II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3502 

To establish an Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community Inclusion 

at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 13 (legislative day, JANUARY 10), 2022 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community Inclusion at 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Achieving Equity in 

5 Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, EQUITY, AND COMMU2 NITY INCLUSION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security 

4 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 529. OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, EQUITY, AND COMMU7 NITY INCLUSION. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate committees of Con10 gress’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

12 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Transportation 

14 and Infrastructure, the Committee on Oversight 

15 and Reform, and the Committee on Homeland 

16 Security of the House of Representatives; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

18 the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community 

19 Inclusion; 

20 ‘‘(3) the term ‘disaster assistance’ means assist21 ance provided under titles IV and V of the Robert 

22 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist23 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Office’ means the Office of Civil 

25 Rights, Equity, and Community Inclusion; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) the term ‘underserved community’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Native American and Alaskan 

4 Native community; 

5 ‘‘(B) the African-American community; 

6 ‘‘(C) the Asian community; 

7 ‘‘(D) the Hispanic (including persons of 

8 Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central or 

9 South American origin) community; 

10 ‘‘(E) the Pacific Islander community; 

11 ‘‘(F) the Middle Eastern and North Afri12 can community; 

13 ‘‘(G) a rural community; 

14 ‘‘(H) a low-income community; 

15 ‘‘(I) the disability community; and 

16 ‘‘(J) any other historically disadvantaged 

17 community, as determined by the Director. 

18 ‘‘(b) OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, EQUITY, AND COM19 MUNITY INCLUSION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Equal Rights 

21 of the Agency shall, on and after the date of enact22 ment of the Achieving Equity in Disaster Response, 

23 Recovery, and Resilience Act of 2022, be known as 

24 the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community 

25 Inclusion. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Of2 fice of Equal Rights of the Agency in any law, regu3 lation, map, document, record, or other paper of the 

4 United States shall be deemed to be a reference to 

5 the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community 

6 Inclusion. 

7 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 

9 by a Director, who shall report to the Administrator. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Director shall have 

11 documented experience and expertise in civil rights, 

12 underserved community inclusion research, disaster 

13 preparedness, or resilience disparities elimination. 

14 ‘‘(d) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Office is to— 

15 ‘‘(1) improve underserved community access to 

16 disaster assistance; 

17 ‘‘(2) improve the quality of disaster assistance 

18 received by underserved communities; 

19 ‘‘(3) eliminate racial, ethnic, and other under20 served community disparities in the delivery of dis21 aster assistance; and 

22 ‘‘(4) carry out such other responsibilities of the 

23 Office of Equal Rights as in effect on the day before 

24 the date of enactment of the Achieving Equity in 

25 Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act of 


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1 2022, as determined appropriate by the Adminis2 trator. 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall be re5 sponsible for— 

6 ‘‘(A) improving— 

7 ‘‘(i) underserved community access to 

8 disaster assistance before and after a dis9 aster; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the quality of Agency assistance 

11 underserved communities receive; 

12 ‘‘(B) reviewing preparedness, response, 

13 and recovery programs and activities of the 

14 Agency to ensure the elimination of underserved 

15 community disparities in the delivery of such 

16 programs and activities; and 

17 ‘‘(C) carrying out such other responsibil18 ities of the Office of Equal Rights as in effect 

19 on the day before the date of enactment of the 

20 Achieving Equity in Disaster Response, Recov21 ery, and Resilience Act of 2022, as determined 

22 appropriate by the Administrator. 

23 ‘‘(2) REDUCING DISPARITIES IN PREPARED24 NESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall de2 velop measures to evaluate the effectiveness of 

3 the activities of program offices in the Agency 

4 and the activities of recipients aimed at reduc5 ing disparities in the services provided to under6 served communities. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The measures de8 veloped under subparagraph (A) shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) evaluate community outreach ac10 tivities, language services, workforce cul11 tural competence, historical assistance for 

12 grants and loans provided to individuals, 

13 State, local, tribal, and territorial govern14 ments, the effects of disaster declaration 

15 thresholds on underserved communities, 

16 the percentage of contracts awarded to un17 derserved and minority-owned businesses, 

18 historical barriers to equitable assistance 

19 across race and class during and after dis20 asters, and other areas, as determined by 

21 the Director; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) identify the communities impli23 cated in the evaluations conducted under 

24 clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH OTHER OF2 FICES.—In carrying out this section, the Direc3 tor shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) participate in scenario-based dis5 aster response exercises at the Agency; 

6 ‘‘(ii) coordinate with the Office of Mi7 nority Health of the Department of Health 

8 and Human Services; 

9 ‘‘(iii) coordinate with the Office of 

10 Civil Rights of the Department of Agri11 culture; 

12 ‘‘(iv) as appropriate, coordinate with 

13 other relevant offices across the Federal 

14 Government, including by leading a vol15 untary task force to address disaster re16 sponse needs of underserved communities; 

17 ‘‘(v) coordinate with the Office for 

18 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the De19 partment; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) investigate allegations of unequal 

21 disaster assistance based on race or ethnic 

22 origin or refer those allegations to the ap23 propriate office. 

24 ‘‘(f) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.—In carrying out this 

25 section, to further inclusion and engagement of underVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:49 Jan 14, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3502.IS S3502

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1 served communities throughout preparedness, response, 

2 recovery, and mitigation and to eliminate racial, ethnic, 

3 and other underserved community disparities in the deliv4 ery of disaster assistance, as described in subsection (d), 

5 the Administrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) administer and evaluate Agency programs 

7 and activities, including the programs and activities 

8 of recipients of preparedness, response, recovery, 

9 and mitigation grants and contracts, to— 

10 ‘‘(A) further inclusion and engagement of 

11 underserved communities and underserved and 

12 minority-owned businesses; and 

13 ‘‘(B) improve outcomes for underserved 

14 communities tied to Agency programs and ac15 tivities; and 

16 ‘‘(2) establish an underserved community initia17 tive to award grants to, and enter into cooperative 

18 agreements and contracts with, nonprofit entities. 

19 ‘‘(g) DISABILITY COORDINATOR.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be within the 

21 Office a Disability Coordinator to ensure that the 

22 needs of individuals with disabilities are being prop23 erly addressed by proactively engaging with dis24 ability and underserved communities and State, 


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1 local, and tribal governments in emergency pre2 paredness and disaster relief. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Disability Coor4 dinator shall be responsible for— 

5 ‘‘(A) providing guidance and coordination 

6 on matters relating to individuals with disabil7 ities in emergency planning requirements and 

8 relief efforts in the event of a natural disaster, 

9 act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster; 

10 ‘‘(B) interacting with the staff of the 

11 Agency, the National Council on Disability, the 

12 Interagency Coordinating Council on Prepared13 ness and Individuals with Disabilities estab14 lished under Executive Order 13347 (6 U.S.C. 

15 314 note; relating to individuals with disabil16 ities in emergency preparedness), other agencies 

17 of the Federal Government, and State, local, 

18 and tribal government authorities relating to 

19 the needs of individuals with disabilities in 

20 emergency planning requirements and relief ef21 forts in the event of a natural disaster, act of 

22 terrorism, or other man-made disaster; 

23 ‘‘(C) consulting with stakeholders that rep24 resent the interests and rights of individuals 

25 with disabilities about the needs of individuals 


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1 with disabilities in emergency planning require2 ments and relief efforts in the event of a nat3 ural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man4 made disaster; 

5 ‘‘(D) ensuring the coordination and dis6 semination of best practices and model evacu7 ation plans and sheltering for individuals with 

8 disabilities; 

9 ‘‘(E) ensuring the development of training 

10 materials and a curriculum for training emer11 gency response providers, State, local, and trib12 al government officials, and others on the needs 

13 of individuals with disabilities; 

14 ‘‘(F) promoting the accessibility of tele15 phone hotlines and websites relating to emer16 gency preparedness, evacuations, and disaster 

17 relief; 

18 ‘‘(G) working to ensure that video pro19 gramming distributors, including broadcasters, 

20 cable operators, and satellite television services, 

21 make emergency information accessible to indi22 viduals with hearing and vision disabilities; 

23 ‘‘(H) providing guidance to State, local, 

24 and tribal government officials and other indi25 viduals, and implementing policies, relating to 


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1 the availability of accessible transportation op2 tions for individuals with disabilities in the 

3 event of an evacuation; 

4 ‘‘(I) providing guidance and implementing 

5 policies to external stakeholders to ensure that 

6 the rights and wishes of individuals with dis7 abilities regarding post-evacuation residency 

8 and relocation are respected; 

9 ‘‘(J) ensuring that meeting the needs of in10 dividuals with disabilities is a component of the 

11 national preparedness system established under 

12 section 644 of the Post-Katrina Emergency 

13 Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

14 744); 

15 ‘‘(K) coordinate technical assistance for 

16 Agency programs based on input from under17 served communities through a designee of the 

18 Director; and 

19 ‘‘(L) any other duties assigned by the Di20 rector. 

21 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.— 

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

23 the date of enactment of the Achieving Equity in 

24 Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act of 

25 2022, and biennially thereafter, the Administrator 


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1 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con2 gress a report describing the activities carried out 

3 under this section during the period for which the 

4 report is being prepared. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

6 paragraph (1) shall include— 

7 ‘‘(A) a narrative on activities conducted by 

8 the Office, including a description of outreach 

9 and consultation efforts with advocacy organiza10 tions and human resource providers; 

11 ‘‘(B) the results of the measures developed 

12 to evaluate the effectiveness of activities aimed 

13 at reducing preparedness, response, and recov14 ery disparities; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the number and types of allegations 

16 of unequal disaster assistance investigated by 

17 the Director or referred to other appropriate of18 fices. 

19 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec21 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

22 (b) OFFICE OF DISABILITY COORDINATOR.—Title V 

23 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et 

24 seq.) is amended by striking section 513 (6 U.S.C. 321b). 


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1 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Se3 curity Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by striking the item relating to section 513 

6 (6 U.S.C. 321b); and 

7 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec8 tion 528 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 529. Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Community Inclusion.’’. 

9 (d) COVID–19 RESPONSE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period of time 

11 for which there is a major disaster or emergency de12 clared by the President under section 401 or 501, 

13 respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re14 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 

15 5191) declared with respect to COVID–19, the Di16 rector of the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and 

17 Community Inclusion shall regularly consult with 

18 State, local, territorial, and Tribal government offi19 cials and community-based organizations from un20 derserved communities the Office of Civil Rights, 

21 Equity, and Community Inclusion identifies as dis22 proportionately impacted by COVID–19. 


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1 (2) FACA APPLICABILITY.—The Federal Advi2 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

3 to any consultation conducted under paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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