II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2767 

To make improvements to certain wildfire and disaster recovery programs 

of the Federal Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To make improvements to certain wildfire and disaster recovery programs of the Federal Government, 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 ‘‘Rural Disaster Recov5 ery Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

7 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

8 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 328. STATE INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

2 ‘‘(a) INCENTIVE FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE PRO3 GRAMS.—A State may receive an increased Federal share 

4 for financial assistance under subsection (c) if the State 

5 develops and implements an individual assistance program 

6 that authorizes the State government to provide financial 

7 assistance, and if necessary, direct services, to individuals 

8 and households in the State who, as a direct result of a 

9 major disaster or an event that does not trigger a major 

10 disaster declaration, have necessary expenses and serious 

11 needs in cases in which the individuals and households are 

12 unable to meet such expenses through other means. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

15 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall pub16 lish minimum eligibility criteria for a State indi17 vidual assistance program established under sub18 section (a) that receives an increased Federal share 

19 for financial assistance under subsection (c). 

20 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In formulating the 

21 minimum eligibility criteria required under para22 graph (1), the Administrator of the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency shall consider— 

24 ‘‘(A) the total taxable resources of the in25 dividual State or other measure of fiscal capac26 ity, as appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the variation of total taxable re2 sources, or other measures of fiscal capacity, 

3 among the individual State; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the historical frequency of declara5 tions made pursuant to sections 401 and 501. 

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION DEADLINE.—The Adminis7 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen8 cy shall publish— 

9 ‘‘(A) interim minimum eligibility criteria 

10 required under paragraph (1) not later than 

11 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

12 section; and 

13 ‘‘(B) final minimum eligibility criteria re14 quired under paragraph (1) not later than 1 

15 year after the date of enactment of this section. 

16 ‘‘(c) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR FINANCIAL

17 ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS.—If, at 

18 the time of the declaration of a major disaster, a State 

19 has in effect an individual assistance program that meets 

20 the criteria published under subsection (b), the President 

21 may increase to 100 percent, with respect to the major 

22 disaster, the percentage described in section 

23 408(g)(2)(A).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY SHELTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the McKinney-Vento 

3 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331 et seq.) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking section 322 and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 322. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 ‘‘(a) EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER GRANTS.— 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sub10 title B $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2019. 

11 ‘‘(b) DISASTER SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD AND SHELTER

12 GRANTS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

13 out subtitle D $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2019.’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘Subtitle D—Disaster Supplemen16 tal Food and Shelter Grants 

17 ‘‘SEC. 331. GRANTS BY THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

18 ‘‘Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

19 amounts become available to carry out this subtitle, the 

20 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

21 Agency (referred to in this subtitle as the ‘Administrator’) 

22 shall award a grant for the full amount that Congress 

23 makes available for the program under this subtitle to the 

24 National Board for the purpose of providing disaster sup25 plemental food and shelter grants to needy individuals 


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1 through private nonprofit organizations and local govern2 ments in accordance with section 333. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 332. RETENTION OF INTEREST EARNED. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Interest accrued on the balance 

5 of any grant to the National Board under this subtitle 

6 shall be available to the National Board for reallocation. 

7 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF COSTS.—Total administra8 tive costs shall be determined based on the total amount 

9 of funds available, including interest and any private con10 tributions that are made to the National Board. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 333. PURPOSES OF GRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grants to the National 

13 Board under this subtitle may be used— 

14 ‘‘(1) to supplement and expand ongoing efforts 

15 to provide shelter, food, and supportive services for 

16 any area for which the President declares a major 

17 disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

18 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 5170); 

20 ‘‘(2) to strengthen efforts to create more effec21 tive and innovative local disaster response programs 

22 by providing funding for those programs; and 

23 ‘‘(3) to conduct minimum rehabilitation of ex24 isting mass shelter facilities, but only to the extent 


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1 necessary to make facilities safe, sanitary, and bring 

2 facilities into compliance with local building codes. 

3 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON ACTIVITIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS.—The National 

5 Board may only provide funding provided under this 

6 subtitle for programs that are— 

7 ‘‘(A) carried out by private nonprofit orga8 nizations and local governments; 

9 ‘‘(B) consistent with the purposes of this 

10 title; and 

11 ‘‘(C) administered within an area for 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(i) the President declared a major 

14 disaster under section 401 of the Robert 

15 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

16 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during 

17 the 12-month period immediately preceding 

18 the grant; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) assistance has not been provided 

20 with respect to the major disaster under 

21 section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis22 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5174). 

