II 

Calendar No. 440 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5473 

[Report No. 118–194] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2023 

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

Governmental Affairs 

JULY 23, 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Resilient 

5 Buildings Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 

2 Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

7 published editions’ means, with respect to relevant con8 sensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, the 2 

9 most recently published editions.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. HAZARD MITIGATION REVOLVING LOAN FUND PRO11 GRAM. 

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

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

14 5135(f)(5)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the paragraph heading by striking ‘‘ES16 TABLISHING’’ and insert ‘‘IMPLEMENTING’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and insert ‘‘imple18 ment’’; 

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

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

21 made by State, local, Tribal, or territorial govern22 ments to such codes, specifications, and standards,’’ 

23 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. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Resilient 

18 Buildings Act of 2024’’. 

19 SEC. 2. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 

20 Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(m) LATEST PUBLISHED EDITIONS.—For purposes of 

24 subsections (e)(1)(B)(iv) and (g)(10), the term ‘latest pub25 lished editions’ means, with respect to relevant consensusVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Jul 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5473.RS H5473

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1 based codes, specifications, and standards, the 2 most re2 cently published editions.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. HAZARD MITIGATION REVOLVING LOAN FUND PRO4 GRAM. 

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

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5135(f)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking paragraph (5); and 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) 

10 as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively. 

11 SEC. 4. RESIDENTIAL RETROFIT AND RESILIENCE PILOT 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

16 Emergency Management Agency. 

17 (2) RESIDENTIAL RESILIENT RETROFITS.—The 

18 term ‘‘residential resilient retrofits’’— 

19 (A) means a project that— 

20 (i) is designed to increase the resilience 

21 of an existing home or residence using miti22 gation measures that the Administrator de23 termines reduce damage and impacts from 

24 natural disaster hazards and risks that are 


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1 most likely to occur in the area where the 

2 home is located; and 

3 (ii) to the extent applicable, are con4 sistent with the 2 most recently published 

5 editions of relevant consensus-based codes, 

6 specifications, and standards, including 

7 any amendments made by State, local, 

8 Tribal, or territorial governments to those 

9 codes, specifications, and standards that in10 corporate the latest hazard-resistant designs 

11 and establish criteria for the design, con12 struction, and maintenance of residential 

13 structures and facilities that may be eligible 

14 for assistance under the Robert T. Stafford 

15 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for the purpose 

17 of protecting the health, safety, and general 

18 welfare of users of the buildings against dis19 asters; and 

20 (B) includes— 

21 (i) elevations of homes and elevations 

22 of utilities within and around structures to 

23 mitigate damages; 

24 (ii) floodproofing measures; 


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1 (iii) the construction of tornado safe 

2 rooms; 

3 (iv) seismic retrofits; 

4 (v) wildfire retrofit and mitigation 

5 measures; 

6 (vi) wind retrofits, including roof re7 placements, hurricane straps, and tie8 downs; and 

9 (vii) any other measures that meet the 

10 requirements of subparagraph (A), as deter11 mined by the Administrator. 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall carry 

13 out a residential resilience pilot program through the pro14 gram established under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

16 5133) to make available assistance to States and local gov17 ernments for the purpose of providing grants to individuals 

18 for residential resilience retrofits. 

19 (c) AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—The Administrator may use 

20 not more than 10 percent of the assistance made available 

21 to applicants on an annual basis under section 203 of the 

22 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist23 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) to provide assistance under this 

24 section. 


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1 (d) TIMELINE.—The Administrator shall establish the 

2 pilot program under this section not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act and the program shall 

4 terminate on September 30, 2026. 

5 (e) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the pilot program 

6 under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that a 

7 State or local government receiving assistance under the 

8 program provides grants to individuals that demonstrate 

9 financial need. 

10 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

13 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

14 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report 

15 that includes— 

16 (1) a summary of the grant awards and projects 

17 carried out under this section; 

18 (2) a detailed compilation of results achieved by 

19 the grant awards and projects carried out under this 

20 section, including the number of homes receiving ret21 rofits, the types and average costs of retrofits, and de22 mographic information for participants in the pilot 

23 program; 

24 (3) an estimate of avoidance in disaster impacts 

25 and Federal disaster payments as a result of the 


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1 grant investments carried out under this section, and 

2 whether that avoidance is different than other mitiga3 tion projects funded through section 203 of the Robert 

4 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 5133); and 

6 (4) any identified implementation challenges 

7 and recommendations for improvements to the pilot 

8 program. 

9 (g) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall only apply to 

10 amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

14 Act shall be construed to affect any program other than the 

15 predisaster hazard mitigation program or the hazard miti16 gation revolving loan fund program established under sec17 tion 203 or 205 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 5135), re19 spectively. 


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Calendar No. 440 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5473 

[Report No. 118–194] 

AN ACT 

To amend certain laws relating to disaster recovery 

building codes, and for other purposes. and relief with respect to the implementation of 

JULY 23, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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