I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 706 

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

Act to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency to continue to administer the National Urban Search and Rescue 

Response System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2009 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida) 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 direct the Administrator of the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue to 

administer the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, 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 ‘‘National Urban Search 

5 and Rescue Response System Act of 2009’’. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
2 

•HR 706 IH

1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE 

2 SYSTEM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

5 5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 327. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RE8 SPONSE SYSTEM. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

10 definitions apply: 

11 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis12 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

13 Emergency Management Agency. 

14 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means the 

15 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

16 ‘‘(3) HAZARD.—The term ‘hazard’ has the 

17 meaning given that term by section 602. 

18 ‘‘(4) NON-EMPLOYEE SYSTEM MEMBER.—The 

19 term ‘non-employee System member’ means a Sys20 tem member not employed by a sponsoring agency 

21 or participating agency. 

22 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘par23 ticipating agency’ means a State or local govern24 ment, nonprofit organization, or private organization 

25 that has executed an agreement with a sponsoring 

26 agency to participate in the System. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
3 

•HR 706 IH

1 ‘‘(6) SPONSORING AGENCY.—The term ‘spon2 soring agency’ means a State or local government 

3 that is the sponsor of a task force designated by the 

4 Administrator to participate in the System. 

5 ‘‘(7) SYSTEM.—The term ‘System’ means the 

6 National Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys7 tem to be administered under this section. 

8 ‘‘(8) SYSTEM MEMBER.—The term ‘System 

9 member’ means an individual who is not a full-time 

10 employee of the Federal Government, who serves on 

11 a task force or on a System management or other 

12 technical team. 

13 ‘‘(9) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘task force’ 

14 means an urban search and rescue team designated 

15 by the Administrator to participate in the System. 

16 ‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the require17 ments of this section, the Administrator shall continue to 

18 administer the emergency response system known as the 

19 ‘National Urban Search and Rescue Response System’. 

20 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—In administering the System, the 

21 Administrator shall provide for a national network of 

22 standardized search and rescue resources to assist States 

23 and local governments in responding to hazards. 

24 ‘‘(d) TASK FORCES.— 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
4 

•HR 706 IH

1 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

2 designate task forces to participate in the System. 

3 The Administrator shall determine the criteria for 

4 such participation. 

5 ‘‘(2) SPONSORING AGENCIES.—Each task force 

6 shall have a sponsoring agency. The Administrator 

7 shall enter into an agreement with the sponsoring 

8 agency of each task force with respect to the partici9 pation of the task force in the System. 

10 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—A task 

12 force may include, at the discretion of the spon13 soring agency of the task force, one or more 

14 participating agencies. The sponsoring agency 

15 of a task force shall enter into an agreement 

16 with each participating agency of the task force 

17 with respect to the participation of the partici18 pating agency on the task force. 

19 ‘‘(B) OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—A task force 

20 may also include, at the discretion of the spon21 soring agency of the task force, other individ22 uals not otherwise associated with the spon23 soring agency or a participating agency of the 

24 task force. The sponsoring agency of a task 

25 force may enter into a separate agreement with 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
5 

•HR 706 IH

1 each such individual with respect to the partici2 pation of the individual on the task force. 

3 ‘‘(e) MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL TEAMS.—The 

4 Administrator shall maintain such management teams and 

5 other technical teams as the Administrator determines are 

6 necessary to administer the System. 

7 ‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT OF SYSTEM MEMBERS INTO

8 FEDERAL SERVICE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may ap10 point a System member into Federal service for a 

11 period of service to provide for the participation of 

12 the System member in exercises, preincident staging, 

13 major disaster and emergency response activities, 

14 and training events sponsored or sanctioned by the 

15 Administrator. 

16 ‘‘(2) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL

17 SERVICE LAWS.—The Administrator may make ap18 pointments under paragraph (1) without regard to 

19 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov20 erning appointments in the competitive service. 

21 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORI22 TIES.—The authority of the Administrator to make 

23 appointments under this subsection shall not affect 

24 any other authority of the Administrator under this 

25 Act. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
6 

•HR 706 IH

1 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—A System member who is 

2 appointed into Federal service under paragraph (1) 

3 shall not be deemed an employee of the United 

4 States for purposes other than those specifically set 

5 forth in this section. 

