 vivor’’ means an individual who is described in 

21 subparagraph (B) or (C). 

22 (B) RESIDENTS OF DIRECT IMPACT

23 AREAS.—An individual who, on any day during 

24 the week preceding September 17, 2017, had a 

25 primary residence in a direct impact area. 


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1 (C) TREATMENT OF CURRENT MEDICAID

2 BENEFICIARIES.—Nothing in this section shall 

3 be construed as preventing an individual who is 

4 otherwise entitled to medical assistance under a 

5 State Medicaid plan from being treated as a 

6 Maria Survivor under this section. 

7 (D) TREATMENT OF HOMELESS PER8 SONS.—For purposes of this section, in the case 

9 of an individual who was homeless on any day 

10 during the week described in subparagraph (B), 

11 the individual’s ‘‘residence’’ shall be deemed to 

12 be the place of residence as otherwise deter13 mined for such an individual under title XIX of 

14 the Social Security Act. 

15 (4) MEDICAID PLAN.—The term ‘‘Medicaid 

16 plan’’ means the plan for medical assistance estab17 lished by a State under title XIX of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and includes any 

19 waiver of such plan that is in effect in the State dur20 ing the DRM coverage period. 

21 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 


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1 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean2 ing given that term for purposes of title XIX of the 

3 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.). 

Æ 


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