IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3702 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide disaster assistance to States, Puerto 

Rico, units of general local government, and Indian tribes 

under a community development block grant disaster recovery program, 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 ‘‘Reforming Disaster 

3 Recovery Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS5 ASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Housing and Com7 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 123. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE. 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY; USE.—The Secretary may provide 

11 assistance under this section to States, including Puerto 

12 Rico, units of general local government, and Indian tribes 

13 for necessary expenses for activities authorized under this 

14 title related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recov15 ery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation, 

16 and economic revitalization in the most impacted and dis17 tressed areas (as such term shall be defined by the Sec18 retary by regulation) resulting from a major disaster de19 clared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

20 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION; COORDINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION FOR MITIGATION.—In deter23 mining the amount allocated under this section for 

24 any grantee, the Secretary shall include an addi25 tional amount for mitigation that is not less than 45 


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1 percent of the amount allocated for such grantee for 

2 unmet needs. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR ALLOCATION.—Except as 

4 provided in paragraph (3), after the enactment of an 

5 Act making funds available for assistance under this 

6 section, the Secretary shall allocate for grantees, 

7 based on the best available data all funds provided 

8 for assistance under this section within 60 days of 

9 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

10 ‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY OF DEADLINES BASED

11 ON INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION.—The deadlines 

12 under paragraph (2) for allocation of funds shall not 

13 apply in the case of funds made available for assist14 ance under this section if Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency has not made sufficient information 

16 available to the Secretary regarding relevant unmet 

17 recovery needs to make allocations in accordance 

18 with such deadlines. The Secretary shall notify the 

19 Congress of progress on or delay in receiving the 

20 necessary information within 60 days following dec21 laration of such a major disaster and monthly there22 after until all necessary information is received. 

23 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION OF AMOUNTS BY THE SEC24 RETARY.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), the Sec25 retary shall provide for the disbursement of the 


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1 amounts allocated for a grantee, but shall require 

2 the grantee to be in substantial compliance with the 

3 requirements of this section before each such dis4 bursement. 

5 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION OF DISASTER BENEFITS

6 AND DATA WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION OF DATA.—The Sec8 retary shall coordinate with other agencies to 

9 obtain data on recovery needs, including the 

10 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man11 agement Agency and the Administrator of the 

12 Small Business Administration, and other agen13 cies when necessary regarding disaster benefits. 

14 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH FEMA.—The 

15 Secretary shall share with the Administrator of 

16 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

17 and make publicly available, all data collected, 

18 possessed, or analyzed during the course of a 

19 disaster recovery for which assistance is pro20 vided under this section including— 

21 ‘‘(i) all data on damage caused by the 

22 disaster; 

23 ‘‘(ii) information on how any Federal 

24 assistance provided in connection with the 

25 disaster is expended; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) information regarding the effect 

2 of the disaster on education, transportation 

3 capabilities and dependence, housing 

4 needs, health care capacity, and displace5 ment of persons. 

6 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING ELIGI7 BILITY FOR DIRECT ASSISTANCE AND DUPLICA8 TION OF BENEFITS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) COMPLIANCE.—Funds made 

10 available under this subsection shall be 

11 used in accordance with section 312 of the 

12 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

13 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 5155), as amended by section 1210 of the 

15 Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (di16 vision D, Public Law 115–254), and such 

17 rules as may be prescribed under such sec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—Households having 

20 the lowest incomes shall be prioritized for 

21 assistance under this subsection until all 

22 unmet needs are satisfied for families hav23 ing an income up to 120 percent of the 

24 median for the area. 


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1 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF DUPLICATIVE BENE2 FITS.—In any case in which a grantee provides 

3 assistance that duplicates benefits available to a 

4 person for the same purpose from another 

5 source, the grantee itself shall either (i) be sub6 ject to remedies for noncompliance under sec7 tion 111, or (ii) bear responsibility for absorb8 ing such cost of duplicative benefits and return9 ing an amount equal to any duplicative benefits 

10 paid to the grantee’s funds available for use 

11 under this section or to the Community Devel12 opment Block Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve 

13 Fund under section 124, unless the Secretary 

14 issues a public determination by publication in 

15 the Federal Register that it is not in the best 

16 interest of the Federal Government to pursue 

17 such remedies. 