24 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL BOARD.—The National Board 

25 may not carry out programs directly. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 334. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN COSTS. 

2 ‘‘Not more than 10 percent of the total amount made 

3 available for the program under this subtitle for each fiscal 

4 year may be expended for the costs of administration. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 335. DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS. 

6 ‘‘Any amount made available by appropriation Acts 

7 under this subtitle unobligated by the National Board be8 fore the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on 

9 the date on which the amount becomes available shall be 

10 transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.’’. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

12 The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKinney13 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) 

14 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

15 322 the following: 

‘‘Subtitle D—Disaster and Supplemental Food Shelter Grants 

‘‘Sec. 331. Grants by the Administrator. 

‘‘Sec. 332. Retention of interest earned. 

‘‘Sec. 333. Purposes of grants. 

‘‘Sec. 334. Limitation on certain costs. 

‘‘Sec. 335. Disbursement of funds.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

17 (a) MAXIMUM PAYMENTS PER PERSON OR LEGAL

18 ENTITY.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

19 the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, shall 

20 amend the regulations promulgated pursuant to section 

21 405 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

22 2205) relating to the emergency conservation program to 


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1 provide that the maximum amount of payments made 

2 under section 401 or 402 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 2201, 

3 2202) per person or legal entity per natural disaster is 

4 $500,000. 

5 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri7 culture, acting through the Administrator of the Farm 

8 Service Agency, shall initiate a rulemaking to amend the 

9 regulations promulgated pursuant to section 405 of the 

10 Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2205) relating 

11 to the emergency conservation program to account for the 

12 challenges posed by the increase in frequency and intensity 

13 of wildland fire. 

14 SEC. 5. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM 

15 WILDFIRE PILOT. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that additional con17 sideration of how the Federal Government supports and 

18 expedites the recovery of rural areas affected by wildfires 

19 is necessary because wildfires— 

20 (1) pose unique mitigation, management, re21 sponse, and recovery challenges due to the unpre22 dictable size, location, and duration of wildfires; and 

23 (2)(A) disproportionately impact rural areas; 

24 and 


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1 (B) inflict long-term damage on the agricultural 

2 systems rural areas economically rely on. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘eligi5 ble jurisdiction’’ means a jurisdiction within an area 

6 for which the President declared a major disaster in 

7 accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Staf8 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5170) for wildfire. 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

12 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv13 ice. 

14 (c) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

16 a pilot program for the administration of the emergency 

17 watershed protection program established under section 

18 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

19 2203) in eligible jurisdictions to extend deadlines for the 

20 submission of applications and the provision of amounts 

21 under the program in accordance with subsection (d). 

22 (d) EXTENSION OF DEADLINES.— 

23 (1) APPLICATIONS.—During the period de24 scribed in subsection (f), a sponsor may apply for 

25 amounts under the emergency watershed protection 


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1 program for a project within an eligible jurisdiction 

2 by submitting a request to the State conservationist 

3 for the State in which the eligible jurisdiction is lo4 cated not later than— 

5 (A) 180 days after the date on which the 

6 President declared the major disaster for wild7 fire; 

8 (B) 60 days after the date on which access 

9 to site of the project becomes available, as de10 termined by the Secretary; or 

11 (C) 60 days after the date of 100-percent 

12 containment of a wildfire for which a major dis13 aster declaration is issued. 

14 (2) AWARDS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—During the period de16 scribed in subsection (f), except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), not later than 360 days 

18 after the date on which the Secretary commits 

19 amounts to the applicable State conservationist 

20 for the provision of amounts under the emer21 gency watershed protection program for a 

22 project within an eligible jurisdiction— 

23 (i) the State conservationist shall pro24 vide the amounts to the sponsor of the 

25 project; and 


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1 (ii) the project shall be completed. 

