I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5940 

To establish a community disaster assistance fund for housing and community 

development and to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide, from the fund, assistance through a community development block grant disaster recovery program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 12, 2023 

Mr. GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

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 establish a community disaster assistance fund for housing and community development and to authorize the 

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide, 

from the fund, assistance through 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Recovery Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) following a major disaster declared by the 

7 President under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf8 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5170), the subset of communities that 

10 are most impacted and distressed as a result of the 

11 disaster face critical social, economic, and environ12 mental obstacles to recovery, including insufficient 

13 public and private resources to address disaster-re14 lated housing and community development needs for 

15 lower income households and distressed commu16 nities; 

17 (2) unmet disaster recovery needs, including 

18 housing assistance needs, can be especially wide19 spread among persons with extremely low-, low-, and 

20 moderate-incomes; 

21 (3) economic, social, and housing hardships 

22 that affect communities before disasters are exacer23 bated during crises and can delay and complicate 

24 long-term recovery, especially after catastrophic 

25 major disasters; 


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1 (4) States, units of local government, and In2 dian Tribes within the most impacted and distressed 

3 areas resulting from major disasters benefit from 

4 flexibility to design programs that meet local needs, 

5 but face inadequate financial, technical, and staffing 

6 capacity to plan and carry out sustained recovery, 

7 restoration, and mitigation activities; 

8 (5) the speed and effectiveness considerations of 

9 long-term recovery from catastrophic major disasters 

10 is improved by predictable investments that support 

11 disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of 

12 housing and infrastructure, and economic revitaliza13 tion, primarily for the benefit of low- and moderate14 income persons; 

15 (6) undertaking activities that mitigate the ef16 fects of future natural disasters and extreme weath17 er and increase the stock of affordable housing, in18 cluding affordable rental housing, as part of long19 term recovery can significantly reduce future fiscal 

20 and social costs, especially within high-risk areas, 

21 and can help to address outstanding housing and 

22 community development needs by creating jobs and 

23 providing other economic and social benefits within 

24 communities that further promote recovery and resil25 ience; and 


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1 (7) the general welfare and security of the 

2 United States and the health and living standards of 

3 its people require targeted resources to support 

4 State and local governments in carrying out their re5 sponsibilities in disaster recovery and mitigation 

6 through interim and long-term housing and commu7 nity development activities that primarily benefit 

8 low- and moderate-income persons. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

12 means the Department of Housing and Urban De13 velopment. 

14 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

15 Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund established 

16 under section 5. 

17 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

19 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

20 URBAN DEVELOPMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The offices and officers of the De22 partment shall be responsible for— 

23 (1) leading and coordinating the disaster-re24 lated responsibilities of the Department under the 

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1 aster Recovery Framework, and the National Mitiga2 tion Framework; 

3 (2) coordinating and administering programs, 

4 policies, and activities of the Department related to 

5 disaster relief, long-term recovery, resiliency, and 

6 mitigation, including disaster recovery assistance 

7 under title I of the Housing and Community Devel8 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

9 (3) supporting disaster-impacted communities 

10 as those communities specifically assess, plan for, 

11 and address the housing stock and housing needs in 

12 the transition from emergency shelters and interim 

13 housing to permanent housing of those displaced, es14 pecially among vulnerable populations and extremely 

15 low-, low-, and moderate-income households; 

16 (4) collaborating with the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency and the Small Business Ad18 ministration and across the Department to align dis19 aster-related regulations and policies, including in20 corporation of consensus-based codes and standards 

21 and insurance purchase requirements, and ensuring 

22 coordination and reducing duplication among other 

23 Federal disaster recovery programs; 

24 (5) promoting best practices in mitigation and 

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1 tional, natural, and nature-based infrastructure al2 ternatives; 

3 (6) coordinating technical assistance, including 

4 mitigation, resiliency, and recovery training and in5 formation on all relevant legal and regulatory re6 quirements, to entities that receive disaster recovery 

7 assistance under title I of the Housing and Commu8 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 

9 seq.) that demonstrate capacity constraints; and 

10 (7) supporting State, Tribal, and local govern11 ments in developing, coordinating, and maintaining 

12 their capacity for disaster resilience and recovery 

13 and developing pre-disaster recovery and hazard 

14 mitigation plans, in coordination with the Federal 

15 Emergency Management Agency and other Federal 

16 agencies. 

17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF DISASTER

18 MANAGEMENT AND RESILIENCY.—Section 4 of the De19 partment of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(i) OFFICE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND RE23 SILIENCY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, 

2 in the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Disaster 

3 Management and Resiliency. 

4 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Office of Disaster Manage5 ment and Resiliency shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) be responsible for oversight and co7 ordination of all departmental disaster pre8 paredness and response responsibilities; and 

9 ‘‘(B) coordinate with the Federal Emer10 gency Management Agency, the Small Business 

11 Administration, and the Office of Community 

12 Planning and Development and other offices of 

13 the Department in supporting recovery and re14 silience activities to provide a comprehensive 

15 approach in working with communities.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. LONG-TERM DISASTER RECOVERY FUND. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

18 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 

19 as the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund. 

20 (b) DEPOSITS, TRANSFERS, AND CREDIT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall consist of 

22 amounts appropriated, transferred, and credited to 

23 the Fund. 

24 (2) TRANSFERS.—The following may be trans25 ferred to the Fund: 


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1 (A) Amounts made available through sec2 tion 106(c)(4) of the Housing and Community 

3 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

4 5306(c)(4)) as a result of actions taken under 

5 section 104(e), 111, or 123(j) of such Act. 

6 (B) Any unobligated balances available 

7 until expended remaining or subsequently re8 captured from amounts appropriated for any 

9 disaster and related purposes under the heading 

10 ‘‘Community Development Fund’’ in any Act 

11 prior to the establishment of the Fund. 

12 (3) USE OF TRANSFERRED AMOUNTS.— 

13 Amounts transferred to the Fund shall be used for 

14 the eligible uses described in subsection (c). 