6 ‘‘(g) COMPENSATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PAY OF SYSTEM MEMBERS.—Subject to 

8 such terms and conditions as the Administrator may 

9 impose by regulation, the Administrator shall make 

10 payments to the sponsoring agency of a task force— 

11 ‘‘(A) to reimburse each employer of a Sys12 tem member on the task force for compensation 

13 paid by the employer to the System member for 

14 any period during which the System member is 

15 appointed into Federal service under subsection 

16 (f)(1); and 

17 ‘‘(B) to make payments directly to a non18 employee System member on the task force for 

19 any period during which the non-employee Sys20 tem member is appointed into Federal service 

21 under subsection (f)(1). 

22 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES FILL23 ING POSITIONS OF SYSTEM MEMBERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such terms 

25 and conditions as the Administrator may imVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:02 Jan 28, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
7 

•HR 706 IH

1 pose by regulation, the Administrator shall 

2 make payments to the sponsoring agency of a 

3 task force to reimburse each employer of a Sys4 tem member on the task force for compensation 

5 paid by the employer to an employee filling a 

6 position normally filled by the System member 

7 for any period during which the System mem8 ber is appointed into Federal service under sub9 section (f)(1). 

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Costs incurred by an 

11 employer shall be eligible for reimbursement 

12 under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that 

13 the costs are in excess of the costs that would 

14 have been incurred by the employer had the 

15 System member not been appointed into Fed16 eral service under subsection (f)(1). 

17 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—A System mem18 ber shall not be entitled to pay directly from the 

19 Agency for a period during which the System mem20 ber is appointed into Federal service under sub21 section (f)(1). 

22 ‘‘(h) PERSONAL INJURY, ILLNESS, DISABILITY, OR

23 DEATH.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A System member who is 

25 appointed into Federal service under subsection 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
8 

•HR 706 IH

1 (f)(1) and who suffers personal injury, illness, dis2 ability, or death as a result of a personal injury sus3 tained while acting in the scope of such appointment 

4 shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 

5 of title 5, United States Code, be treated as though 

6 the member were an employee (as defined by section 

7 8101 of that title) who had sustained the injury in 

8 the performance of duty. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELECTION OF BENEFITS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a System member 

11 (or, in the case of the death of the System 

12 member, the System member’s dependent) is 

13 entitled— 

14 ‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) to receive 

15 benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81 

16 of title 5, United States Code, by reason of 

17 personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to receive benefits from a State 

20 or local government by reason of the same 

21 personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 

22 the System member or dependent shall elect to 

23 receive either the benefits referred to in clause 

24 (i) or (ii). 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
9 

•HR 706 IH

1 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—A System member or 

2 dependent shall make an election of benefits 

3 under subparagraph (A) not later than one year 

4 after the date of the personal injury, illness, 

5 disability, or death that is the reason for the 

6 benefits or until such later date as the Sec7 retary of Labor may allow for reasonable cause 

8 shown. 

9 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF ELECTION.—An election 

10 of benefits made under this paragraph is irrev11 ocable unless otherwise provided by law. 

12 ‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE OR LOCAL

13 BENEFITS.—Subject to such terms and conditions as 

14 the Administrator may impose by regulation, in the 

15 event that a System member or dependent elects 

16 benefits from a State or local government under 

17 paragraph (2)(A), the Administrator shall reimburse 

18 the State or local government for the value of those 

19 benefits. 

20 ‘‘(i) LIABILITY.—A System member appointed into 

21 Federal service under subsection (f)(1), while acting with22 in the scope of the appointment, is deemed an employee 

23 of the Government under section 1346(b) of title 28, 

24 United States Code, and chapter 171 of that title, relating 

25 to tort claims procedure. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
10 

•HR 706 IH

1 ‘‘(j) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.— 

2 With respect to a System member who is not a regular 

3 full-time employee of a sponsoring agency or participating 

4 agency, the following terms and conditions apply: 

5 ‘‘(1) Service as a System member shall be 

6 deemed ‘service in the uniformed services’ for pur7 poses of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 

8 relating to employment and reemployment rights of 

9 individuals who have performed service in the uni10 formed services (regardless of whether the individual 

11 receives compensation for such participation). All 

12 rights and obligations of such persons and proce13 dures for assistance, enforcement, and investigation 

14 shall be as provided for in such chapter. 

15 ‘‘(2) Preclusion of giving notice of service by 

16 necessity of appointment under this section shall be 

17 deemed preclusion by ‘military necessity’ for pur18 poses of section 4312(b) of title 38, United States 

19 Code, pertaining to giving notice of absence from a 

20 position of employment. A determination of such ne21 cessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall 

22 not be subject to judicial review. 