2 (B) EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.—During the 

3 period described in subsection (f), in an emer4 gency situation (as determined by the Sec5 retary), not later than 10 days after the date 

6 on which the Secretary commits amounts to the 

7 applicable State conservationist for the provi8 sion of amounts under the emergency watershed 

9 protection program for a project within an eligi10 ble jurisdiction, the project shall be completed. 

11 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date on which the pilot program is established 

14 under subsection (c), and once the following year, 

15 the Secretary shall prepare a report describing— 

16 (A) the number of applications submitted 

17 for a project under the pilot program during 

18 the 60-day period beginning on the date on 

19 which the pilot program is established; 

20 (B) the number of applications described 

21 in subparagraph (A) that were approved; 

22 (C) the average time of construction of 

23 projects for which applications described in sub24 paragraph (B) were submitted; and 


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1 (D) such other information as the Sec2 retary considers appropriate. 

3 (2) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

4 each report under paragraph (1) to each of the fol5 lowing: 

6 (A) In the Senate: 

7 (i) The Committee on Agriculture, 

8 Nutrition, and Forestry. 

9 (ii) The Committee on Homeland Se10 curity and Governmental Affairs. 

11 (iii) The Committee on Appropria12 tions. 

13 (B) In the House of Representatives: 

14 (i) The Committee on Agriculture. 

15 (ii) The Committee on Homeland Se16 curity. 

17 (iii) The Committee on Appropria18 tions. 

19 (f) DURATION.—The pilot program established under 

20 subsection (c) shall be carried out during the 2-year period 

21 beginning on the date on which the pilot program is estab22 lished. 


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1 SEC. 6. EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR HAZARD MITIGATION 

2 ASSISTANCE. 

3 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

4 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any 

7 other provision of this section or section 420, the Presi8 dent may provide hazard mitigation assistance in accord9 ance with this section in any area in which assistance is 

10 provided under section 420.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. HAZARD MITIGATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

15 Emergency Management Agency. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘eligi17 ble jurisdiction’’ means— 

18 (A) a jurisdiction within an area for which 

19 the President declared a major disaster in ac20 cordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 

21 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist22 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); and 

23 (B) an area in which assistance is provided 

24 under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford 

25 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

26 (42 U.S.C. 5187). 


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1 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

3 establish a pilot program for the administration of the 

4 hazard mitigation grant program established under sec5 tion 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

6 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) in eligible 

7 jurisdictions to— 

8 (1) include additional wildfire-specific eligible 

9 activities described in subsection (c); and 

10 (2) facilitate the timely disbursement of awards 

11 using new procedures adopted under subsection (d). 

12 (c) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible 

13 jurisdiction may use amounts received under this section 

14 to— 

15 (1) support the adoption and implementation of 

16 fire-adapted community programs; 

17 (2) create or expand defensible spaces that are 

18 not more than 300 feet from a structure; 

19 (3) develop emergency preparedness and com20 munications materials for individuals with limited 

21 English proficiency; 

22 (4) organize and plan for the deployment of 

23 interagency, multi-jurisdictional burned area emer24 gency response teams on non-Federal lands; and 


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1 (5) carry out any other wildfire hazard mitiga2 tion project as determined appropriate by the Ad3 ministrator. 

4 (d) NEW PROCEDURES.— 

5 (1) APPROVAL OF PROJECTS.—Not later than 

6 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

7 Administrator may adopt new procedures to provide 

8 assistance to eligible jurisdictions to carry out activi9 ties and projects under this section. 

10 (2) GOALS OF PROCEDURES.—The new proce11 dures adopted under paragraph (1) shall further the 

12 goals of— 

13 (A) reducing the cost to the Federal Gov14 ernment of providing assistance; 

15 (B) increasing the flexibility in the admin16 istration of assistance; 

17 (C) expediting the provision of assistance 

18 to eligible jurisdictions; and 

19 (D) providing financial incentives and dis20 incentives for an eligible jurisdiction for the 

21 timely and cost-effective completion of activities 

22 and projects using assistance provided under 

23 this section. 

24 (3) PARTICIPATION.—Participation in the new 

25 procedures adopted under paragraph (1) shall be at 


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1 the election of an eligible jurisdiction, consistent 

2 with procedures determined by the Administrator. 

3 (4) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—The new proce4 dures adopted under paragraph (1) shall include the 

5 following: 

6 (A) Making grants on the basis of fixed es7 timates, if the eligible jurisdiction agrees to be 

8 responsible for any actual costs that exceed the 

9 estimate. 