15 (c) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUND.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund shall 

17 be available— 

18 (A) to provide assistance in the form of 

19 grants under section 123 of the Housing and 

20 Community Development Act of 1974, as added 

21 by section 6; and 

22 (B) for activities of the Department that 

23 support the provision of such assistance, includ24 ing necessary salaries and expenses, informa25 tion technology, capacity building and technical 


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1 assistance (including assistance related to pre2 disaster planning), and readiness and other pre3 disaster planning activities that are not readily 

4 attributable to a single major disaster. 

5 (2) SET ASIDE.—Of each amount appropriated 

6 for or transferred to the Fund, 2 percent shall be 

7 made available for activities described in paragraph 

8 (1)(B), which shall be in addition to other amounts 

9 made available for those activities. 

10 (3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

11 available for use in accordance with paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) may be transferred to the account 

13 under the heading for ‘‘Program Offices—Com14 munity Planning and Development’’, or any 

15 successor account, for the Department to carry 

16 out activities described in paragraph (1)(B); 

17 and 

18 (B) may be used for the activities de19 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) and for the admin20 istrative costs of administering any funds ap21 propriated to the Department under the head22 ing ‘‘Community Planning and Development— 

23 Community Development Fund’’ for any major 

24 disaster declared under section 401 of the Rob25 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 


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1 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) in any Act be2 fore the establishment of the Fund. 

3 (d) INTERCHANGEABILITY OF PRIOR ADMINISTRA4 TIVE AMOUNTS.—Any amounts appropriated in any Act 

5 prior to the establishment of the Fund and transferred 

6 to the account under the heading ‘‘Program Offices Sala7 ries and Expenses—Community Planning and Develop8 ment’’, or any predecessor account, for the Department 

9 for the costs of administering funds appropriated to the 

10 Department under the heading ‘‘Community Planning and 

11 Development—Community Development Fund’’ for any 

12 major disaster declared under section 401 of the Robert 

13 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 5170) shall be available for the costs of admin15 istering any such funds provided by any prior or future 

16 Act, notwithstanding the purposes for which those 

17 amounts were appropriated and in addition to any amount 

18 provided for the same purposes in other appropriations 

19 Acts. 

20 (e) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro21 priated, transferred, and credited to the Fund shall re22 main available until expended. 

23 (f) FORMULA ALLOCATION.—Use of amounts in the 

24 Fund for grants shall be made by formula allocation in 

25 accordance with the requirements of section 123(a) of the 


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1 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

2 added by section 6. 

3 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 

5 as may be necessary to respond to current or future major 

6 disasters declared under section 401 of the Robert T. 

7 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 5179) for grants under section 123 of the 

9 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 

10 added by section 6. 

11 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF CDBG DISASTER RECOVERY 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 Title I of the Housing and Community Development 

14 Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 102(a) (42 U.S.C. 5302(a))— 

16 (A) in paragraph (20)— 

17 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 

18 as subparagraph (C); 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes20 ignated, by inserting ‘‘or (B)’’ after ‘‘sub21 paragraph (A)’’; and 

22 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

23 (A) the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) The term ‘persons of extremely low in25 come’ means families and individuals whose income 


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1 levels do not exceed household income levels deter2 mined by the Secretary under section 3(b)(2) of the 

3 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

4 1437a(b)(2)(C)), except that the Secretary may pro5 vide alternative definitions for the Commonwealth of 

6 Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

7 Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin 

8 Islands, and American Samoa.’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(25) The term ‘major disaster’ has the mean11 ing given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).’’; 

14 (2) in section 106(c)(4) (42 U.S.C. 

15 5306(c)(4))— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘declared by the Presi18 dent under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

19 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’; 

20 (ii) inserting ‘‘States for use in non21 entitlement areas and to’’ before ‘‘metro22 politan cities’’; and 

23 (iii) inserting ‘‘major’’ after ‘‘affected 

24 by the’’; 

25 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘metropolitan city or’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘State, metropolitan city, 

3 or’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘city or county’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘State, city, or county’’; and 

6 (iii) by inserting ‘‘major’’ before ‘‘dis7 aster’’; 

8 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘met9 ropolitan cities and’’ and inserting ‘‘States, 

10 metropolitan cities, and’’; 

11 (D) in subparagraph (F)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘metropolitan city or’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘State, metropolitan city, 

14 or’’; and 

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘major’’ before ‘‘dis16 aster’’; and 

17 (E) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘met18 ropolitan city or’’ and inserting ‘‘State, metro19 politan city, or’’; 

20 (3) in section 122 (42 U.S.C. 5321), by striking 

21 ‘‘disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

22 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘major disaster’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 123. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DIS2 ASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION, FORMULA, AND ALLOCA4 TION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is au6 thorized to make community development block 

7 grant disaster recovery grants from the Long-Term 

8 Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 5 

9 of the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (hereinafter 

10 referred to as the ‘Fund’) for necessary expenses for 

11 activities authorized under subsection (f)(1) related 

12 to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of 

13 housing and infrastructure, economic revitalization, 

14 and mitigation in the most impacted and distressed 

15 areas resulting from a catastrophic major disaster. 

16 ‘‘(2) GRANT AWARDS.—Grants shall be awarded 

17 under this section to States, units of general local 

18 government, and Indian tribes based on capacity and 

19 the concentration of damage, as determined by the 

20 Secretary, to support the efficient and effective ad21 ministration of funds. 

22 ‘‘(3) SECTION 106 ALLOCATIONS.—Grants 

23 under this section shall not be considered relevant to 

24 the formula allocations made pursuant to section 

25 106. 

26 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

2 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

3 the Secretary shall issue a notice in the Federal 

4 Register containing the latest formula allocation 

5 methodologies used to determine the total esti6 mate of unmet needs related to housing, eco7 nomic revitalization, and infrastructure in the 

8 most impacted and distressed areas resulting 

9 from a catastrophic major disaster. 