23 ‘‘(k) LICENSES AND PERMITS.—If a System member 

24 holds a valid license, certificate, or other permit issued by 

25 any State or other governmental jurisdiction evidencing 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
11 

•HR 706 IH

1 the member’s qualifications in any professional, mechan2 ical, or other skill or type of assistance required by the 

3 System, the System member shall be deemed to be per4 forming a Federal activity when rendering aid involving 

5 such skill or assistance during a period of appointment 

6 into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). 

7 ‘‘(l) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish and maintain an advisory committee to pro10 vide expert recommendations to the Administrator in 

11 order to assist the Administrator in administering 

12 the System. 

13 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee 

14 shall be composed of members from geographically 

15 diverse areas, and shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) the chief officer or senior executive 

17 from at least 3 sponsoring agencies; 

18 ‘‘(B) the senior emergency manager from 

19 at least 2 States that include sponsoring agen20 cies; and 

21 ‘‘(C) at least one representative rec22 ommended by the leaders of the task forces. 

23 ‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY OF TERMINATION RE24 QUIREMENT.—Section 14(a)(2) of the Federal AdviVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:02 Jan 28, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
12 

•HR 706 IH

1 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

2 to the advisory committee under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(m) PREPAREDNESS COOPERATIVE AGREE4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

6 of appropriations for such purpose, the Adminis7 trator shall enter into an annual preparedness coop8 erative agreement with each sponsoring agency. 

9 Amounts made available to a sponsoring agency 

10 under such a preparedness cooperative agreement 

11 shall be for the following purposes: 

12 ‘‘(A) Training and exercises, including 

13 training and exercises with other Federal, 

14 State, and local government response entities. 

15 ‘‘(B) Acquisition and maintenance of 

16 equipment, including interoperable communica17 tions and personal protective equipment. 

18 ‘‘(C) Medical monitoring required for re19 sponder safety and health in anticipation of and 

20 following a major disaster, emergency, or other 

21 hazard, as determined by the Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Not23 withstanding section 1552(b) of title 31, United 

24 States Code, amounts made available for cooperative 

25 agreements under this subsection that are not exVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:02 Jan 28, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
13 

•HR 706 IH

1 pended shall be deposited in an Agency account and 

2 shall remain available for such agreements without 

3 fiscal year limitation. 

4 ‘‘(n) RESPONSE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

5 Administrator shall enter into a response cooperative 

6 agreement with each sponsoring agency, as appropriate, 

7 under which the Administrator agrees to reimburse the 

8 sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring 

9 agency in responding to a major disaster or emergency. 

10 ‘‘(o) OBLIGATIONS.—The Administrator may incur 

11 all necessary obligations consistent with this section in 

12 order to ensure the effectiveness of the System. 

13 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out this section $52,000,000 

16 for each of fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Such 

17 sums shall be in addition to amounts made available 

18 from the Disaster Relief Fund for response coopera19 tive agreements entered into under subsection (n). 

20 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Ad21 ministrator may use not to exceed 6 percent of the 

22 funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to 

23 paragraph (1) for salaries, expenses, and other ad24 ministrative costs incurred by the Administrator in 

25 carrying out this section.’’. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
14 

•HR 706 IH

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 5, UNITED

3 STATES CODE.—Section 8101(1) of title 5, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 at the end; 

7 (B) by moving subparagraph (F) to appear 

8 after subparagraph (E); 

9 (C) in subparagraph (F) by adding ‘‘and’’ 

10 at the end; and 

11 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(G) an individual who is a System mem14 ber of the National Urban Search and Rescue 

15 Response System during a period of appoint16 ment into Federal service pursuant to section 

17 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act;’’. 

19 (2) INCLUSION AS PART OF UNIFORMED SERV20 ICES FOR PURPOSES OF USERRA.—Section 4303 of 

21 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) in paragraph (13) by inserting ‘‘, a pe23 riod for which a System member of the Na24 tional Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys25 tem is absent from a position of employment 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
15 

•HR 706 IH

1 due to an appointment into Federal service 

2 under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford 

3 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ 

4 before ‘‘, and a period’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (16) by inserting after 

6 ‘‘Public Health Service,’’ the following: ‘‘System 

7 members of the National Urban Search and 

8 Rescue Response System during a period of ap9 pointment into Federal service under section 

10 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

11 and Emergency Assistance Act,’’. 

Æ 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS