II 

Calendar No. 154 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2293 

[Report No. 117–44] 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to provide certain employment rights to reservists of the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

OCTOBER 26, 2021 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide certain employment 

rights to reservists of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civilian Reservist 

3 Emergency Workforce Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘CREW Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPONDING 

5 TO PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED MAJOR DIS6 ASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. 

7 Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

8 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPOND11 ING TO DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) USERRA EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOY13 MENT RIGHTS.—The Administrator shall, in a man14 ner similar to the program described in chapter 43 

15 of title 38, United States Code, afford protections, 

16 rights, benefits, and obligations to intermittent per17 sonnel appointed pursuant to subsection (b)(1) to 

18 perform service to the Federal Emergency Manage19 ment Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to train 

20 for such service. 

21 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF ABSENCE FROM POSITION OF

22 EMPLOYMENT.—Preclusion of giving notice of serv23 ice by necessity of service under subsection (b)(1) to 

24 perform service to the Federal Emergency Manage25 ment Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to train 

26 for such service shall be considered preclusion by 


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1 ‘military necessity’ for purposes the protections, 

2 rights, benefits, and obligations afforded under para3 graph (1) pertaining to giving notice of absence from 

4 a position of employment. A determination of such 

5 necessity shall be made by the Administrator and 

6 shall not be subject to review in any judicial or ad7 ministrative proceeding.’’. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civilian Reservist Emer10 gency Workforce Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘CREW Act’’. 

11 SEC. 2. PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPONDING 

12 TO PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED MAJOR DIS13 ASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. 

14 Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

15 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is amend16 ed by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPONDING

18 TO DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) USERRA EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOY20 MENT RIGHTS.—The protections, rights, benefits, and 

21 obligations provided under chapter 43 of title 38, 

22 United States Code, shall apply to intermittent per23 sonnel appointed pursuant to subsection (b)(1) to per24 form service to the Federal Emergency Management 


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1 Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to train for 

2 such service. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF ABSENCE FROM POSITION OF

4 EMPLOYMENT.—Preclusion of giving notice of service 

5 by necessity of service under subsection (b)(1) to per6 form service to the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to train for 

8 such service shall be considered preclusion by ‘mili9 tary necessity’ for purposes of section 4312(b) of title 

10 38, United States Code, pertaining to giving notice of 

11 absence from a position of employment. A determina12 tion of such necessity shall be made by the Adminis13 trator and shall not be subject to review in any judi14 cial or administrative proceeding.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND REEM16 PLOYMENT RIGHTS TO FEMA RESERVISTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4303 of title 38, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (13), by inserting before ‘‘, and 

20 a period’’ the following: ‘‘, a period for which a per21 son is absent from a position of employment due to 

22 an appointment into service in the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency as intermittent personnel 

24 under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford DisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Oct 26, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2293.RS S2293

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1 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 5149(b)(1))’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (16) 

4 (relating to uniformed services) as paragraph (17); 

5 and 

6 (3) in paragraph (17), as so redesignated, by in7 serting before ‘‘and any other category’’ the following: 

8 ‘‘intermittent personnel who are appointed into Fed9 eral Emergency Management Agency service under 

10 section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

12 5149(b)(1)) or to train for such service,’’. 

13 (b) MODIFICATION OF EXCEPTION FOR REQUIREMENT

14 FOR MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERVICES TO PROVIDE NO15 TICE TO EMPLOYERS TO OBTAIN CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT

16 AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.—Section 4312(b) of title 38, 

17 United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by striking the second sentence; 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘No notice’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new para21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(2) A determination of military necessity for pur23 poses of paragraph (1) shall be made— 


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1 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 

2 and (C), pursuant to regulations prescribed by the 

3 Secretary of Defense; 

4 ‘‘(B) for persons performing service to the Fed5 eral Emergency Management Agency under section 

6 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

7 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165f) and as 

8 intermittent personnel under section 306(b)(1) of such 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)), by the Administrator of 

10 the Federal Emergency Management Agency as de11 scribed in sections 327(j)(2) and 306(d)(2) of such Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5165f(j)(2) and 5149(d)(2)), respectively; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(C) for intermittent disaster-response ap15 pointees of the National Disaster Medical System, by 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services as de17 scribed in section 2812(d)(3)(B) of the Public Health 

18 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11(d)(3)(B)). 

19 ‘‘(3) A determination of military necessity under 

20 paragraph (1) shall not be subject to judicial review.’’. 


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Calendar No. 154 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2293 

[Report No. 117–44] 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

purposes. Emergency Management Agency, and for other employment rights to reservists of the Federal and Emergency Assistance Act to provide certain 

OCTOBER 26, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


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