10 (B) Providing an option for an eligible ju11 risdiction to elect to receive an in-lieu contribu12 tion, without reduction, on the basis of esti13 mates of the costs and expenses associated with 

14 executing and managing projects. 

15 (C) Consolidating, to the extent deter16 mined appropriate by the Administrator, the fa17 cilities of an eligible jurisdiction as a single 

18 project based upon the estimates adopted under 

19 the procedures. 

20 (D) If the actual costs of a project com21 pleted under the procedures are less than the 

22 estimated costs thereof, permitting a grantee or 

23 subgrantee to use all or part of the excess funds 

24 for other activities allowed under section 404 of 

25 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 


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1 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) 

2 or to improve future hazard mitigation grant 

3 program operations or planning. 

4 (E) In determining eligible costs under sec5 tion 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re6 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 5170c), the Administrator shall, at the request 

8 of an eligible jurisdiction— 

9 (i) make available, at the request of 

10 an eligible jurisdiction and where the Ad11 ministrator, or the certified cost estimate 

12 prepared by professionally licensed engi13 neers of the eligible jurisdiction, has esti14 mated an eligible Federal share for a 

15 project of not less than $5,000,000, an 

16 independent expert panel to validate the 

17 estimated eligible cost consistent with ap18 plicable regulations, policies, and guidance 

19 implementing this section; and 

20 (ii) consider properly conducted and 

21 certified cost estimates prepared by profes22 sionally licensed engineers who are mutu23 ally agreed upon by the Administrator and 

24 the eligible jurisdiction, to the extent that 


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1 those estimates comply with applicable reg2 ulations, policy, and guidance. 

3 (e) RULEMAKING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may pro5 mulgate regulations to carry out the pilot program 

6 established under this section. 

7 (2) APPLICABILITY OF NOTICE AND COMMENT

8 RULEMAKING.—Section 553 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, shall not apply to regulations promulgated 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 (f) REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector 

14 General of the Department of Homeland Security 

15 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu16 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

18 the House of Representatives a report on the addi19 tional eligible activities and new procedures carried 

20 out under the pilot program. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain an 

22 assessment of the effectiveness of the additional eli23 gible activities and new procedures described in sub24 sections (c) and (d), respectively, including— 


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1 (A) whether the additional eligible activi2 ties and new procedures helped to improve the 

3 general speed of recovery from wildfire; 

4 (B) the accuracy of the estimated costs de5 scribed in subsection (d)(4)(D); 

6 (C) whether the financial incentives and 

7 disincentives were effective; 

8 (D) whether the new procedures were cost 

9 effective; 

10 (E) whether the independent expert panel 

11 described in subsection (d)(4)(E)(i) was effec12 tive; and 

13 (F) recommendations for whether the new 

14 procedures should be continued and any rec15 ommendations for changes to the new proce16 dures. 

17 (g) DURATION.—The pilot program established under 

18 this section shall be carried out during the 3-year period 

19 beginning on the date on which the pilot program is estab20 lished. 

21 SEC. 8. POST-WILDFIRE FLOOD ASSISTANCE PILOT PRO22 GRAM. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

3 Emergency Management Agency. 

4 (2) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The term 

5 ‘‘public assistance program’’ means the public assist6 ance grant program authorized under sections 402, 

7 403, 406, 407, 418, 419, 421(d), 502, and 503 of 

8 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer9 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 

10 5172, 5173, 5185, 5186, 5188(d), 5192, 5193). 

11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

13 establish a pilot program under which the Administrator 

14 shall, in an area eligible for assistance under the public 

15 assistance program as a result of a wildfire for which a 

16 major disaster was declared under section 401 of the Rob17 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), consider damage resulting from 

19 wildfire caused or exacerbated by flooding, mudslides, or 

20 other subsidence events that occur during the 5-year pe21 riod beginning on the date on which the major disaster 

22 was declared to be eligible for that assistance under the 

23 original major disaster declaration. 

24 (c) DURATION.—The pilot program established under 

25 this section shall be carried out during the 5-year period 


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1 beginning on the date on which the pilot program is estab2 lished. 

Æ 


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