10 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—If the Secretary 

11 has not already requested public comment on 

12 the formula described in the notice required by 

13 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall solicit 

14 public comments on— 

15 ‘‘(i) the methodologies described in 

16 subparagraph (A) and seek alternative 

17 methods for formula allocation within a 

18 similar total amount of funding; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the impact of formula methodolo20 gies on rural areas and Tribal areas; 

21 ‘‘(iii) adjustments to improve tar22 geting to the most serious needs; 

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1 form grantee determinations and minimum 

2 allocation thresholds; and 

3 ‘‘(v) research and data to inform an 

4 additional amount to be provided for miti5 gation depending on type of disaster, which 

6 shall be not more than 30 percent of the 

7 total estimate of unmet needs. 

8 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

10 by regulation, establish a formula to allocate as11 sistance from the Fund to the most impacted 

12 and distressed areas resulting from a cata13 strophic major disaster. 

14 ‘‘(B) FORMULA REQUIREMENTS.—The for15 mula established under subparagraph (A) 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) set forth criteria to determine 

18 that a major disaster is catastrophic, which 

19 criteria shall consider the presence of a 

20 high concentration of damaged housing or 

21 businesses that individual, State, Tribal, 

22 and local resources could not reasonably be 

23 expected to address without additional 

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1 mines are adequate to assess relative im2 pact and distress across geographic areas; 

3 ‘‘(ii) include a methodology for identi4 fying most impacted and distressed areas, 

5 which shall consider unmet serious needs 

6 related to housing, economic revitalization, 

7 and infrastructure; 

8 ‘‘(iii) include an allocation calculation 

9 that considers the unmet serious needs re10 sulting from the catastrophic major dis11 aster and an additional amount up to 30 

12 percent for activities to reduce risks of loss 

13 resulting from other natural disasters in 

14 the most impacted and distressed area, pri15 marily for the benefit of low- and mod16 erate-income persons, with particular focus 

17 on activities that reduce repetitive loss of 

18 property and critical infrastructure; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) establish objective criteria for 

20 periodic review and updates to the formula 

21 to reflect changes in available science and 

22 data. 

23 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM ALLOCATION THRESH24 OLD.—The Secretary shall, by regulation, es25 tablish a minimum allocation threshold. 


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1 ‘‘(D) INTERIM ALLOCATION.—Until such 

2 time that the Secretary issues final regulations 

3 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) allocate assistance from the Fund 

5 using the formula allocation methodology 

6 published in accordance with paragraph 

7 (4); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) include an additional amount for 

9 mitigation equal to 15 percent of the total 

10 estimate of unmet need. 

11 ‘‘(6) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

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

13 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

14 not later than 90 days after the President 

15 declares a major disaster, use best avail16 able data to determine whether the major 

17 disaster is catastrophic and qualifies for 

18 assistance under the formula described in 

19 paragraph (4) or (5), unless data is insuf20 ficient to make this determination; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) if the best available data is insuf22 ficient to make the determination required 

23 under clause (i) within the 90-day period 

24 described in that clause, the Secretary 

25 shall determine whether the major disaster 


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1 qualifies when sufficient data becomes 

2 available, but in no case shall the Sec3 retary make the determination later than 

4 120 days after the declaration of the major 

5 disaster. 

6 ‘‘(B) ANNOUNCEMENT OF ALLOCATION.— 

7 If amounts are available in the Fund at the 

8 time the Secretary determines that the major 

9 disaster is catastrophic and qualifies for assist10 ance under the formula described in paragraph 

11 (4) or (5), the Secretary shall immediately an12 nounce an allocation for a grant under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—If addi15 tional amounts are appropriated to the Fund 

16 after amounts are allocated under subpara17 graph (B), the Secretary shall announce an al18 location or additional allocation (if a prior allo19 cation under subparagraph (B) was less than 

20 the formula calculation) within 15 days of any 

21 such appropriation. 

22 ‘‘(7) PRELIMINARY FUNDING.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To speed recovery, the 

24 Secretary is authorized to allocate and award 

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1 ing a determination under paragraph (6)(A) if 

2 the Secretary projects, based on a preliminary 

3 assessment of impact and distress, that a major 

4 disaster is catastrophic and would likely qualify 

5 for funding under the formula described in 

6 paragraph (4) or (5). 

7 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.— 

8 ‘‘(i) MAXIMUM.—The Secretary may 

9 award preliminary funding under subpara10 graph (A) in an amount that is not more 

11 than $5,000,000. 

12 ‘‘(ii) SLIDING SCALE.—The Secretary 

13 shall, by regulation, establish a sliding 

14 scale for preliminary funding awarded 

15 under subparagraph (A) based on the size 

16 of the preliminary assessment of impact 

17 and distress. 

18 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—The uses of pre19 liminary funding awarded under subparagraph 

20 (A) shall be limited to eligible activities that— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the determination of the Sec22 retary, will support faster recovery, im23 prove the ability of the grantee to assess 

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1 tion of improper payments, and reduce 

2 fraud, waste, and abuse; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) may include evaluating the in4 terim housing, permanent housing, and 

5 supportive service needs of the disaster im6 pacted community, with special attention 

7 to vulnerable populations, such as homeless 

8 and low- to moderate-income households, 

9 to inform the grantee action plan required 

10 under subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION OF FUNDING.—Pre12 liminary funding awarded under subparagraph 

13 (A)— 

14 ‘‘(i) is not subject to the certification 

15 requirements of subsection (h)(1); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall not be considered when cal17 culating the amount of the grant used for 

18 administrative costs, technical assistance, 

19 and planning activities that are subject to 

20 the requirements under subsection (f)(2). 

21 ‘‘(E) WAIVER.—To expedite the use of 

22 preliminary funding for activities described in 

23 this paragraph, the Secretary may waive or 

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1 ments of this section in accordance with sub2 section (i). 

3 ‘‘(F) AMENDED AWARD.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An award for pre5 liminary funding under subparagraph (A) 

6 may be amended to add any subsequent 

7 amount awarded because of a determina8 tion by the Secretary that a major disaster 

9 is catastrophic and qualifies for assistance 

10 under the formula. 

