IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4358 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2020 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit to Congress a report on preliminary damage assessment and to establish damage 

assessment teams in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 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 ‘‘Preliminary Damage 

3 Assessment Improvement Act of 2020’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Preliminary damage assessments play a 

7 critical role in assessing and validating the impact 

8 and magnitude of a disaster. 

9 (2) Through the preliminary damage assess10 ment process, representatives from the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency validate informa12 tion gathered by State and local officials that serves 

13 as the basis for disaster assistance requests. 

14 (3) Various factors can impact the duration of 

15 a preliminary damage assessment and the cor16 responding submission of a major disaster request, 

17 however, the average time between when a disaster 

18 occurs, and the submission of a corresponding dis19 aster request has been found to be approximately 

20 twenty days longer for flooding disasters. 

21 (4) With communities across the country facing 

22 increased instances of catastrophic flooding and 

23 other extreme weather events, accurate and efficient 

24 preliminary damage assessments have become criti25 cally important to the relief process for impacted 

26 states and municipalities. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

4 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit to 

5 Congress a report describing the preliminary damage as6 sessment process, as supported by the Federal Emergency 

7 Management Agency in the 5 years before the date of en8 actment of this Act. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

10 (a) shall contain the following: 

11 (1) The process of the Federal Emergency 

12 Management Agency for deploying personnel to sup13 port preliminary damage assessments. 

14 (2) The number of Agency staff participating 

15 on disaster assessment teams. 

16 (3) The training and experience of such staff 

17 described in paragraph (2). 

18 (4) A calculation of the average amount of time 

19 disaster assessment teams described in paragraph 

20 (1) are deployed to a disaster area. 

21 (5) The efforts of the Agency to maintain a 

22 consistent liaison between the Agency and State, 

23 local, Tribal, and territorial officials within a dis24 aster area. 


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1 SEC. 4. PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. 

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

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

4 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a 

5 training regime under section 206.33(b) of title 44, Code 

6 of Federal Regulations, within the Federal Emergency 

7 Management Agency to ensure preliminary damage as8 sessments are conducted and reviewed under consistent 

9 guidelines. 

10 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall an11 nually submit to Congress a report on the number and 

12 type of instances under which Federal Emergency Man13 agement Agency personnel have overturned decisions 

14 made by personnel in the field. 

15 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

17 shall submit to Congress a report— 

18 (1) describing the establishment of disaster 

19 guidelines from Federal Emergency Management 

20 Agency personnel described under subsection (a); 

21 (2) assessing whether the duration of the de22 ployment of Federal Emergency Management Agen23 cy personnel to conduct a preliminary damage as24 sessment is longer based on specific disaster condi25 tions; and 


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1 (3) containing legislative recommendations to 

2 improve the operation, deployment, and staffing of 

3 disaster personnel. 

4 (d) DEFINITION OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN5 MENT.—For purposes of this Act, the terms ‘‘State’’ and 

6 ‘‘local government’’ have the meanings given such terms 

7 in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

8 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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