I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6567 

To require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program to continuously identify, monitor, and 

address factors and capability gaps that hinder the execution and completion of recovery activities relating to major disasters by eligible entities 

located in the territories of the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 1, 2023 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. 

SABLAN, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MENG, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, 

and Ms. PLASKETT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 

establish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program to continuously identify, monitor, and address factors and capability gaps that hinder the execution and completion 

of recovery activities relating to major disasters by eligible entities located in the territories of the United States. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Capac3 ity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 

7 (1) The United States territories are particu8 larly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which 

9 have become more frequent and stronger in recent 

10 years. 

11 (2) Category-5 Hurricane Marı ́a, which made 

12 its landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017, 

13 is considered to be the second deadliest storm re14 corded in United States history. 

15 (3) Category-5 Hurricane Irma, which struck 

16 the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sep17 tember 6th, 2017, is considered to be the second18 most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017. 

19 (4) Typhoon Mawar, which struck Guam on 

20 May 19th, 2023, and the south of Rota, Northern 

21 Mariana Islands on May 24th, 2023, is considered 

22 to be the strongest to hit Guam since 2002. 

23 (5) Super Typhoon Yutu, which struck the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands on October 24th, 2018, is 

25 considered to be the strongest typhoon recorded to 

26 impact the Mariana Islands. 


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1 (6) Hurricane Fiona made its landfall as a Cat2 egory-1 Hurricane in Puerto Rico on September 

3 18th, 2022, causing severe flooding and 

4 compounding the damage left by Hurricanes Irma 

5 and Marı ́a. 

6 (7) A major disaster declaration was issued for 

7 the territory of American Samoa on September 16th, 

8 2022, due to high surf, high winds, and flooding. 

9 (8) Rising sea levels, caused by ocean warming, 

10 contribute to the increased frequency and intensity 

11 of hurricanes, and the fragile condition of coastal 

12 environments in the United States territories. This 

13 translates to disrupted economic activity, such as 

14 tourism, agriculture and fishing, damaged dwellings, 

15 and limited drinking water supplies. 

16 (9) The Federal Emergency Management Agen17 cy (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) has obli18 gated significant amounts of funding to address 

19 multiple natural disasters in the United States terri20 tories. 

21 (10) As of October 2023, FEMA had obligated 

22 an estimated $40,980,000,000 in Public Assistance, 

23 Hazard Mitigation, Power Reconstruction and Per24 manent Work to address damages caused by Hurri25 cane Marı ́a in Puerto Rico. In addition, as of SepVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6567.IH H6567

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1 tember 2023, FEMA had obligated an estimated 

2 $328,000,000 in Public Assistance to address dam3 ages caused by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico. 

4 (11) As of April 2023, FEMA had obligated an 

5 estimated $2,900,000,000 in Public Assistance and 

6 Hazard Mitigation to address damages caused by 

7 Hurricane Marı ́a in the Virgin Islands. In addition, 

8 as of December 2022, FEMA had obligated an esti9 mated $89,000,000 in Public Assistance and Hazard 

10 Mitigation to address damages caused by Hurricane 

11 Irma in the Virgin Islands. 

12 (12) After the passage of Typhoon Mangkhut 

13 and Super Typhoon Yutu in Guam and the Northen 

14 Mariana Islands, FEMA obligated a total of 

15 $677,200,000 between 2018 and 2020 to aid re16 sponse and recovery efforts related to both disasters. 

17 (13) The United States territories have similar 

18 vulnerabilities that result in long and difficult recov19 ery processes. 

20 (14) The economies of the United States terri21 tories depend heavily on tourism to create revenue. 

22 Such dependency undermines disaster resiliency, 

23 given the industry’s susceptibility to external shocks, 

24 such as atmospheric conditions, financial crises, and 

25 global pandemics. Any of this phenomenon can reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6567.IH H6567

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1 duce the number of visitors and trigger the closure 

2 of businesses and lay-offs. 

3 (15) The United States territories struggle with 

4 high levels of public debt, which impact their ability 

5 to provide cash advances to initiate disaster recovery 

6 projects. Notably— 

7 (A) Puerto Rico is in the midst of debt re8 structuring proceedings that, as of 2023, have 

9 reduced Puerto Rico’s public debt from over 

10 $70 billion to $37 billion and pension liabilities 

11 from $55 billion to $7 billion; 

12 (B) as of 2019, Virgin Islands’ public debt 

13 stood at $2,600,000,000, representing 65 per14 cent of its Gross Domestic Product; and 

15 (C) as of 2021, Guam’s public debt stood 

16 at $2,600,000,000, representing 43 percent of 

17 its Gross Domestic Product. 

18 (16) The physical infrastructure of the United 

19 States territories, including electricity grids and 

20 water plants, is outdated, and has lacked appro21 priate maintenance and hardening. 

22 (17) The United States territories face housing 

23 affordability and availability challenges that impact 

24 their ability to absorb the influx of the recovery 

25 workforce after a disaster occurs. 


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1 (18) The United States territories are situated 

2 in remote locations, which results in higher import 

3 costs, significant delays in the shipping and trans4 portation of construction materials necessary to 

5 carry out recovery projects, and barriers for staff 

6 seeking to travel to the continental United States to 

7 receive recovery training. 

8 (19) The United States territories have limited 

9 specialized staff to adequately navigate and manage 

10 recovery programs, including developing projects for 

11 obligation, using Public Assistance to cover adminis12 trative and managerial costs, and procuring goods 

13 and services according to Federal standards. 

14 (20) The United States territories hurdle to 

15 find and procure specialized personnel to advance re16 covery efforts, such as engineers and construction 

17 contractors, given the high demand for these profes18 sionals by public agencies and large corporations in 

19 the aftermath of disasters. 

20 (21) The United States territories struggle with 

21 dangerous demographic patterns that exacerbate so22 cial, financial, and economic fragilities. From 2010 

23 to 2020, the populations of the territories shrunk, 

24 and at a faster pace than any other continental 

25 state. In such period, Puerto Rico’s population was 


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1 reduced by 11.8 percent, U.S. Virgin Islands’ popu2 lation by 18.1 percent, Northen Mariana Islands’ 

3 population by 12.2 percent, American Samoa’s popu4 lation by 10.5 percent, and Guam’s population by 

5 3.5 percent. Additionally, the islands are experi6 encing lower birthrates and higher death rates. 

7 (22) The postal addresses used in the United 

8 States territories have not been recognized and reg9 istered by the United States Postal Service, which 

10 can result in additional obstacles for recovery, pri11 marily for individuals and households seeking to ob12 tain FEMA assistance. 

13 (23) The United States territories have endured 

14 consecutive major disasters, which has made it more 

15 difficult for FEMA to correctly assess recent and 

16 older damages, and therefore obligate funding for 

17 Public Assistance projects. 

18 (24) The United States territories encompass a 

19 variety of languages, political sensitivities, and cul20 tural differences that Federal authorities like FEMA 

21 have not traditionally considered, thereby impacting 

22 the territories’ full and equal participation in Fed23 eral disaster recovery programs. 

24 (b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of 

25 this Act to establish a program within FEMA to continuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6567.IH H6567

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1 ously identify, monitor, and address factors and capability 

2 gaps that hinder the execution and completion of recovery 

3 activities by eligible entities located in the territories of 

4 the United States under sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 

5 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer6 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency. 

12 (2) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘community’’ 

13 means a network of individuals and families, busi14 nesses, governmental and nongovernmental organiza15 tions, and other civic organizations that reside or op16 erate within a shared geographical boundary and 

17 may be represented by a common political leadership 

18 at a regional, county, municipal, or neighborhood 

19 level. 

20 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti21 ty’’ means an entity eligible for a grant under sec22 tion 403, 404, 406, 407, or 502 of the Robert T. 

23 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

24 Act (5121 U.S.C. et seq.). 


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1 (4) RECOVERY.—The term ‘‘recovery’’ means 

2 the capabilities and actions necessary to recover ef3 fectively from a major disaster declared under the 

4 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

5 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), including— 

6 (A) rebuilding infrastructure systems; 

7 (B) providing adequate interim and long8 term housing for individuals impacted by such 

9 incident; 

10 (C) restoring health, social, and commu11 nity services; 

12 (D) promoting economic development; and 

13 (E) restoring natural and cultural re14 sources. 

15 (5) TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES.—The 

16 term ‘‘territory of the United States’’ means Amer17 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northen 

18 Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

19 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and any 

20 other territory or possession of the United States. 

21 SEC. 4. TERRITORIAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es24 tablish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program (in this 

25 section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’) to continuously 


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1 identify, monitor, and address factors and capability gaps 

2 of local emergency managers, or other applicable emer3 gency response coordinators, and eligible entities located 

4 in the territories of the United States in carrying out re5 covery activities relating to major disasters declared under 

6 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As7 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

8 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Ad9 ministrator shall— 

10 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en11 actment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, 

12 identify and analyze gaps in identifying, applying 

13 and receiving assistance, and carrying out recovery 

14 activities described in subsection (a) that are specific 

15 to eligible entities located in the territories of the 

16 United States; 

17 (2) provide technical assistance to the entities 

18 described in paragraph (1) in applying for grants 

19 under sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of such 

20 Act that— 

21 (A) is tailored to meet the needs of appli22 cants at each stage of the administration of 

23 projects for which grants are made under such 

24 sections; and 

25 (B) takes into account the challenges of— 


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1 (i) applicants who are located in re2 mote or difficult-to-access areas; 

3 (ii) applicants who are part of a mi4 nority cultural group; 

5 (iii) applicants with limited English 

6 language proficiency; and 

7 (iv) applicants with slow internet 

8 speeds or limited broadband access; 

9 (3) design online and in-person training courses 

10 that are specific to the entities described in para11 graph (1) and that address the capability gaps iden12 tified under this section; 

13 (4) develop best practices regarding the admin14 istration of projects in the territories of the United 

15 States for which grants are made under sections 

16 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of such Act; 

17 (5) develop feedback mechanisms for entities re18 ceiving technical assistance or training under this 

19 section; and 

20 (6) foster meaningful collaboration with local 

21 experts, community leaders, and other members of 

22 the community, that leads to the performance of ac23 tivities under this section that are locally informed 

24 and relevant to local needs. 

25 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 


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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

3 thereafter for the duration of the Program, the Ad4 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Trans5 portation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives 

7 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov8 ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report on— 

9 (A) any capability gaps identified under 

10 subsection (b)(1); 

11 (B) the nature of any technical assistance 

12 provided under the Program; 

13 (C) any online or in-person training 

14 courses developed, or planned to be developed 

15 under the Program; 

16 (D) any best practices identified under 

17 subsection (b)(4); and 

18 (E) an analysis of, responses to, and any 

19 activities carried out as a result of feedback re20 ceived by applicants for assistance under the 

21 Program and entities receiving such assistance. 

22 (2) FINAL REPORT.—In the report required to 

23 be submitted in the final year for which the Pro24 gram is authorized, the Administrator shall include 

25 recommendations on— 


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1 (A) whether to continue the Program; 

2 (B) if a continuation of the program is rec3 ommended, the suggested duration of such con4 tinuation; and 

5 (C) the necessary funding to carry out the 

6 Program. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


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