11 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Notwith12 standing subparagraph (D), amounts pro13 vided by an amendment under clause (i) 

14 are subject to the requirements under sub15 sections (f)(1) and (h)(1) and other re16 quirements on grant funds under this sec17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(G) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Concur19 rent with the allocation of any preliminary 

20 funding awarded under this paragraph, the Sec21 retary shall assign or provide technical assist22 ance to the recipient of the grant. 

23 ‘‘(b) INTERCHANGEABILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

25 to approve the use of grants under this section to be 


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1 used interchangeably and without limitation for the 

2 same activities in the most impacted and distressed 

3 areas resulting from a declaration of another cata4 strophic major disaster that qualifies for assistance 

5 under the formula established under paragraph (4) 

6 or (5) of subsection (a) or a major disaster for 

7 which the Secretary allocated funds made available 

8 under the heading ‘Community Development Fund’ 

9 in any Act prior to the establishment of the Fund. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall es11 tablish requirements to expedite the use of grants 

12 under this section for the purpose described in para13 graph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—Amounts 

15 repurposed pursuant to this subsection that were 

16 previously designated by Congress as an emergency 

17 requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and 

18 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or a concur19 rent resolution on the budget are designated by Con20 gress as an emergency requirement pursuant to sec21 tion 4001(a)(1) of S. Con. Res. 14 (117th Congress) 

22 and legislation establishing fiscal year 2024 budget 

23 enforcement in the House of Representatives. 

24 ‘‘(c) GRANTEE PLANS.— 


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

2 after the date on which the Secretary announces a 

3 grant allocation under this section, unless an exten4 sion is granted by the Secretary, the grantee shall 

5 submit to the Secretary a plan for approval describ6 ing— 

7 ‘‘(A) the activities the grantee will carry 

8 out with the grant under this section; 

9 ‘‘(B) the criteria of the grantee for award10 ing assistance and selecting activities; 

11 ‘‘(C) how the use of the grant under this 

12 section will address disaster relief, long-term re13 covery, restoration of housing and infrastruc14 ture, economic revitalization, and mitigation in 

15 the most impacted and distressed areas; 

16 ‘‘(D) how the use of the grant funds for 

17 mitigation is consistent with hazard mitigation 

18 plans submitted to the Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency under section 322 of the 

20 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer21 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165); 

22 ‘‘(E) the estimated amount proposed to be 

23 used for activities that will benefit persons of 

24 low and moderate income; 


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1 ‘‘(F) how the use of grant funds will repair 

2 and replace existing housing stock for vulner3 able populations, including low- to moderate-in4 come households; 

5 ‘‘(G) how the grantee will address the pri6 orities described in paragraph (5); 

7 ‘‘(H) how uses of funds are proportional to 

8 unmet needs, as required under paragraph (6); 

9 ‘‘(I) for State grantees that plan to dis10 tribute grant amounts to units of general local 

11 government, a description of the method of dis12 tribution; and 

13 ‘‘(J) such other information as may be de14 termined by the Secretary in regulation. 

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC CONSULTATION.—To permit pub16 lic examination and appraisal of the plan described 

17 in paragraph (1), to enhance the public account18 ability of grantee, and to facilitate coordination of 

19 activities with different levels of government, when 

20 developing the plan or substantial amendments pro21 posed to the plan required under paragraph (1), a 

22 grantee shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) publish the plan before adoption; 

24 ‘‘(B) provide citizens, affected units of 

25 general local government, and other interested 


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1 parties with reasonable notice of, and oppor2 tunity to comment on, the plan, with a public 

3 comment period of not less than 14 days; 

4 ‘‘(C) consider comments received before 

5 submission to the Secretary; 

6 ‘‘(D) follow a citizen participation plan for 

7 disaster assistance adopted by the grantee that, 

8 at a minimum, provides for participation of 

9 residents of the most impacted and distressed 

10 area affected by the major disaster that re11 sulted in the grant under this section and other 

12 considerations established by the Secretary; and 

13 ‘‘(E) undertake any consultation with in14 terested parties as may be determined by the 

15 Secretary in regulation. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) by regulation, specify criteria for the 

18 approval, partial approval, or disapproval of a 

19 plan submitted under paragraph (1), including 

20 approval of substantial amendments to the 

21 plan; 

22 ‘‘(B) review a plan submitted under para23 graph (1) upon receipt of the plan; 

24 ‘‘(C) allow a grantee to revise and resub25 mit a plan or substantial amendment to a plan 


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1 under paragraph (1) that the Secretary dis2 approves; 

3 ‘‘(D) by regulation, specify criteria for 

4 when the grantee shall be required to provide 

5 the required revisions to a disapproved plan or 

6 substantial amendment under paragraph (1) for 

7 public comment prior to resubmission of the 

8 plan or substantial amendment to the Sec9 retary; and 

10 ‘‘(E) approve, partially approve, or dis11 approve a plan or substantial amendment under 

12 paragraph (1) not later than 60 days after the 

13 date on which the plan or substantial amend14 ment is received by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(4) LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME OVERALL

16 BENEFIT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) USE OF FUNDS.—Not less than 70 

18 percent of a grant made under this section shall 

19 be used for activities that benefit persons of low 

20 and moderate income unless the Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(i) specifically finds that— 

22 ‘‘(I) there is compelling need to 

23 reduce the percentage for the grant; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the housing needs of low2 and moderate-income persons have 

3 been addressed; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) issues a waiver and alternative 

5 requirement specific to the grant pursuant 

6 to subsection (i) to lower the percentage. 

7 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall, 

8 by regulation, establish protocols consistent 

9 with the findings of section 2 of the Reforming 

10 Disaster Recovery Act to prioritize the use of 

11 funds by a grantee under this section to meet 

12 the needs of low- and moderate-income persons 

13 and businesses serving primarily persons of low 

14 and moderate income. 

15 ‘‘(5) PRIORITIZATION.—The grantee shall 

16 prioritize activities that— 

17 ‘‘(A) assist persons with extremely low-, 

18 low-, and moderate-incomes and other vulner19 able populations to better recover from and 

20 withstand future disasters, emphasizing those 

21 with the most severe needs; 

22 ‘‘(B) address affordable housing, including 

23 affordable rental housing, needs arising from a 

24 disaster, or those needs present prior to a dis25 aster; 


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1 ‘‘(C) prolong the life of housing and infra2 structure; 

3 ‘‘(D) use cost-effective means of preventing 

4 harm to people and property and incorporate 

5 protective features, redundancies, and energy 

6 savings; and 

7 ‘‘(E) other measures that will assure the 

8 continuation of critical services during future 

9 disasters. 

10 ‘‘(6) PROPORTIONAL ALLOCATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A grantee under this 

12 section shall allocate grant funds proportional 

13 to unmet needs between housing activities, eco14 nomic revitalization, and infrastructure, unless 

15 the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) specifically finds that— 

17 ‘‘(I) there is a compelling need 

18 for a disproportional allocation among 

19 those unmet needs; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the disproportional alloca21 tion described in subclause (I) is not 

22 inconsistent with the requirements 

23 under paragraph (4); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) issues a waiver and alternative 

25 requirement pursuant to subsection (i) to 


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1 allow for the disproportional allocation de2 scribed in clause (i)(I). 

3 ‘‘(B) HOUSING ACTIVITIES.—With respect 

4 to housing activities described in subparagraph 

5 (A)(i), grantees should address proportional 

6 needs between homeowners and renters, includ7 ing low-income households in public housing 

8 and Federally subsidized housing. 

9 ‘‘(7) DISASTER RISK MITIGATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

11 term ‘hazard-prone areas’— 

12 ‘‘(i) means areas identified by the 

13 Secretary, in consultation with the Admin14 istrator of the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency, at risk from natural haz16 ards that threaten property damage or 

17 health, safety, and welfare, such as floods, 

18 wildfires (including Wildland-Urban Inter19 face areas), earthquakes, lava inundation, 

20 tornados, and high winds; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) includes areas having special 

22 flood hazards as identified under the Flood 

23 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 

24 U.S.C. 4002 et seq.) or the National Flood 


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1 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et 

2 seq.). 

3 ‘‘(B) HAZARD-PRONE AREAS.—The Sec4 retary, in consultation with the Administrator 

5 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

6 shall establish minimum construction standards, 

7 insurance purchase requirements, and other re8 quirements for the use of grant funds in haz9 ard-prone areas. 

10 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARDS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the areas de12 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii), the insur13 ance purchase requirements established 

14 under subparagraph (B) shall meet or ex15 ceed the requirements under section 102(a) 

16 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 

17 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(a)). 

18 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT AS FINANCIAL AS19 SISTANCE.—All grants under this section 

20 shall be treated as financial assistance for 

21 purposes of section 3(a)(3) of the Flood 

22 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 

23 U.S.C. 4003(a)(3)). 

24 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION OF FUTURE

25 RISKS.—The Secretary may consider future 


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1 risks to protecting property and health, safety, 

2 and general welfare, and the likelihood of those 

3 risks, when making the determination of or 

4 modification to hazard-prone areas under this 

5 paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(8) RELOCATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Uniform Reloca8 tion Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 

9 Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) 

10 shall apply to activities assisted under this sec11 tion to the extent determined by the Secretary 

12 in regulation, or as provided in waivers or alter13 native requirements authorized in accordance 

14 with subsection (i). 

15 ‘‘(B) POLICY.—Each grantee under this 

16 section shall establish a relocation assistance 

17 policy that— 

18 ‘‘(i) minimizes displacement and de19 scribes the benefits available to persons 

20 displaced as a direct result of acquisition, 

21 rehabilitation, or demolition in connection 

22 with an activity that is assisted by a grant 

23 under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) includes any appeal rights or 

2 other requirements that the Secretary es3 tablishes by regulation. 

4 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATIONS.—Any grant under this section 

5 shall be made only if the grantee certifies to the satisfac6 tion of the Secretary that— 

7 ‘‘(1) the grantee is in full compliance with the 

8 requirements under subsection (c)(2); 

9 ‘‘(2) for grants other than grants to Indian 

10 tribes, the grant will be conducted and administered 

11 in conformity with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) and the Fair Housing Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(3) the projected use of funds has been devel15 oped so as to give maximum feasible priority to ac16 tivities that will benefit extremely low-, low-, and 

17 moderate-income families and activities described in 

18 subsection (c)(5), and may also include activities 

19 that are designed to aid in the prevention or elimi20 nation of slum and blight to support disaster recov21 ery, meet other community development needs hav22 ing a particular urgency because existing conditions 

23 pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or 

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1 leviate future threats to human populations, critical 

2 natural resources, and property that an analysis of 

3 hazards shows are likely to result from natural dis4 asters in the future; 

5 ‘‘(4) the grant funds shall principally benefit 

6 persons of low and moderate income as described in 

7 subsection (c)(4); 

8 ‘‘(5) for grants other than grants to Indian 

9 Tribes, within 24 months of receiving a grant or at 

10 the time of its 3- or 5-year update, whichever is 

11 sooner, the grantee will review and make modifica12 tions to its non-disaster housing and community de13 velopment plans and strategies required by sub14 sections (c) and (m) of section 104 to reflect the dis15 aster recovery needs identified by the grantee and 

16 consistency with the plan under subsection (c)(1); 

17 ‘‘(6) the grantee will not attempt to recover any 

18 capital costs of public improvements assisted in 

19 whole or part under this section by assessing any 

20 amount against properties owned and occupied by 

21 persons of low and moderate income, including any 

22 fee charged or assessment made as a condition of 

23 obtaining access to such public improvements, un24 less— 


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1 ‘‘(A) funds received under this section are 

2 used to pay the proportion of such fee or as3 sessment that relates to the capital costs of 

4 such public improvements that are financed 

5 from revenue sources other than under this 

6 chapter; or 

7 ‘‘(B) for purposes of assessing any amount 

8 against properties owned and occupied by per9 sons of moderate income, the grantee certifies 

10 to the Secretary that the grantee lacks suffi11 cient funds received under this section to com12 ply with the requirements of subparagraph (A); 

13 ‘‘(7) the grantee will comply with the other pro14 visions of this title that apply to assistance under 

15 this section and with other applicable laws; 

16 ‘‘(8) the grantee will follow a relocation assist17 ance policy that includes any minimum requirements 

18 identified by the Secretary; and 

19 ‘‘(9) the grantee will adhere to construction 

20 standards, insurance purchase requirements, and 

21 other requirements for development in hazard-prone 

22 areas described in subsection (c)(7). 

23 ‘‘(e) PERFORMANCE REVIEWS AND REPORTING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on not 

25 less frequently than an annual basis, make such reVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Nov 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5940.IH H5940

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1 views and audits as may be necessary or appropriate 

2 to determine whether a grantee under this section 

3 has— 

4 ‘‘(A) carried out activities using grant 

5 funds in a timely manner; 

6 ‘‘(B) met the performance targets estab7 lished by paragraph (2); 

8 ‘‘(C) carried out activities using grant 

9 funds in accordance with the requirements of 

10 this section, the other provisions of this title 

11 that apply to assistance under this section, and 

12 other applicable laws; and 

13 ‘‘(D) a continuing capacity to carry out ac14 tivities in a timely manner. 

15 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE TARGETS.—The Secretary 

16 shall develop and make publicly available critical 

17 performance targets for review, which shall include 

18 spending thresholds for each year from the date on 

19 which funds are obligated by the Secretary to the 

20 grantee until such time all funds have been ex21 pended. 

22 ‘‘(3) FAILURE TO MEET TARGETS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) SUSPENSION.—If a grantee under 

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1 formance targets under paragraph (2), the Sec2 retary may temporarily suspend the grant. 

3 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

4 PLAN.—If the Secretary suspends a grant 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

6 provide to the grantee a performance improve7 ment plan with the specific requirements needed 

8 to lift the suspension within a defined time pe9 riod. 

10 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—If a grantee fails to meet 

11 the spending thresholds established under para12 graph (2), the grantee shall submit to the Sec13 retary, the appropriate committees of Congress, 

14 and each member of Congress who represents a 

15 district or State of the grantee a written report 

16 identifying technical capacity, funding, or other 

17 Federal or State impediments affecting the abil18 ity of the grantee to meet the spending thresh19 olds. 

20 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND RE21 PORTING.— 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO REPORT.—A 

23 grantee under this section shall provide to the 

24 Secretary such information as the Secretary 


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1 may determine necessary for adequate oversight 

2 of the grant program under this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Subject to 

4 subparagraph (D), the Secretary shall make in5 formation submitted under subparagraph (A) 

6 available to the public and to the Inspector 

7 General for the Department of Housing and 

8 Urban Development, disaggregated by activity, 

9 income, geography, and all classes of individuals 

10 protected under section 109 and the Fair Hous11 ing Act. 

12 ‘‘(C) SUMMARY STATUS REPORTS.—To in13 crease transparency and accountability of the 

14 grant program under this section the Secretary 

15 shall, on not less frequently than an annual 

16 basis, post on a public facing dashboard sum17 mary status reports for all active grants under 

18 this section that includes— 

19 ‘‘(i) the status of funds by activity; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the percentages of funds allo21 cated and expended to benefit low- and 

22 moderate-income communities; 

23 ‘‘(iii) performance targets, spending 

24 thresholds, and accomplishments; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) other information the Secretary 

2 determines to be relevant for transparency. 

3 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out 

4 this paragraph, the Secretary— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall take such actions as may be 

6 necessary to ensure that personally identi7 fiable information regarding applicants for 

8 assistance provided from funds made avail9 able under this section is not made publicly 

10 available; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) may make full and unredacted 

12 information available to academic institu13 tions for the purpose of researching into 

14 the equitable distribution of recovery funds 

15 and adherence to civil rights protections. 

16 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Activities assisted under 

18 this section— 

19 ‘‘(A) may include activities permitted 

20 under section 105 or other activities permitted 

21 by the Secretary by waiver or alternative re22 quirement pursuant to subsection (i); and 

23 ‘‘(B) shall be related to disaster relief, 

24 long-term recovery, restoration of housing and 

25 infrastructure, economic revitalization, and 


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1 mitigation in the most impacted and distressed 

2 areas resulting from the major disaster for 

3 which the grant was awarded. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Grant funds under this 

5 section may not be used for costs reimbursable by, 

6 or for which funds have been made available by, the 

7 Federal Emergency Management Agency, or the 

8 United States Army Corps of Engineers. 

9 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, TECHNICAL AS10 SISTANCE AND PLANNING.— 

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

12 establish in regulation the maximum grant 

13 amounts a grantee may use for administrative 

14 costs, technical assistance and planning activi15 ties, taking into consideration size of grant, 

16 complexity of recovery, and other factors as de17 termined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 10 

18 percent for administration and 20 percent in 

19 total. 

20 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts available 

21 for administrative costs for a grant under this 

22 section shall be available for eligible administra23 tive costs of the grantee for any grant made 

24 under this section, without regard to a par25 ticular disaster. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM INCOME.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, any grantee under this sec3 tion may retain program income that is realized 

4 from grants made by the Secretary under this sec5 tion if the grantee agrees that the grantee will uti6 lize the program income in accordance with the re7 quirements for grants under this section, except that 

8 the Secretary may— 

9 ‘‘(A) by regulation, exclude from consider10 ation as program income any amounts deter11 mined to be so small that compliance with this 

12 paragraph creates an unreasonable administra13 tive burden on the grantee; or 

14 ‘‘(B) permit the grantee to transfer re15 maining program income to the other grants of 

16 the grantee under this title upon closeout of the 

17 grant. 

18 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF ASSISTANCE FOR

19 EMPLOYMENT RELOCATION ACTIVITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this sec21 tion may not be used to assist directly in the 

22 relocation of any industrial or commercial plant, 

23 facility, or operation, from one area to another 

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1 nificant loss of employment in the labor market 

2 area from which the relocation occurs. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—The prohibition 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a 

5 business that was operating in the disaster-de6 clared labor market area before the incident 

7 date of the applicable disaster and has since 

8 moved, in whole or in part, from the affected 

9 area to another State or to a labor market area 

10 within the same State to continue business. 

11 ‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS.—Grants under this sec12 tion are subject to the requirements of this section, 

13 the other provisions of this title that apply to assist14 ance under this section, and other applicable laws, 

15 unless modified by waivers or alternative require16 ments in accordance with subsection (i). 

17 ‘‘(g) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.—A recipient of funds provided 

19 under this section that uses the funds to supplement 

20 Federal assistance provided under section 203, 402, 

21 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the 

22 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

23 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 5170c, 

24 5172, 5173, 5174(c)(4), 5189f, 5192) may adopt, 

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1 mental review, approval, or permit performed by a 

2 Federal agency, and that adoption shall satisfy the 

3 responsibilities of the recipient with respect to the 

4 environmental review, approval, or permit under sec5 tion 104(g)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF RELEASE OF FUNDS.—Not7 withstanding section 104(g)(2), the Secretary or a 

8 State may, upon receipt of a request for release of 

9 funds and certification, immediately approve the re10 lease of funds for an activity or project to be as11 sisted 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 ‘‘(3) UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN18 MENT.—The provisions of section 104(g)(4) shall 

19 apply to assistance under this section that a State 

20 distributes to a unit of general local government. 

21 ‘‘(h) FINANCIAL CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

23 requirements and procedures to demonstrate that a 

24 grantee under this section— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has adequate financial controls and 

2 procurement processes; 

3 ‘‘(B) has adequate procedures to detect 

4 and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and duplica5 tion of benefit; and 

6 ‘‘(C) maintains a comprehensive and pub7 licly accessible website. 

8 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—Before making a grant 

9 under this section, the Secretary shall certify that 

10 the grantee has in place proficient processes and 

11 procedures to comply with the requirements devel12 oped under paragraph (1), as determined by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE BEFORE ALLOCATION.—The 

15 Secretary may permit a State, unit of general local 

16 government, or Indian tribe to demonstrate compli17 ance with the requirements for adequate financial 

18 controls developed under paragraph (1) before a dis19 aster occurs and before receiving an allocation for a 

20 grant under this section. 

21 ‘‘(4) DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds made available 

23 under this section shall be used in accordance 

24 with section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis25 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 5155), as amended by section 1210 of 

2 the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (di3 vision D of Public Law 115–254), and such 

4 rules as may be prescribed under such section 

5 312. 

6 ‘‘(B) PENALTIES.—In any case in which 

7 the use of grant funds under this section results 

8 in a prohibited duplication of benefits, the 

9 grantee shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) apply an amount equal to the 

11 identified duplication to any allowable costs 

12 of the award consistent with actual, imme13 diate cash requirement; 

14 ‘‘(ii) remit any excess amounts to the 

15 Secretary to be credited to the obligated, 

16 undisbursed balance of the grant con17 sistent with requirements on Federal pay18 ments applicable to such grantee; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) if excess amounts under clause 

20 (ii) are identified after the period of per21 formance or after the closeout of the 

22 award, remit such amounts to the Sec23 retary to be credited to the Fund. 

24 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Any grantee 

25 provided funds under this section or from prior 


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1 Appropriations Acts under the heading ‘Com2 munity Development Fund’ for purposes related 

3 to major disasters that fails to comply with sec4 tion 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re5 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 5155) or fails to satisfy penalties to resolve a 

7 duplication of benefits shall be subject to rem8 edies for noncompliance under section 111, un9 less the Secretary publishes a determination in 

10 the Federal Register that it is not in the best 

11 interest of the Federal Government to pursue 

12 remedial actions. 

13 ‘‘(i) WAIVERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In administering grants 

15 under this section, the Secretary may waive, or 

16 specify alternative requirements for, any provision of 

17 any statute or regulation that the Secretary admin18 isters in connection with the obligation by the Sec19 retary or the use by the grantee of those funds (ex20 cept for requirements related to fair housing, non21 discrimination, labor standards, the environment, 

22 and the requirements of this section that do not ex23 pressly authorize modifications by waiver or alter24 native requirement), if the Secretary makes a public 

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1 ternative requirement and the waiver or alternative 

2 requirement would not be inconsistent with the find3 ings in section 2 of the Reforming Disaster Recovery 

4 Act. 

5 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A waiver or alter6 native requirement described in paragraph (1) shall 

7 not take effect before the date that is 5 days after 

8 the date of publication of the waiver or alternative 

9 requirement on the website of the Department of 

10 Housing and Urban Development or the effective 

11 date for any regulation published in the Federal 

12 Register. 

13 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary 

14 shall notify the public of all waivers or alternative 

15 requirements described in paragraph (1) in accord16 ance with the requirements of section 7(q)(3) of the 

17 Department of Housing and Urban Development 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(q)(3)). 

19 ‘‘(j) UNUSED AMOUNTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE TO USE AMOUNTS.—A grantee 

21 under this section shall use an amount equal to the 

22 grant within 6 years beginning on the date on which 

23 the Secretary obligates the amounts to the grantee, 

24 as such period may be extended under paragraph 

25 (4). 


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1 ‘‘(2) RECAPTURE.—The Secretary shall recap2 ture and credit to the Fund any amount that is un3 used by a grantee under this section upon the earlier 

4 of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the date on which the grantee notifies 

6 the Secretary that the grantee has completed all 

7 activities identified in the disaster grantee’s 

8 plan under subsection (c); or 

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

10 described in paragraph (1), as such period may 

11 be extended under paragraph (4). 

12 ‘‘(3) RETENTION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

13 paragraph (1), the Secretary may allow a grantee 

14 under this section to retain— 

15 ‘‘(A) amounts needed to close out grants; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) up to 10 percent of the remaining 

18 funds to support maintenance of the minimal 

19 capacity to launch a new program in the event 

20 of a future disaster and to support pre-disaster 

21 long-term recovery and mitigation planning. 

22 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR USE OF

23 FUNDS.—The Secretary may extend the 6-year pe24 riod described in paragraph (1) by not more than 4 


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1 years, or not more than 6 years for mitigation activi2 ties, if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the grantee submits to the Sec4 retary— 

5 ‘‘(i) written documentation of the exi6 gent circumstances impacting the ability of 

7 the grantee to expend funds that could not 

8 be anticipated; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) a justification that such request 

10 is necessary due to the nature and com11 plexity of the program and projects; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the Secretary submits a written jus13 tification for the extension to the Committees 

14 on Appropriations of Senate and the House of 

15 Representatives that specifies the period of that 

16 extension.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 

18 (a) PROPOSED RULES.—Following consultation with 

19 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small 

20 Business Administration, and other Federal agencies, not 

21 later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

22 Act, the Secretary shall issue proposed rules to carry out 

23 this Act and the amendments made by this Act and shall 

24 provide a 90-day period for submission of public comments 

25 on those proposed rules. 


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1 (b) FINAL RULES.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

3 final regulations to carry out section 123 of the Housing 

4 and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by 

5 section 6. 

6 SEC. 8. COORDINATION OF DISASTER RECOVERY ASSIST7 ANCE, BENEFITS, AND DATA WITH OTHER 

8 FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

9 (a) COORDINATION OF DISASTER RECOVERY ASSIST10 ANCE.—In order to ensure a comprehensive approach to 

11 Federal disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of 

12 housing and infrastructure, economic revitalization, and 

13 mitigation in the most impacted and distressed areas re14 sulting from a catastrophic major disaster, the Secretary 

15 shall coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management 

16 Agency, to the greatest extent practicable, in the imple17 mentation of assistance authorized under section 123 of 

18 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 

19 as added by section 6. 

20 (b) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.—To support the 

21 coordination of data to prevent duplication of benefits with 

22 other Federal disaster recovery programs while also expe23 diting recovery and reducing burden on disaster survivors, 

24 the Department shall establish data sharing agreements 

25 that safeguard privacy with relevant Federal agencies to 


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•HR 5940 IH

1 ensure disaster benefits effectively and efficiently reach in2 tended beneficiaries, while using effective means of pre3 venting harm to people and property. 

4 (c) DATA TRANSFER FROM FEMA AND SBA TO

5 HUD.—As permitted and deemed necessary for efficient 

6 program execution, and consistent with a computer match7 ing agreement entered into under subsection (f)(1), the 

8 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

9 Agency and the Administrator of the Small Business Ad10 ministration shall provide data on disaster applicants to 

11 the Department, including, when necessary, personally 

12 identifiable information, disaster recovery needs, and re13 sources determined eligible for, and amounts expended, to 

14 the Secretary for all major disasters declared by the Presi15 dent pursuant to section 401 of Robert T. Stafford Dis16 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 5170) for the purpose of providing additional assistance 

18 to disaster survivors and prevent duplication of benefits. 

19 (d) DATA TRANSFERS FROM HUD TO HUD GRANT20 EES.—The Secretary is authorized to provide to grantees 

21 under section 123 of the Housing and Community Devel22 opment Act of 1974, as added by section 6, offices of the 

23 Department, technical assistance providers, and lenders 

24 information that in the determination of the Secretary is 

25 reasonably available and appropriate to inform the proviVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Nov 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5940.IH H5940

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•HR 5940 IH

1 sion of assistance after a major disaster, including infor2 mation provided to the Secretary by the Administrator of 

3 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Admin4 istrator of the Small Business Administration, or other 

5 Federal agencies. 

6 (e) DATA TRANSFERS FROM HUD GRANTEES TO

7 HUD, FEMA, AND SBA.— 

8 (1) REPORTING.—Grantees under section 123 

9 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 

10 1974, as added by section 6, shall report informa11 tion requested by the Secretary on households, busi12 nesses, and other entities assisted and the type of 

13 assistance provided. 

14 (2) SHARING INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall share information collected under paragraph 

16 (1) with the Federal Emergency Management Agen17 cy, the Small Business Administration, and other 

18 Federal agencies to support the planning and deliv19 ery of disaster recovery and mitigation assistance 

20 and other related purposes. 

21 (f) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—The Secretary may make 

22 and receive data transfers authorized under this section, 

23 including the use and retention of that data for computer 

24 matching programs, to inform the provision of assistance, 

25 assess disaster recovery needs, and prevent the duplication 


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•HR 5940 IH

1 of benefits and other waste, fraud, and abuse, provided 

2 that— 

3 (1) the Secretary enters an information sharing 

4 agreement or a computer matching agreement, when 

5 required by section 522a of title 5, United States 

6 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 

7 1974’’), with the Administrator of the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Agency, the Administrator 

9 of the Small Business Administration, or other Fed10 eral agencies covering the transfer of data; 

11 (2) the Secretary publishes intent to disclose 

12 data in the Federal Register; 

13 (3) notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), 

14 section 552a of title 5, United States Code, or any 

15 other law, the Secretary is authorized to share data 

16 with an entity identified in subsection (d), and the 

17 entity is authorized to use the data as described in 

18 this section, if the Secretary enters a data sharing 

19 agreement with the entity before sharing or receiving 

20 any information under transfers authorized by this 

21 section, which data sharing agreement shall— 

22 (A) in the determination of the Secretary, 

23 include measures adequate to safeguard the pri24 vacy and personally identifiable information of 

25 individuals; and 


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•HR 5940 IH

1 (B) include provisions that describe how 

2 the personally identifiable information of an in3 dividual will be adequately safeguarded and 

4 protected, which requires consultation with the 

5 Secretary and the head of each Federal agency 

6 the data of which is being shared subject to the 

7 agreement. 

Æ 


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