I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6084 

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

Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 26, 2023 

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself and Ms. PLASKETT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after 

a major disaster are met. 

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 ‘‘Expediting Disaster 

5 Recovery Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

8 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 431. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the declaration of a major 

5 disaster under section 401, the President may direct the 

6 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency to provide to a State assistance necessary for 

8 meeting unmet needs as a result of such disaster. 

9 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF FUNDING.—Not later than 30 

11 days after the President declares a major disaster 

12 under section 401, the President, acting through the 

13 Administrator, may allocate an amount that equals 

14 up to 10 percent of the estimated aggregate amount 

15 of the grants to be made pursuant to sections 406 

16 and 408 for the major disaster in order to provide 

17 technical and financial assistance under this section 

18 and such amounts shall be considered to be related 

19 to activities carried out with assistance provided 

20 under this Act. 

21 ‘‘(2) ESTIMATED AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—Not 

22 later than 180 days after each major disaster de23 clared pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggregate 

24 amount of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) 

25 shall be determined by the President and such estiVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Oct 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084

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1 mated amount need not be reduced, increased, or 

2 changed due to variations in estimates. 

3 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—Nothing in 

4 this section shall be construed to reduce the 

5 amounts otherwise made available for sections 403, 

6 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 under this 

7 Act. 

8 ‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—Financial assistance provided 

9 under this section may be used to provide assistance, in 

10 addition to other amounts made available under this Act, 

11 for the following unmet needs: 

12 ‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuild13 ing assistance to families for permanent housing 

14 purposes, including in conjunction with eligible ex15 penditures under section 408. 

16 ‘‘(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families 

17 who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 

18 other sources. 

19 ‘‘(3) Other disaster-related services that allevi20 ate human suffering and promote the well-being of 

21 disaster victims. 

22 ‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (includ23 ing food and agriculture) after a disaster to imple24 ment post-disaster economic recovery measures, in25 cluding planning and technical assistance for longVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Oct 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6084.IH H6084

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1 term economic recovery plans, infrastructure im2 provements, business or infrastructure financing, 

3 market or industry research, and other activities au4 thorized under a comprehensive economic develop5 ment strategy. 

6 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING AND FISCAL CONTROLS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

8 after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 

9 until all such funds are expended, each State receiv10 ing such funds shall submit to the Administrator a 

11 report that includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) the criteria established for deter13 mining how the funds are spent; 

14 ‘‘(B) the allocation of such funds; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—Section 312(b) shall apply 

18 to this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State that re20 ceives funds under this section may expend not more 

21 than 5 percent of the amount of such funds for the 

22 administrative costs of providing financial assistance 

23 to individuals and households in the State.’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend2 ments made by this section shall apply to funds appro3 priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 3. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER DEC5 LARATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In making recommendations to 

7 the President regarding the declaration of a major disaster 

8 or emergency pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. 

9 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 5170) or the proposed non-Federal share of 

11 the cost of carrying out activities with assistance provided 

12 under such Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emer13 gency Management Agency shall give greater weight and 

14 consideration to severe local impact resulting from such 

15 disaster or emergency and, in the 5-year period preceding 

16 such disaster or emergency, whether multiple other disas17 ters or emergencies have occurred in the affected area. 

18 (b) REVISIONS TO GUIDANCE, POLICIES, AND REGU19 LATIONS.—The Administrator shall take such actions as 

20 are necessary to revise any policies, guidance, or regula21 tions of the Agency to implement subsection (a). 

22 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall sub24 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc25 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

2 Senate a report on the implementation of this section and 

3 shall include in such report a description of— 

4 (1) changes made to guidance, policies, or regu5 lations pursuant to subsection (b); and 

6 (2) the number of major disasters and emer7 gencies that have been declared pursuant to section 

8 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

9 Emergency Assistance Act based on the criteria de10 scribed in subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 4. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(c) of the Robert T. 

13 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ‘‘to 

17 a safe and sanitary living or functioning condi18 tion’’; and 

19 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘A recipient of’’ and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) EVIDENCE OF OTHER MEANS OF

23 ASSISTANCE.—A recipient of’’; and 

24 (ii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AS2 SISTANCE.—Assistance allowed under this 

3 paragraph may be used in coordination 

4 with other sources for the repair and re5 building of an owner-occupied residence.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘in cases in 

8 which’’ and all that follows through the end of the 

9 paragraph and inserting ‘‘if the President considers 

10 it a cost effective alternative to other housing solu11 tions, including the costs associated with temporary 

12 housing provided under this section, and long-term 

13 rebuilding costs associated with section 431.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend15 ments made by this section shall apply to funds appro16 priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. FEMA EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a) of the Robert T. 

19 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

23 at the end; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (J) by striking the 

25 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(K) minor repairs up to habitability of 

3 owner-occupied homes damaged by the disaster 

4 in order for survivors to safely shelter in 

5 place.’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(5) DUPLICATION OF BENEFIT LIMITA8 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 312, any minor re9 pairs up to habitability of owner-occupied homes 

10 may not be considered a duplication of any owner 

11 benefits. 

12 ‘‘(6) SHELTERING AND HOUSING OPTIONS.— 

13 Not later than 15 days after a declaration of a 

14 major disaster, the Federal coordinating officer shall 

15 provide all sheltering and housing options available 

16 under this section to a State Governor, or the des17 ignated State coordinating officer. 

18 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

19 term ‘minor repairs up to habitability’ means the 

20 minimum standards for permanent housing de21 scribed in section 576.403(c) of title 24, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).’’. 

23 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

25 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue final 


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1 regulations to implement the amendments made by this 

2 section. 

3 SEC. 6. APPEALS OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO4 GRAM BENEFITS. 

5 The Administrator shall revise section 206.115 of 

6 title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to require the Fed7 eral Emergency Management Agency to provide to any ap8 plicant who appeals a determination of eligibility of assist9 ance— 

10 (1) any documentation used to make such de11 termination, including any inspection documents 

12 that exist; 

13 (2) a description of— 

14 (A) the reasons for such determination; 

15 and 

16 (B) recommended steps that could be 

17 taken to remedy a determination of ineligibility, 

18 including, as applicable, a list of additional doc19 umentation that the applicant may provide; and 

20 (3) any inspection documents that exist not 

21 later than 10 days after the completion of the in22 spection. 

23 SEC. 7. PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE. 

24 The Administrator shall revise section 206.115 of 

25 title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to extend the period 


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1 of assistance for Federal assistance to individuals and 

2 households to 24 months after the date of a major disaster 

3 declaration pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. Staf4 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 5170). 

6 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MAJOR DISASTER DEC7 LARATIONS. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Com10 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

11 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

12 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report 

13 containing the following information with respect to each 

14 major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the 

15 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist16 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 5-year period pre17 ceding such date of enactment: 

18 (1) The process used by the Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency to determine individual house20 hold need. 

21 (2) An itemization of the most common reasons 

22 for denial of individual and household assistance 

23 pursuant to section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 

24 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 5174). 


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1 (3) The rate of appeals of denial of such assist2 ance. 

3 (4) The amount of time the Agency takes to 

4 issue a decision regarding eligibility for individual 

5 assistance, disaggregated by each such major dis6 aster. 

7 (5) Information on the use of Disaster Legal 

8 Services and the number of applicants who were eli9 gible for such services. 

10 (6) The total number of Disaster Legal Services 

11 volunteers as of such date of enactment. 

12 (7) The number of such volunteers who were 

13 activated for each such major disaster. 

14 (8) The amount of time taken after the declara15 tion of each such major disaster to set up disaster 

16 recovery centers that provide access to individual as17 sistance. 

18 (9) The number of disaster recovery centers 

19 opened for each such major disaster. 

20 (10) The process used for selecting the location 

21 of such disaster recovery centers. 

22 (11) The average amount of time disaster re23 covery centers remained open. 

24 (12) The average amount of time individual 

25 survivors spend at such centers. 


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1 (13) A description of outreach efforts in low-in2 come, rural, and underserved communities regarding 

3 the availability of assistance provided by the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency under the Robert 

5 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist6 ance Act. 

7 SEC. 9. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

8 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall— 

11 (1) conduct a review of the fiscal controls of 

12 States that receive assistance under section 431 of 

13 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer14 gency Assistance Act, as added by section 2; and 

15 (2) make recommendations regarding the pro16 gram established under such section to the Com17 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af18 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor19 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent20 atives. 

Æ 


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