II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1897 

To allow for expanded uses of funding allocated to Louisiana under the 

hazard mitigation program while preserving the goals of the program 

to reduce future damage from disasters through mitigation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2007 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To allow for expanded uses of funding allocated to Louisiana 

under the hazard mitigation program while preserving 

the goals of the program to reduce future damage from 

disasters through mitigation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. PROHIBITION OF RESTRICTION ON USE OF 

4 AMOUNTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), and not6 withstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator 

7 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall not 

8 prohibit the use by the State of Louisiana under the Road 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
2 

•S 1897 IS

1 Home Program of that State of any amounts described 

2 in subsection (e), based upon the existence or extent of 

3 any requirement or condition under that program that— 

4 (1) limits the amount made available to an eli5 gible homeowner who does not agree to remain an 

6 owner and occupant of a home in Louisiana; or 

7 (2) waives the applicability of any limitation de8 scribed in paragraph (1) for eligible homeowners 

9 who are elderly or senior citizens. 

10 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Administrator of the Fed11 eral Emergency Management Agency shall identify and 

12 implement mechanisms to simplify the expedited distribu13 tion of amounts described in subsection (e), including— 

14 (1) creating a programmatic cost-benefit anal15 ysis to provide a means of conducting cost-benefit 

16 analysis by project type and geographic factors rath17 er than on a structure-by-structure basis; and 

18 (2) developing a streamlined environmental re19 view process to significantly speed the approval of 

20 project applications. 

21 (c) WAIVER.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), in using amounts described in subsection 

24 (e), the President shall waive the requirements of 

25 sections 206.434(c) and 206.438(d) of title 44, Code 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
3 

•S 1897 IS

1 of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar 

2 regulation or ruling), or specify alternative require3 ments, upon a request by the State of Louisiana 

4 that such waiver is required to facilitate the timely 

5 use of funds or a guarantee provided under section 

6 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

7 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c). 

8 (2) EXCEPTION.—The President may not waive 

9 any requirement relating to fair housing, non10 discrimination, labor standards, or, except as pro11 vided in subsection (b), the environment under para12 graph (1). 

13 (d) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Except as provided in sub14 sections (a), (b), and (c), section 404 of the Robert T. 

15 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5170c) shall apply to amounts described in 

17 subsection (e) that are used by the State of Louisiana 

18 under the Road Home Program of that State. 

19 (e) COVERED AMOUNTS.—The amounts described in 

20 this subsection is $1,170,000,000 provided to the State 

21 of Louisiana because of Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or 

22 Hurricane Rita of 2005 under the hazard mitigation grant 

23 program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
4 

•S 1897 IS

1 under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re2 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c). 

Æ 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS