I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3702 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2019 

Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 

addition to the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reforming Disaster 

5 Recovery Act of 2019’’. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3702 IH

1 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS2 ASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Housing and Com4 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 

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

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

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

8 assistance under this section to States, including Puerto 

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

10 for necessary expenses for activities authorized under this 

11 title related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recov12 ery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation, 

13 and economic revitalization in the most impacted and dis14 tressed areas (as such term shall be defined by the Sec15 retary by regulation) resulting from a major disaster de16 clared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

18 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION; COORDINATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION FOR MITIGATION.—In deter20 mining the amount allocated under this section for 

21 any grantee, the Secretary shall include an addi22 tional amount for mitigation that is not less than 45 

23 percent of the amount allocated for such grantee for 

24 unmet needs. 

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

26 provided in paragraph (2), after the enactment of an 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3702 IH

1 Act making funds available for assistance under this 

2 section, the Secretary shall allocate for grantees, 

3 based on the best available data all funds provided 

4 for assistance under this section within 60 days of 

5 the date of the enactment of such Act. 

6 ‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY OF DEADLINES BASED

7 ON INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION.—The deadlines 

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

9 apply in the case of funds made available for assist10 ance under this section if Federal Emergency Man11 agement Agency has not made sufficient information 

12 available to the Secretary regarding relevant unmet 

13 recovery needs to make allocations in accordance 

14 with such deadlines. The Secretary shall notify the 

15 Congress of progress on or delay in receiving the 

16 necessary information within 60 days following dec17 laration of such a major disaster and monthly there18 after until all necessary information is received. 

19 ‘‘(4) OBLIGATION OF AMOUNTS BY THE SEC20 RETARY.—Subject to subsection (c)(1), the Sec21 retary shall provide for the disbursement of the 

22 amounts allocated for a grantee, but shall require 

23 the grantee to be in substantial compliance with the 

24 requirements of this section before each such dis25 bursement. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION OF DISASTER BENEFITS

2 AND DATA WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION OF DATA.—The Sec4 retary shall coordinate with other agencies to 

5 obtain data on recovery needs, including the 

6 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man7 agement Agency and the Administrator of the 

8 Small Business Administration, and other agen9 cies when necessary regarding disaster benefits. 

10 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH FEMA.—The 

11 Secretary shall share with the Administrator of 

12 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

13 and make publicly available, all data collected, 

14 possessed, or analyzed during the course of a 

15 disaster recovery for which assistance is pro16 vided under this section including— 

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

18 disaster; 

19 ‘‘(ii) information on how any Federal 

20 assistance provided in connection with the 

21 disaster is expended; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) information regarding the effect 

23 of the disaster on education, transportation 

24 capabilities and dependence, housing 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3702 IH

1 needs, health care capacity, and displace2 ment of persons. 

3 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING ELIGI4 BILITY FOR DIRECT ASSISTANCE AND DUPLICA5 TION OF BENEFITS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) COMPLIANCE.—Funds made 

7 available under this subsection shall be 

8 used in accordance with section 312 of the 

9 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

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

11 5155), as amended by section 1210 of the 

12 Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 

13 (Division D, Public Law 115–254), and 

14 such rules as may be prescribed under 

15 such section. 

16 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—Households having 

17 the lowest incomes shall be prioritized for 

18 assistance under this section until all 

19 unmet needs are satisfied for families hav20 ing an income up to 120 percent of the 

21 median for the area. 

22 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF DUPLICATIVE BENE23 FITS.—In any case in which a grantee provides 

24 assistance that duplicates benefits available to a 

25 person for the same purpose from another 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3702 IH

1 source, the grantee itself shall either (i) be sub2 ject to remedies for noncompliance under sec3 tion 111, or (ii) bear responsibility for absorb4 ing such cost of duplicative benefits and return5 ing an amount equal to any duplicative benefits 

6 paid to the grantee’s funds available for use 

7 under this section or to the Community Devel8 opment Block Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve 

9 Fund under section 124, unless the Secretary 

10 issues a public determination by publication in 

11 the Federal Register that it is not in the best 

12 interest of the Federal Government to pursue 

13 such remedies. 

14 ‘‘(E) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDEN15 TIFIABLE INFORMATION.—In carrying out this 

16 paragraph, the Secretary and the grantee shall 

17 take such actions as may be necessary to ensure 

18 that personally identifiable information regard19 ing recipients of assistance provided from funds 

20 made available under this section is not made 

21 publicly available by the Department of Hous22 ing and Urban Development or any agency with 

23 which information is shared pursuant to this 

24 paragraph. 

25 ‘‘(c) PLAN FOR USE OF ASSISTANCE.— 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3702 IH

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

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

3 all of the funds made available by an appropriations 

4 Act for assistance under this section and before the 

5 Secretary obligates any of such funds for a grantee, 

6 the grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary for 

7 approval detailing the proposed use of all funds, 

8 which shall include, at a minimum— 

9 ‘‘(A) criteria for eligibility for each pro10 posed use of funds, including eligibility limits 

11 on income and geography, and a description of 

12 how each proposed use of such funds will com13 ply with all civil rights and fair housing laws 

14 and will address unmet needs relating to dis15 aster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, res16 toration of infrastructure and housing, mitiga17 tion, and economic revitalization in the most 

18 impacted and distressed areas, including assist19 ance to impacted households experiencing home20 lessness as defined by section 103 of the 

21 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 11302) or at risk of homelessness as de23 fined by section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 11360); 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(B) an agreement to share data, 

2 disaggregated by the smallest census tract, 

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

4 with Federal agencies and other providers of 

5 disaster relief, which shall include information 

6 the grantee has regarding the matters described 

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

8 ‘‘(C) identification of officials and offices 

9 responsible for administering such funds and 

10 processes and procedures for identifying and re11 covering duplicate benefits; and 

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

13 the Fair Housing Act, which may include, at 

14 the election of the grantee, providing for part15 nerships with local fair housing organizations 

16 and funding set-aside for local fair housing or17 ganizations to handle complaints relating to as18 sistance with amounts made available for use 

19 under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall, by regu21 lation, specify criteria for approval of plans under 

22 paragraph (1), including approval of substantial 

23 amendments to such plans. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(3) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary shall dis2 approve a plan or substantial amendment to a plan 

3 if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the plan or substantial amendment 

5 does not meet the approval criteria; 

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

7 assessments of the Secretary and the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Administration or 

9 such other information as may be available, the 

10 plan or amendment does not address equitable 

11 allocation of resources— 

12 ‘‘(i) between infrastructure and hous13 ing activities; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) between homeowners, renters, 

15 and persons experiencing homelessness; 

16 ‘‘(C) the plan or amendment does not pro17 vide an adequate plan for ensuring that funding 

18 provided under this section is used in compli19 ance with the Fair Housing Act; 

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

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

22 adjustment where appropriate, of damaged 

23 dwelling units in public housing, in projects re24 ceiving tax credits pursuant to section 42 of the 

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or in projects 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3702 IH

1 assisted under section 202 of the Housing Act 

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

3 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

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

5 HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 

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

7 development block grant program under this 

8 title, or by the Housing Trust Fund under sec9 tion 1338 of the Housing and Community De10 velopment Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); or 

11 ‘‘(E) the plan or amendment does not pro12 vide a process to provide applicants— 

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

14 right to appeal any adverse action or inac15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(ii) right to full discovery of appli17 cant’s entire application file; and 

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

19 competent jurisdiction in the vicinage of 

20 the applicant’s residence at the time of the 

21 appeal. 

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

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

24 shall, at a minimum— 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(A) consult with affected residents, stake2 holders, local governments, and public housing 

3 authorities to assess needs; 

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

5 the requirements set forth by the Secretary, in6 cluding a requirement to prominently post the 

7 plan on the website of the grantee for not less 

8 than 14 days; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure equal access for individuals 

10 with disabilities and individuals with limited 

11 English proficiency; and 

12 ‘‘(D) publish the plan in a manner that af13 fords citizens, affected local governments, and 

14 other interested parties a reasonable oppor15 tunity to examine the contents of the plan and 

16 provide feedback. 

17 ‘‘(5) RESUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall per18 mit a grantee to revise and resubmit a disapproved 

19 plan or plan amendment. 

20 ‘‘(6) TIMING.— 

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

22 approve or disapprove a plan not later than 60 

23 days after submission of the plan to the Sec24 retary. The Secretary shall immediately notify 

25 the applicant of the Secretary’s decision. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(B) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis2 approves a plan, not later than 15 days after 

3 such disapproval the Secretary shall inform the 

4 applicant in writing of (A) the reasons for dis5 approval, and (B) actions that the applicant 

6 could take to meet the criteria for approval. 

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

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

9 days following the date of disapproval, permit 

10 amendments to, or the resubmission of, any 

11 plan that is disapproved. The Secretary shall 

12 approve or disapprove a plan amendment not 

13 less than 30 days after receipt of such amend14 ments or resubmission. 

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

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

17 that all grant agreements necessary for prompt 

18 disbursement of funds allocated to a grantee 

19 are executed within 60 days of approval of 

20 grantee’s plan. 

21 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL CONTROLS.— 

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

23 shall develop and maintain a system to ensure that 

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

25 grant— 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(A) proficient financial controls and pro2 curement processes; 

3 ‘‘(B) adequate procedures to ensure that 

4 all eligible families and individuals are approved 

5 for assistance with amounts made available 

6 under this section and that recipients are pro7 vided the full amount of assistance for which 

8 they are eligible; 

9 ‘‘(C) adequate procedures to prevent any 

10 duplication of benefits, as defined by section 

11 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

13 5155), to ensure timely expenditure of funds, 

14 and to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and 

15 abuse of funds; and 

16 ‘‘(D) adequate procedures to ensure the 

17 grantee will maintain comprehensive and pub18 licly accessible websites that make available in19 formation regarding all disaster recovery activi20 ties assisted with such funds, which information 

21 shall include— 

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

23 requests for qualification for assistance or 

24 for procurement with such funds, however 

25 styled; 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3702 IH

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

2 subject to redactions necessary to protect 

3 personal or proprietary data; 

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

5 reviews, evaluates, scores, or otherwise in6 fluences or determines the disposition of 

7 such requests; 

8 ‘‘(iv) all reports, however styled, con9 taining the reviewing individual or entity’s 

10 scores, findings, and conclusions regarding 

11 such requests; and 

12 ‘‘(v) any resulting contract, agree13 ment, or other disposition of such requests; 

14 except that such procedures shall ensure 

15 that personally identifiable information re16 garding recipients of assistance provided 

17 from funds made available under this sec18 tion shall not be made publicly available. 

19 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION OF COMPLIANCE.—The Sec20 retary shall provide, by regulation or guideline, a 

21 method for qualitatively and quantitatively evalu22 ating compliance with the requirements under para23 graph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.—As a condition of mak25 ing any grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3702 IH

1 that the grantee has in place the processes and pro2 cedures required under subparagraphs (A) through 

3 (D) of paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State, unit of gen7 eral local government, or Indian tribe receiving 

8 a grant under this section may use not less 

9 than 7 percent and not more than 10 percent 

10 of the amount of grant funds received, or with11 in such other percentage as may be established 

12 pursuant to subparagraph (B), for administra13 tive costs and shall document the use of funds 

14 for such purpose in accordance with such re15 quirements as the Secretary shall establish. 

16 ‘‘(B) DISCRETION TO ESTABLISH SLIDING

17 SCALE.—The Secretary may establish a series 

18 of percentage limitations on the amount of 

19 grant funds received that may be used by a 

20 grantee for administrative costs, but only if— 

21 ‘‘(i) such percentage limitations are 

22 based on the amount of grant funds re23 ceived by a grantee; 

24 ‘‘(ii) such series provides that the per25 centage that may be so used is lower for 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3702 IH

1 grantees receiving a greater amount of 

2 grant funds and such percentage that may 

3 be so used is higher for grantees receiving 

4 a lesser amount of grant funds; and 

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

6 more than 10 percent of grant funds re7 ceived. 

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

9 grant under this section may not be used for activi10 ties— 

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

12 funds are made available, by the Federal Emer13 gency Management Agency, including under the 

14 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer15 gency Assistance Act or the National Flood In16 surance Program; or 

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

18 by the Army Corps of Engineers. 

19 ‘‘(3) HUD ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

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

21 available for use under this section by any sin22 gle appropriations Act, the Secretary may use 1 

23 percent of any such amount exceeding 

24 $1,000,000,000 for necessary costs, including 

25 information technology costs, of administering 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3702 IH

1 and overseeing the obligation and expenditure 

2 of amounts made available for use under this 

3 section. 

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

5 made available for use in accordance with sub6 paragraph (A)— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall be transferred to the ac8 count for Program Office Salaries and Ex9 penses—Community Planning and Devel10 opment for the Department; 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall remain available until ex12 pended; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) may be used for administering 

14 any funds appropriated to the Department 

15 for any disaster and related purposes in 

16 any prior or future Act, notwithstanding 

17 the disaster for which such funds were ap18 propriated. 

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

20 made available for use in accordance with paragraph 

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

22 of the Inspector General for necessary costs of au23 dits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investiga24 tions relating to amounts made available for use 

25 under this section. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3702 IH

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

2 available for use under this section, not more than 

3 0.1 percent or $15,000,000, whichever is less, shall 

4 be made available to the Secretary for capacity 

5 building and technical assistance, including assist6 ance regarding contracting and procurement proc7 esses, to support grantees and subgrantees receiving 

8 funds under this section. 

9 ‘‘(6) COMPLIANCE WITH STORM WATER PRO10 TECTIONS.—The Secretary shall provide that no 

11 funds made available under this section may be used 

12 for construction, reconstruction, or installation of 

13 any infrastructure unless the infrastructure assisted 

14 complies with any minimum standards for protection 

15 from floods and stormwaters, including the Federal 

16 Flood Risk Management Standards of the Federal 

17 Emergency Management Agency. 

18 ‘‘(7) FLOOD RISK MITIGATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to sub20 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall require that 

21 any structure that is located in an area having 

22 special flood hazards and that is newly con23 structed, for which substantial damage is re24 paired, or that is substantially improved, using 

25 amounts made available under this section, 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 3702 IH

1 shall be elevated with the lowest floor, including 

2 the basement, at least two feet above the base 

3 flood level. 

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

5 case of existing structures consisting of multi6 family housing and row houses, the Secretary 

7 shall seek consultation with the Administrator 

8 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

9 shall provide for alternative forms of mitigation 

10 (apart from elevation), and shall exempt from 

11 the requirement under subparagraph (A) any 

12 such structure that meets the standards for 

13 such an alternative form of mitigation. 

14 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sub15 paragraph (A), the terms ‘area having special 

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

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

18 flood level’ have the same meanings as under 

19 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and 

20 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

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

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

23 amounts made available for assistance under this section, 

24 the Secretary— 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 3702 IH

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

2 amounts for any purpose other than the purpose ap3 proved by the Secretary in the plan or amended plan 

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

5 for use of such amounts; 

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

7 to retroactively approve a beneficiary’s use of funds 

8 for an eligible activity other than an activity for 

9 which the funds were originally approved in the 

10 plan; and 

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

12 by contract or otherwise, the responsibility for inher13 ent government functions. 

14 ‘‘(g) TRAINING FOR GRANT MANAGEMENT FOR SUB15 GRANTEES.—The Secretary shall require each grantee to 

16 provide ongoing training to all staff and subgrantees. 

17 ‘‘(h) PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES

18 FOR GRANTEES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) GRANTEE PROCESSES AND PROCE20 DURES.—In procuring property or services to be 

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

22 grant under this section, a grantee shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) follow its own procurement processes 

24 and procedures, but only if the Secretary makes 

25 a determination that such processes and proceVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3702.IH H3702

SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 3702 IH

1 dures comply with the requirements under 

2 paragraph (2); or 

3 ‘‘(B) comply with such processes and pro4 cedures as the Secretary shall, by regulation, 

5 establish for purposes of this section. 

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

7 this paragraph with respect to the procurement 

8 processes and procedures of a grantee are that such 

9 processes and procedures shall— 

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

11 and require cost or price analysis; 

12 ‘‘(B) include requirements for procurement 

13 policies and procedures for subgrantees; 

14 ‘‘(C) specify methods of procurement and 

15 their applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-per16 centage-of cost or percentage-of-construction17 cost methods of procurement; 

18 ‘‘(D) include standards of conduct gov19 erning employees engaged in the award or ad20 ministration of contracts; and 

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

22 contracts include any clauses required by Fed23 eral Statute, Executive order, or implementing 

24 regulation. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—In the case of a grant2 ee for which the Secretary finds pursuant to para3 graph (1)(A) that its procurement processes and 

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

5 Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) provide the grantee with specific writ7 ten notice of the elements of noncompliance and 

8 the changes necessary to such processes and 

9 procedures to provide for compliance; 

10 ‘‘(B) provide the grantee a reasonable pe11 riod of time to come into compliance; and 

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

13 to proceed with procuring property and services 

14 paid for in whole or in part with amounts from 

15 a grant under this section in compliance with 

16 the procurement processes and procedures of 

17 the grantee, but only if the Secretary deter18 mines that the grantee is making a good faith 

19 effort to effectuate compliance with the require20 ments of paragraph (2). 

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

22 Amounts made available for use under this section shall 

23 not be considered relevant to the non-disaster formula al24 locations made pursuant to section 106 of this title (42 

25 U.S.C. 5306). 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(j) WAIVERS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the other provi3 sions of this section, in administering amounts made 

4 available for use under this section, the Secretary 

5 may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, 

6 any provision of any statute or regulation that the 

7 Secretary administers in connection with the obliga8 tion by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of 

9 such funds (except for requirements related to fair 

10 housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the 

11 environment and except for the requirements of this 

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

13 good cause exists for the waiver or alternative re14 quirement and such waiver or alternative require15 ment would not be inconsistent with the overall pur16 pose of this title. 

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

18 of or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph 

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

20 5-day period beginning upon the publication of no21 tice in the Federal Register of such waiver or alter22 native requirement. 

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

24 requirements in this Act that apply to grants made 

25 under section 106 of this title (except those related 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 3702 IH

1 to the allocation) apply equally to grants under this 

2 section unless modified by a waiver or alternative re3 quirement pursuant to paragraph (1). Notwith4 standing the preceding sentence, the Secretary may 

5 not grant a waiver to reduce the percentage of funds 

6 that must be used for activities that benefit persons 

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

8 unless the Secretary specifically finds that there is 

9 compelling need to further reduce the percentage re10 quirement and that funds are not necessary to ad11 dress the housing needs of low- and moderate-in12 come residents. 

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

14 waive any provision of this section pursuant to the 

15 authority under paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(k) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection 

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

19 that use such funds to supplement Federal assist20 ance provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 

21 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert T. Staf22 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) may adopt, without review 

24 or public comment, any environmental review, ap25 proval, or permit performed by a Federal agency, 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 3702 IH

1 and such adoption shall satisfy the responsibilities of 

2 the recipient with respect to such environmental re3 view, approval, or permit under section 104(g)(1) of 

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

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

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

7 5304(g)(2)), the Secretary may, upon receipt of a 

8 request for release of funds and certification, imme9 diately approve the release of funds for an activity 

10 or project assisted with amounts made available for 

11 use under this section if the recipient has adopted 

12 an environmental review, approval or permit under 

13 paragraph (1) or the activity or project is categori14 cally excluded from review under the National Envi15 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

16 seq.). 

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

18 OVERSIGHT.— 

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

20 major disaster for which assistance is made available 

21 under this section, the Secretary shall collect infor22 mation from grantees regarding all recovery activi23 ties so assisted, including information on applicants 

24 and recipients of assistance, and shall make such in25 formation available to the public and to the InspecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3702.IH H3702

SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 3702 IH

1 tor General for the Department of Housing and 

2 Urban Development on a monthly basis using uni3 form data collection practices, and shall provide a 

4 monthly update to the Congress regarding compli5 ance with this section. Information collected and re6 ported by grantees and the Secretary shall be 

7 disaggregated by program, race, income, geography, 

8 and all protected classes of individuals under the 

9 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

10 Assistance Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act 

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

12 of 1964, and other civil rights and nondiscrimination 

13 protections, with respect to the smallest census 

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

15 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—In car16 rying out this paragraph, the Secretary may make 

17 full and unredacted information available to aca18 demic and research institutions for the purpose of 

19 research into the equitable distribution of recovery 

20 funds, adherence to civil rights protections, and 

21 other areas. 

22 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec23 retary shall take such actions and make such 

24 redactions as may be necessary to ensure that per25 sonally identifiable information regarding recipients 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 3702 IH

1 of assistance provided from funds made available 

2 under this section shall not be made publicly avail3 able. 

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

5 audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investiga6 tions, in addition to activities designed to prevent 

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

8 General shall review programs of grantees under this 

9 section for providing disaster relief and recovery as10 sistance to ensure such programs fulfill their agreed11 upon purposes and serve all eligible applicants for 

12 disaster relief or recovery assistance. 

13 ‘‘(m) BEST PRACTICES.— 

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

15 Office Community Planning and Development to col16 laborate with the Office of Policy Development and 

17 Research to identify best practices for grantees on 

18 issues including developing the action plan under 

19 subsection (c) and substantive amendments, estab20 lishing financial controls, building grantee technical 

21 and administrative capacity, procurement, compli22 ance with Fair Housing Act statute and regulations, 

23 and use of grant funds as local match for other 

24 sources of Federal funding. The Secretary shall pub25 lish a compilation of such identified best practices 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 3702 IH

1 and share with all relevant grantees to facilitate a 

2 more efficient and effective disaster recovery proc3 ess. The compilation shall include guidelines for 

4 housing and economic revitalization programs, in5 cluding mitigation, with sufficient model language on 

6 program design for grantees to incorporate into ac7 tion plans. The compilation shall include standards 

8 for at least form of application, determining unmet 

9 need, and income eligibility. 

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

11 final compilation, the Secretary shall issue either 

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

13 above authorization or as a separate rule, or a Fed14 eral Register notice that establishes the require15 ments which grantees must follow in order to qualify 

16 for expedited review and approval. Such guidance 

17 shall establish standard language for inclusion in ac18 tion plans under subsection (c) and for establishing 

19 standardized programs and activities recognized by 

20 the Secretary. Use of best practices shall not pre21 clude grantees from standard requirements for pub22 lic comment, community engagement, and online 

23 posting of the action plan. Use of promulgated best 

24 practices shall allow for an expedited review process, 

25 under which the Secretary will approve or disapprove 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 3702 IH

1 such programs within 30 days. The Secretary shall 

2 publish the draft compilation of best practices on its 

3 website and allow the public 60 days to submit com4 ments. The Secretary shall review all public com5 ments and publish a final compilation within one 

6 year from the date of enactment. The Secretary may 

7 revise the requirements for best practices at any 

8 time after a public comment period of at least 60 

9 days. 

10 ‘‘(n) PLAN PRE-CERTIFICATION FOR UNITS OF GEN11 ERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

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

13 out a program under this subsection to provide for 

14 units of general local government to pre-certify as el15 igible grantees for assistance under this section. The 

16 objective of such program shall be to— 

17 ‘‘(A) allow grantees that have consistently 

18 demonstrated the ability to administer funds re19 sponsibly and equitably in similar disasters to 

20 utilize in subsequent years plans which are sub21 stantially similar to those the Department has 

22 previously approved; and 

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

24 substantially similar equivalent by a pre-cerVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3702.IH H3702

SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 3702 IH

1 tified grantee for whom the plan has previously 

2 been approved and executed upon. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for pre4 certification under the program under this sub5 section a unit of general local government shall— 

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

7 Secretary compliance with the requirements of 

8 this section; and 

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

10 its substantially similar equivalent and received 

11 assistance thereunder as a grantee or sub12 grantee under this section, or with amounts 

13 made available for the Community Development 

14 Block Grant—Disaster Recovery account, in 

15 connection with two or more major disasters de16 clared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Dis17 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

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

19 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF PLANS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) EXPEDITED APPROVAL PROCESSES.— 

21 The Secretary shall establish and maintain 

22 processes for expediting approval of plans for 

23 units of general local government that are pre24 certified under this subsection. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 3702 IH

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

2 Pre-certification pursuant to this subsection 

3 shall not— 

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

5 priority or preference for, allocation of 

6 funds made available under this section; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) exempt any grantee from com8 plying with any of the requirements under, 

9 or established pursuant to, subsection (c) 

10 or (d). 

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

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

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

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any amounts made avail15 able for assistance under this section to grantees re16 main unexpended upon the earlier of— 

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

18 amounts notifies the Secretary that the grantee 

19 has completed all activities identified in the 

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

21 approved by the Secretary in connection with 

22 such grant; or 

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

24 beginning upon the Secretary obligating such 

25 amounts to the grantee, as such period may be 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 3702 IH

1 extended pursuant to paragraph (2), the Sec2 retary shall transfer such unexpended amounts 

3 to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit 

4 into the Community Development Block Grant 

5 Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund established 

6 under section 124, except that the Secretary 

7 may, by regulation, permit the grantee to retain 

8 amounts needed to close out the grant. 

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

10 FUNDS.—The period under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

11 be extended by not more than 4 years if, before the 

12 expiration of such 6-year period, the Secretary 

13 waives this requirement and submits a written jus14 tification for such waiver to the Committees on Ap15 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Senate that specifies the period of such extension. 

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

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

19 recipient of funds made available under this section 

20 after its enactment. 

21 ‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR.—The term ‘sub22 stantially similar’ means, with respect to a plan, a 

23 plan previously approved by the Department, admin24 istered successfully by the grantee, and relating to 

25 disasters of the same type. 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 3702 IH

1 ‘‘(3) OTHER TERMS.—Within one year of enact2 ment of this section, the Department shall issue 

3 rules to define the following terms: 

4 ‘‘(A) Unmet needs. 

5 ‘‘(B) Most impacted and distressed. 

6 ‘‘(C) Substantial compliance. 

7 ‘‘(D) Full and open competition. 

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

9 ‘‘(F) Percentage of construction cost. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS11 ASTER RECOVERY RESERVE FUND. 

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

13 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 

14 as the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Re15 covery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as the 

16 ‘Fund’). 

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

18 amounts appropriated to or deposited into the Fund, in19 cluding amounts deposited into the Fund pursuant to sec20 tion 123(o). 

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

22 pursuant to the occurrence of a major disaster declared 

23 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer24 gency Assistance Act, only for providing technical assist25 ance and capacity building in connection with section 123 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 3702 IH

1 for grantees under such section that have been allocated 

2 assistance under such section in connection with such dis3 aster to facilitate planning required under such section 

4 and increase capacity to administer assistance provided 

5 under such section.’’. 

6 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

7 (1) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than the expi8 ration of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous10 ing and Urban Development shall issue proposed 

11 rules to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Hous12 ing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

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

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

15 submission of public comments on such proposed 

16 rule. 

17 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than the expira18 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous20 ing and Urban Development shall issue final regula21 tions to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Hous22 ing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

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

24 this section. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS