IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5473 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2023 

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

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend certain laws relating to disaster recovery and 

relief with respect to the implementation of building 

codes, 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 ‘‘Promoting Resilient 

3 Buildings Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 

5 Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(m) LATEST PUBLISHED EDITIONS.—For purposes 

9 of subsections (e)(1)(B)(iv) and (g)(10), the term ‘latest 

10 published editions’ means, with respect to relevant con11 sensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, the 2 

12 most recently published editions.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. HAZARD MITIGATION REVOLVING LOAN FUND PRO14 GRAM. 

15 Section 205(f)(5) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

17 5135(f)(5)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the paragraph heading by striking ‘‘ES19 TABLISHING’’ and insert ‘‘IMPLEMENTING’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and insert ‘‘imple21 ment’’; 

22 (3) by inserting ‘‘2’’ after ‘‘latest’’; and 

23 (4) by inserting ‘‘, including any amendments 

24 made by State, local, Tribal, or territorial govern25 ments to such codes, specifications, and standards,’’ 

26 after ‘‘standards’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. RESIDENTIAL RETROFIT AND RESILIENCE PILOT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

4 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall carry out 

5 a residential resilience pilot program through the program 

6 established under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

8 5133) to make available assistance to States and local gov9 ernments for the purpose of providing grants to individ10 uals for residential resilience retrofits. 

11 (b) AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—The Administrator may 

12 use not more than 10 percent of the assistance made avail13 able to applicants on an annual basis under section 203 

14 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

15 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) to provide assistance 

16 under this section. 

17 (c) TIMELINE.—The Administrator shall establish 

18 the pilot program under this section not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act and the program 

20 shall terminate on September 30, 2026. 

21 (d) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the pilot program 

22 under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that a 

23 State or local government receiving assistance under the 

24 program provides grants to individuals that demonstrate 

25 financial need. 


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1 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

3 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

4 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

5 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen6 ate a report that includes— 

7 (1) a summary of the grant awards and 

8 projects carried out under this section; 

9 (2) a detailed compilation of results achieved by 

10 the grant awards and projects carried out under this 

11 section, including the number of homes receiving ret12 rofits, the types and average costs of retrofits, demo13 graphic information for participants in the program, 

14 and estimate avoidance in disaster impacts and Fed15 eral disaster payments as a result of the grant in16 vestments; and 

17 (3) any identified implementation challenges 

18 and recommendations for improvements to the pilot 

19 program. 

20 (f) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall only apply to 

21 amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act. 

23 (g) RESIDENTIAL RESILIENT RETROFITS DE24 FINED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘‘residential resilient retrofits’’ means a project 

3 that— 

4 (A) is designed to increase the resilience of 

5 an existing home or residence using mitigation 

6 measures which the administrator determines 

7 reduce damage and impacts from natural dis8 aster hazards and risks that are most likely to 

9 occur in the area where the home is located; 

10 and 

11 (B) to the extent applicable, are consistent 

12 with the 2 most recently published editions of 

13 relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, 

14 and standards, including any amendments made 

15 by State, local, tribal, or territorial governments 

16 to such codes, specifications, and standards 

17 that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant de18 signs and establish criteria for the design, con19 struction, and maintenance of residential struc20 tures and facilities that may be eligible for as21 sistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

22 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for the purpose of pro24 tecting the health, safety, and general welfare 

25 of the buildings’ users against disasters. 


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1 (2) INCLUSION.—In this section, the term ‘‘res2 idential resilient retrofits’’ includes— 

3 (A) elevations of homes and elevations of 

4 utilities within and around structures to miti5 gate damages; 

6 (B) floodproofing measures; 

7 (C) the construction of tornado safe rooms; 

8 (D) seismic retrofits; 

9 (E) wildfire retrofit and mitigation meas10 ures; 

11 (F) wind retrofits, including roof replace12 ments, hurricane straps, and tie-downs; and 

13 (G) any other measures that meet the re14 quirements of paragraph (1), as determined by 

15 the Administrator. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 11, 

2023. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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