18 ‘‘(E) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDEN19 TIFIABLE INFORMATION.—In carrying out this 

20 paragraph, the Secretary and the grantee shall 

21 take such actions as may be necessary to ensure 

22 that personally identifiable information regard23 ing recipients of assistance provided from funds 

24 made available under this section is not made 

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1 ing and Urban Development or any agency with 

2 which information is shared pursuant to this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(c) PLAN FOR USE OF ASSISTANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after the allocation pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of 

7 all of the funds made available by an appropriations 

8 Act for assistance under this section and before the 

9 Secretary obligates any of such funds for a grantee, 

10 the grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary for 

11 approval detailing the proposed use of all funds, 

12 which shall include, at a minimum— 

13 ‘‘(A) criteria for eligibility for each pro14 posed use of funds, including eligibility limits 

15 on income and geography, and a description of 

16 how each proposed use of such funds will com17 ply with all civil rights and fair housing laws 

18 and will address unmet needs relating to dis19 aster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, res20 toration of infrastructure and housing, mitiga21 tion, and economic revitalization in the most 

22 impacted and distressed areas, including assist23 ance to impacted households experiencing home24 lessness as defined by section 103 of the 

25 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 11302) or at risk of homelessness as de2 fined by section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 11360); 

4 ‘‘(B) an agreement to share data, 

5 disaggregated by the smallest census tract, 

6 block group, or block possible for the data set, 

7 with Federal agencies and other providers of 

8 disaster relief, which shall include information 

9 the grantee has regarding the matters described 

10 in subsection (b)(4)(B); 

11 ‘‘(C) identification of officials and offices 

12 responsible for administering such funds and 

13 processes and procedures for identifying and re14 covering duplicate benefits; and 

15 ‘‘(D) a plan for ensuring compliance with 

16 the Fair Housing Act, which may include, at 

17 the election of the grantee, providing for part18 nerships with local fair housing organizations 

19 and funding set-aside for local fair housing or20 ganizations to handle complaints relating to as21 sistance with amounts made available for use 

22 under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall, by regu24 lation, specify criteria for approval of plans under 


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1 paragraph (1), including approval of substantial 

2 amendments to such plans. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary shall dis4 approve a plan or substantial amendment to a plan 

5 if— 

6 ‘‘(A) the plan or substantial amendment 

7 does not meet the approval criteria; 

8 ‘‘(B) based on damage and unmet needs 

9 assessments of the Secretary and the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Administration or 

11 such other information as may be available, the 

12 plan or amendment does not address equitable 

13 allocation of resources— 

14 ‘‘(i) between infrastructure and hous15 ing activities; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) between homeowners, renters, 

17 and persons experiencing homelessness; 

18 ‘‘(C) the plan or amendment does not pro19 vide an adequate plan for ensuring that funding 

20 provided under this section is used in compli21 ance with the Fair Housing Act; 

22 ‘‘(D) the plan or amendment does not 

23 prioritize the one-for-one replacement, with cost 

24 adjustment where appropriate, of damaged 

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1 ceiving tax credits pursuant to section 42 of the 

2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or in projects 

3 assisted under section 202 of the Housing Act 

4 of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q), under section 811 

5 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

6 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013), under the 

7 HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.), under the community 

9 development block grant program under this 

10 title, or by the Housing Trust Fund under sec11 tion 1338 of the Housing and Community De12 velopment Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); or 

13 ‘‘(E) the plan or amendment does not pro14 vide a process to provide applicants— 

15 ‘‘(i) notice by grantee of applicant’s 

16 right to appeal any adverse action or inac17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(ii) right to full discovery of appli19 cant’s entire application file; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) right to appeal to a court of 

21 competent jurisdiction in the vicinage of 

22 the applicant’s residence at the time of the 

23 appeal. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC CONSULTATION.—In developing 

2 the plan required under paragraph (1), a grantee 

3 shall, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(A) consult with affected residents, stake5 holders, local governments, and public housing 

6 authorities to assess needs; 

7 ‘‘(B) publish the plan in accordance with 

8 the requirements set forth by the Secretary, in9 cluding a requirement to prominently post the 

10 plan on the website of the grantee for not less 

11 than 14 days; 

12 ‘‘(C) ensure equal access for individuals 

13 with disabilities and individuals with limited 

14 English proficiency; and 

15 ‘‘(D) publish the plan in a manner that af16 fords citizens, affected local governments, and 

17 other interested parties a reasonable oppor18 tunity to examine the contents of the plan and 

19 provide feedback. 

20 ‘‘(5) RESUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall per21 mit a grantee to revise and resubmit a disapproved 

22 plan or plan amendment. 

23 ‘‘(6) TIMING.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

25 approve or disapprove a plan not later than 60 


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1 days after submission of the plan to the Sec2 retary. The Secretary shall immediately notify 

3 the applicant of the Secretary’s decision. 

4 ‘‘(B) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis5 approves a plan, not later than 15 days after 

6 such disapproval the Secretary shall inform the 

7 applicant in writing of (A) the reasons for dis8 approval, and (B) actions that the applicant 

9 could take to meet the criteria for approval. 

10 ‘‘(C) AMENDMENTS; RESUBMISSION.—The 

11 Secretary shall, for a period of not less than 45 

12 days following the date of disapproval, permit 

13 amendments to, or the resubmission of, any 

14 plan that is disapproved. The Secretary shall 

15 approve or disapprove a plan amendment not 

16 less than 30 days after receipt of such amend17 ments or resubmission. 

18 ‘‘(D) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—Subject to 

19 subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall ensure 

20 that all grant agreements necessary for prompt 

21 disbursement of funds allocated to a grantee 

22 are executed within 60 days of approval of 

23 grantee’s plan. 

24 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL CONTROLS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE SYSTEM.—The Secretary 

2 shall develop and maintain a system to ensure that 

3 each grantee has and will maintain for the life of the 

4 grant— 

5 ‘‘(A) proficient financial controls and pro6 curement processes; 

7 ‘‘(B) adequate procedures to ensure that 

8 all eligible families and individuals are approved 

9 for assistance with amounts made available 

10 under this section and that recipients are pro11 vided the full amount of assistance for which 

12 they are eligible; 

13 ‘‘(C) adequate procedures to prevent any 

14 duplication of benefits, as defined by section 

15 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

16 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 5155), to ensure timely expenditure of funds, 

18 and to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and 

19 abuse of funds; and 

20 ‘‘(D) adequate procedures to ensure the 

21 grantee will maintain comprehensive and pub22 licly accessible websites that make available in23 formation regarding all disaster recovery activi24 ties assisted with such funds, which information 

25 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) full and unredacted copies of all 

2 requests for qualification for assistance or 

3 for procurement with such funds, however 

4 styled; 

5 ‘‘(ii) all responses to such requests, 

6 subject to redactions necessary to protect 

7 personal or proprietary data; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the identity of any entity that 

9 reviews, evaluates, scores, or otherwise in10 fluences or determines the disposition of 

11 such requests; 

12 ‘‘(iv) all reports, however styled, con13 taining the reviewing individual or entity’s 

14 scores, findings, and conclusions regarding 

15 such requests; and 

16 ‘‘(v) any resulting contract, agree17 ment, or other disposition of such requests; 

18 except that such procedures shall ensure 

19 that personally identifiable information re20 garding recipients of assistance provided 

21 from funds made available under this sec22 tion shall not be made publicly available. 

23 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION OF COMPLIANCE.—The Sec24 retary shall provide, by regulation or guideline, a 

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1 ating compliance with the requirements under para2 graph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of mak4 ing any grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance 

5 that the grantee has in place the processes and pro6 cedures required under subparagraphs (A) through 

7 (D) of paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State, unit of gen11 eral local government, or Indian tribe receiving 

12 a grant under this section may use not less 

13 than 7 percent and not more than 10 percent 

14 of the amount of grant funds received, or with15 in such other percentage as may be established 

16 pursuant to subparagraph (B), for administra17 tive costs and shall document the use of funds 

18 for such purpose in accordance with such re19 quirements as the Secretary shall establish. 

20 ‘‘(B) DISCRETION TO ESTABLISH SLIDING

21 SCALE.—The Secretary may establish a series 

22 of percentage limitations on the amount of 

23 grant funds received that may be used by a 

24 grantee for administrative costs, but only if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) such percentage limitations are 

2 based on the amount of grant funds re3 ceived by a grantee; 

4 ‘‘(ii) such series provides that the per5 centage that may be so used is lower for 

6 grantees receiving a greater amount of 

7 grant funds and such percentage that may 

8 be so used is higher for grantees receiving 

9 a lesser amount of grant funds; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) in no case may a grantee so use 

11 more than 10 percent of grant funds re12 ceived. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—Amounts from a 

14 grant under this section may not be used for activi15 ties— 

16 ‘‘(A) that are reimbursable, or for which 

17 funds are made available, by the Federal Emer18 gency Management Agency, including under the 

19 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer20 gency Assistance Act or the National Flood In21 surance Program; or 

22 ‘‘(B) for which funds are made available 

23 by the Army Corps of Engineers. 

24 ‘‘(3) HUD ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Of any funds made 

2 available for use under this section by any sin3 gle appropriations Act, the Secretary may use 1 

4 percent of any such amount exceeding 

5 $1,000,000,000 for necessary costs, including 

6 information technology costs, of administering 

7 and overseeing the obligation and expenditure 

8 of amounts made available for use under this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Any amounts 

11 made available for use in accordance with sub12 paragraph (A)— 

13 ‘‘(i) shall be transferred to the ac14 count for Program Office Salaries and Ex15 penses—Community Planning and Devel16 opment for the Department; 

17 ‘‘(ii) shall remain available until ex18 pended; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) may be used for administering 

20 any funds appropriated to the Department 

21 for any disaster and related purposes in 

22 any prior or future Act, notwithstanding 

23 the disaster for which such funds were ap24 propriated. 


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1 ‘‘(4) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Of any funds 

2 made available for use in accordance with paragraph 

3 (3)(A), 15 percent shall be transferred to the Office 

4 of the Inspector General for necessary costs of au5 dits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investiga6 tions relating to amounts made available for use 

7 under this section. 

8 ‘‘(5) CAPACITY BUILDING.—Of any funds made 

9 available for use under this section, not more than 

10 0.1 percent or $15,000,000, whichever is less, shall 

11 be made available to the Secretary for capacity 

12 building and technical assistance, including assist13 ance regarding contracting and procurement proc14 esses, to support grantees and subgrantees receiving 

15 funds under this section. 

16 ‘‘(6) MITIGATION PLANNING.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

18 require each grantee to use a fixed percentage 

19 of any grant funds for comprehensive mitiga20 tion planning. 

21 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Such fixed percentage 

22 shall not be less than 15 percent, except that 

23 the Secretary may by regulation establish a 

24 lower percentage for grantees receiving a grant 

25 exceeding $1,000,000,000. 


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1 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—Each grantee shall 

2 ensure that such comprehensive mitigation 

3 plans are coordinated and aligned with existing 

4 comprehensive, land use, transportation, and 

5 economic development plans, and specifically 

6 analyze multiple types of hazard exposures and 

7 risks. Each grantee shall coordinate and align 

8 such mitigation planning with other mitigation 

9 projects funded by the Federal Emergency 

10 Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engi11 neers, the Forest Service, and other agencies as 

12 appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.—Such funds may be 

14 used for the purchase of data and development 

15 or updating of risk mapping for all relevant 

16 hazards. 

17 ‘‘(E) PRIORITY.—Grantees shall prioritize 

18 the expenditure of mitigation dollars for pro19 grams and projects primarily benefitting per20 sons of low and moderate income with the 

21 greatest risk of harm from natural hazards. 

22 ‘‘(7) BUILDING SAFETY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After consultation 

24 with the Administrator of the Federal Emer25 gency Management Agency, the Secretary shall 


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1 provide that no funds made available under this 

2 section shall be used for installation, substantial 

3 rehabilitation, reconstruction, or new construc4 tion of infrastructure or residential, commercial, 

5 or public buildings in hazard-prone areas, un6 less construction complies with paragraph (8) 

7 and with the latest published editions of rel8 evant national consensus-based codes, and spec9 ifications and standards referenced therein, ex10 cept that nothing in this section shall be con11 strued to prohibit a grantee from requiring 

12 higher standards. 

13 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

14 subparagraph (A) shall be construed as a re15 quirement for a grantee to adopt the latest pub16 lished editions of relevant national consensus17 based codes, specifications, and standards. 

18 ‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE.—Compliance with this 

19 paragraph may be certified by a registered de20 sign professional. 

21 ‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

22 paragraph, the following definitions shall apply: 

23 ‘‘(i) HAZARD-PRONE AREAS.—The 

24 term ‘hazard-prone areas’ means areas 

25 identified by the Secretary, in consultation 


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1 with the Administrator, at risk from nat2 ural hazards that threaten property dam3 age or health, safety, and welfare, such as 

4 floods (including special flood hazard 

5 areas), wildfires (including Wildland-Urban 

6 Interface areas), earthquakes, tornados, 

7 and high winds. The Secretary may con8 sider future risks and the likelihood such 

9 risks may pose to protecting property and 

10 health, safety, and general welfare when 

11 making the determination of or modifica12 tion to hazard-prone areas. 

13 ‘‘(ii) LATEST PUBLISHED EDITIONS.— 

14 The term ‘latest published editions’ means, 

15 with respect to relevant national con16 sensus-based codes, and specifications and 

17 standards referenced therein, the two most 

18 recent published editions, including, if any, 

19 amendments made by State, local, tribal, 

20 or territorial governments during the adop21 tion process, that incorporate the latest 

22 natural hazard-resistant designs and estab23 lish criteria for the design, construction, 

24 and maintenance of structures and facili25 ties that may be eligible for assistance 


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1 under this section for the purposes of pro2 tecting the health, safety, and general wel3 fare of a buildings’s users against disas4 ters. 

5 ‘‘(8) FLOOD RISK MITIGATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to sub7 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall require that 

8 any structure that is located in an area having 

9 special flood hazards and that is newly con10 structed, for which substantial damage is re11 paired, or that is substantially improved, using 

12 amounts made available under this section, 

13 shall be elevated with the lowest floor, including 

14 the basement, at least two feet above the base 

15 flood level, except that critical facilities, includ16 ing hospitals, nursing homes, and other public 

17 facilities providing social and economic lifelines, 

18 as defined by the Secretary, shall be elevated at 

19 least 3 feet above the base flood elevation (or 

20 higher if required under paragraph (7)). 

21 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE MITIGATION.—In the 

22 case of existing structures consisting of multi23 family housing and row houses, the Secretary 

24 shall seek consultation with the Administrator 

25 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 


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1 shall provide for alternative forms of mitigation 

2 (apart from elevation), and shall exempt from 

3 the requirement under subparagraph (A) any 

4 such structure that meets the standards for 

5 such an alternative form of mitigation. 

6 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sub7 paragraph (A), the terms ‘area having special 

8 flood hazards’, ‘newly constructed’, ‘substantial 

9 damage’, ‘substantial improvement’, and ‘base 

10 flood level’ have the same meanings as under 

11 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and 

12 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

13 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 

14 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering any 

15 amounts made available for assistance under this section, 

16 the Secretary— 

17 ‘‘(1) may not allow a grantee to use any such 

18 amounts for any purpose other than the purpose ap19 proved by the Secretary in the plan or amended plan 

20 submitted under subsection (c)(1) to the Secretary 

21 for use of such amounts; 

22 ‘‘(2) may not permit a grantee to amend a plan 

23 to retroactively approve a beneficiary’s use of funds 

24 for an eligible activity other than an activity for 


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1 which the funds were originally approved in the 

2 plan; and 

3 ‘‘(3) shall prohibit a grantee from delegating, 

4 by contract or otherwise, the responsibility for inher5 ent government functions. 

6 ‘‘(g) TRAINING FOR GRANT MANAGEMENT FOR SUB7 GRANTEES.—The Secretary shall require each grantee to 

8 provide ongoing training to all staff and subgrantees. 

9 ‘‘(h) PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES

10 FOR GRANTEES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) GRANTEE PROCESSES AND PROCE12 DURES.—In procuring property or services to be 

13 paid for in whole or in part with amounts from a 

14 grant under this section, a grantee shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) follow its own procurement processes 

16 and procedures, but only if the Secretary makes 

17 a determination that such processes and proce18 dures comply with the requirements under 

19 paragraph (2); or 

20 ‘‘(B) comply with such processes and pro21 cedures as the Secretary shall, by regulation, 

22 establish for purposes of this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements under 

24 this paragraph with respect to the procurement 


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1 processes and procedures of a grantee are that such 

2 processes and procedures shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide for full and open competition 

4 and require cost or price analysis; 

5 ‘‘(B) include requirements for procurement 

6 policies and procedures for subgrantees; 

7 ‘‘(C) specify methods of procurement and 

8 their applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-per9 centage-of cost or percentage-of-construction10 cost methods of procurement; 

11 ‘‘(D) include standards of conduct gov12 erning employees engaged in the award or ad13 ministration of contracts; and 

14 ‘‘(E) ensure that all purchase orders and 

15 contracts include any clauses required by Fed16 eral statute, Executive order, or implementing 

17 regulation. 

18 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—In the case of a grant19 ee for which the Secretary finds pursuant to para20 graph (1)(A) that its procurement processes and 

21 procedures do not comply with paragraph (2), the 

22 Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) provide the grantee with specific writ24 ten notice of the elements of noncompliance and 


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1 the changes necessary to such processes and 

2 procedures to provide for compliance; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide the grantee a reasonable pe4 riod of time to come into compliance; and 

5 ‘‘(C) during such period allow the grantee 

6 to proceed with procuring property and services 

7 paid for in whole or in part with amounts from 

8 a grant under this section in compliance with 

9 the procurement processes and procedures of 

10 the grantee, but only if the Secretary deter11 mines that the grantee is making a good faith 

12 effort to effectuate compliance with the require13 ments of paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF CDBG ALLOCATIONS.— 

15 Amounts made available for use under this section shall 

16 not be considered relevant to the non-disaster formula al17 locations made pursuant to section 106 of this title (42 

18 U.S.C. 5306). 

19 ‘‘(j) WAIVERS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the other provi21 sions of this section, in administering amounts made 

22 available for use under this section, the Secretary 

23 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, 

24 any provision of any statute or regulation that the 

25 Secretary administers in connection with the obligaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3702.RFS H3702

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1 tion by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of 

2 such funds (except for requirements related to fair 

3 housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the 

4 environment and except for the requirements of this 

5 section), if the Secretary makes a public finding that 

6 good cause exists for the waiver or alternative re7 quirement and such waiver or alternative require8 ment would not be inconsistent with the overall pur9 pose of this title. 

10 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND PUBLICATION.—Any waiver 

11 of or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph 

12 (1) shall not take effect before the expiration of the 

13 5-day period beginning upon the publication of no14 tice in the Federal Register of such waiver or alter15 native requirement. 

16 ‘‘(3) LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME USE.—The 

17 requirements in this Act that apply to grants made 

18 under section 106 of this title (except those related 

19 to the allocation) apply equally to grants under this 

20 section unless modified by a waiver or alternative re21 quirement pursuant to paragraph (1). Notwith22 standing the preceding sentence, the Secretary may 

23 not grant a waiver to reduce the percentage of funds 

24 that must be used for activities that benefit persons 

25 of low and moderate income to less than 70 percent, 


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1 unless the Secretary specifically finds that there is 

2 compelling need to further reduce the percentage re3 quirement and that funds are not necessary to ad4 dress the housing needs of low- and moderate-in5 come residents. 

6 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not 

7 waive any provision of this section pursuant to the 

8 authority under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(k) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection 

11 (j)(1), recipients of funds provided under this section 

12 that use such funds to supplement Federal assist13 ance provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 

14 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert T. Staf15 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) may adopt, without review 

17 or public comment, any environmental review, ap18 proval, or permit performed by a Federal agency, 

19 and such adoption shall satisfy the responsibilities of 

20 the recipient with respect to such environmental re21 view, approval, or permit under section 104(g)(1) of 

22 this title (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)). 

23 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

24 section 104(g)(2) of this title (42 U.S.C. 

25 5304(g)(2)), the Secretary may, upon receipt of a 


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1 request for release of funds and certification, imme2 diately approve the release of funds for an activity 

3 or project assisted with amounts made available for 

4 use under this section if the recipient has adopted 

5 an environmental review, approval or permit under 

6 paragraph (1) or the activity or project is categori7 cally excluded from review under the National Envi8 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

9 seq.). 

10 ‘‘(l) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION; AUDITS AND

11 OVERSIGHT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—For each 

13 major disaster for which assistance is made available 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall collect infor15 mation from grantees regarding all recovery activi16 ties so assisted, including information on applicants 

17 and recipients of assistance, and shall make such in18 formation available to the public and to the Inspec19 tor General for the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development on a monthly basis using uni21 form data collection practices, and shall provide a 

22 monthly update to the Congress regarding compli23 ance with this section. Information collected and re24 ported by grantees and the Secretary shall be 

25 disaggregated by program, race, income, geography, 


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1 and all protected classes of individuals under the 

2 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

3 Assistance Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act 

4 of 1990, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Act 

5 of 1964, and other civil rights and nondiscrimination 

6 protections, with respect to the smallest census 

7 tract, block group, or block possible for the data set. 

8 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—In car9 rying out this paragraph, the Secretary may make 

10 full and unredacted information available to aca11 demic and research institutions for the purpose of 

12 research into the equitable distribution of recovery 

13 funds, adherence to civil rights protections, and 

14 other areas. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec16 retary shall take such actions and make such 

17 redactions as may be necessary to ensure that per18 sonally identifiable information regarding recipients 

19 of assistance provided from funds made available 

20 under this section shall not made publicly available. 

21 ‘‘(4) AUDITS AND OVERSIGHT.—In conducting 

22 audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investiga23 tions, in addition to activities designed to prevent 

24 and detect waste, fraud, and abuse, the Inspector 

25 General shall review programs of grantees under this 


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1 section for providing disaster relief and recovery as2 sistance to ensure such programs fulfill their agreed3 upon purposes and serve all eligible applicants for 

4 disaster relief or recovery assistance. 

5 ‘‘(m) BEST PRACTICES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall direct the 

7 Office Community Planning and Development to col8 laborate with the Office of Policy Development and 

9 Research to identify best practices for grantees on 

10 issues including developing the action plan under 

11 subsection (c) and substantive amendments, estab12 lishing financial controls, building grantee technical 

13 and administrative capacity, procurement, compli14 ance with Fair Housing Act statute and regulations, 

15 and use of grant funds as local match for other 

16 sources of federal funding. The Secretary shall pub17 lish a compilation of such identified best practices 

18 and share with all relevant grantees to facilitate a 

19 more efficient and effective disaster recovery proc20 ess. The compilation shall include guidelines for 

21 housing and economic revitalization programs, in22 cluding mitigation, with sufficient model language on 

23 program design for grantees to incorporate into ac24 tion plans. The compilation shall include standards 


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1 for at least form of application, determining unmet 

2 need, and income eligibility. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROMULGATION.—After publication of the 

4 final compilation, the Secretary shall issue either 

5 Federal regulations, as part of the final rule for the 

6 above authorization or as a separate rule, or a Fed7 eral Register notice that establishes the require8 ments which grantees must follow in order to qualify 

9 for expedited review and approval. Such guidance 

10 shall establish standard language for inclusion in ac11 tion plans under subsection (c) and for establishing 

12 standardized programs and activities recognized by 

13 the Secretary. Use of best practices shall not pre14 clude grantees from standard requirements for pub15 lic comment, community engagement, and online 

16 posting of the action plan. Use of promulgated best 

17 practices shall allow for an expedited review process, 

18 under which the Secretary will approve or disapprove 

19 such programs within 30 days. The Secretary shall 

20 publish the draft compilation of best practices on its 

21 website and allow the public 60 days to submit com22 ments. The Secretary shall review all public com23 ments and publish a final compilation within 1 year 

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1 vise the requirements for best practices at any time 

2 after a public comment period of at least 60 days. 

3 ‘‘(n) PLAN PRE-CERTIFICATION FOR UNITS OF GEN4 ERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

6 out a program under this subsection to provide for 

7 units of general local government to pre-certify as el8 igible grantees for assistance under this section. The 

9 objective of such program shall be to— 

10 ‘‘(A) allow grantees that have consistently 

11 demonstrated the ability to administer funds re12 sponsibly and equitably in similar disasters to 

13 utilize in subsequent years plans which are sub14 stantially similar to those the Department has 

15 previously approved; and 

16 ‘‘(B) facilitate the re-use of a plan or its 

17 substantially similar equivalent by a pre-cer18 tified grantee for whom the plan has previously 

19 been approved and executed upon. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for pre21 certification under the program under this sub22 section a unit of general local government shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

24 Secretary compliance with the requirements of 

25 this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) have previously submitted a plan or 

2 its substantially similar equivalent and received 

3 assistance thereunder as a grantee or sub4 grantee under this section, or with amounts 

5 made available for the Community Development 

6 Block Grant—Disaster Recovery account, in 

7 connection with two or more major disasters de8 clared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Dis9 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF PLANS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) EXPEDITED APPROVAL PROCESSES.— 

13 The Secretary shall establish and maintain 

14 processes for expediting approval of plans for 

15 units of general local government that are pre16 certified under this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF PRE-CERTIFICATION.— 

18 Pre-certification pursuant to this subsection 

19 shall not— 

20 ‘‘(i) establish any entitlement to, or 

21 priority or preference for, allocation of 

22 funds made available under this section; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) exempt any grantee from com24 plying with any of the requirements under, 


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1 or established pursuant to, subsection (c) 

2 or (d). 

3 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—Pre-certification under this 

4 subsection shall be effective for a term of 10 years. 

5 ‘‘(o) DEPOSIT OF UNUSED AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any amounts made avail7 able for assistance under this section to grantees re8 main unexpended upon the earlier of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the date that the grantee of such 

10 amounts notifies the Secretary that the grantee 

11 has completed all activities identified in the 

12 grantee’s plan for use of such amounts that was 

13 approved by the Secretary in connection with 

14 such grant; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the expiration of the 6-year period 

16 beginning upon the Secretary obligating such 

17 amounts to the grantee, as such period may be 

18 extended pursuant to paragraph (2); 

19 the Secretary may, subject to authority provided in 

20 advance by appropriations Acts, transfer such unex21 pended amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury for 

22 deposit into the Community Development Block 

23 Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund established 

24 under section 124, except that the Secretary may, by 


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1 regulation, permit the grantee to retain amounts 

2 needed to close out the grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR USE OF

4 FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The period under 

6 paragraph (1)(B) shall be extended by not more 

7 than 4 years if, before the expiration of such 6- 

8 year period, the Secretary waives this require9 ment and submits a written justification for 

10 such waiver to the Committees on Appropria11 tions of the House of Representatives and the 

12 Senate that specifies the period of such exten13 sion. 

14 ‘‘(B) INSULAR AREA.—For any amounts 

15 made available for assistance under this section 

16 to a grantee that is an insular area as specified 

17 in section 107(b)(1), the Secretary may extend 

18 the waiver period under subparagraph (A) by 

19 not more than an additional 4 years, and shall 

20 provide additional technical assistance to help 

21 increase capacity within the insular area receiv22 ing such extension. If the Secretary extends the 

23 waiver period pursuant to this subparagraph, 

24 the Secretary shall submit a written justifica25 tion for such extension to the Committees on 


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1 Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Senate that specifies the period of such 

3 extension. 

4 ‘‘(p) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) GRANTEE.—The term ‘grantee’ means a 

6 recipient of funds made available under this section 

7 after its enactment. 

8 ‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR.—The term ‘sub9 stantially similar’ means, with respect to a plan, a 

10 plan previously approved by the Department, admin11 istered successfully by the grantee, and relating to 

12 disasters of the same type. 

13 ‘‘(3) OTHER TERMS.—Within 1 year of enact14 ment of this section, the Department shall issue 

15 rules to define the following terms: 

16 ‘‘(A) Unmet needs. 

17 ‘‘(B) Most impacted and distressed. 

18 ‘‘(C) Substantial compliance. 

19 ‘‘(D) Full and open competition. 

20 ‘‘(E) Cost plus a percentage of cost. 

21 ‘‘(F) Percentage of construction cost. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS23 ASTER RECOVERY RESERVE FUND. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

25 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 


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1 as the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Re2 covery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as the 

3 ‘Fund’). 

4 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS.—The Fund shall consist of any 

5 amounts appropriated to or deposited into the Fund, in6 cluding amounts deposited into the Fund pursuant to sec7 tion 123(o). 

8 ‘‘(c) USE.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available, 

9 pursuant to the occurrence of a major disaster declared 

10 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer11 gency Assistance Act, only for providing technical assist12 ance and capacity building in connection with section 123 

13 for grantees under such section that have been allocated 

14 assistance under such section in connection with such dis15 aster to facilitate planning required under such section 

16 and increase capacity to administer assistance provided 

17 under such section, including for technical assistance and 

18 training building and fire officials, builders, contractors 

19 and subcontractors, architects, and other design and con20 struction professionals regarding the latest published edi21 tions of national consensus-based codes, specifications, 

22 and standards (as such term is defined in section 

23 123(e)(7)).’’. 

24 (b) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 (1) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than the expi2 ration of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous4 ing and Urban Development shall issue proposed 

5 rules to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Hous6 ing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

7 added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of 

8 this section, and shall provide a 90-day period for 

9 submission of public comments on such proposed 

10 rule. 

11 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than the expira12 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous14 ing and Urban Development shall issue final regula15 tions to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Hous16 ing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

17 added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of 

18 this section. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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