I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7385 

To direct the President to establish pilot programs to provide long-term 

rental housing assistance and case management services after certain 

major disasters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 20, 2018 

Ms. TITUS (for herself and Ms. PLASKETT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the President to establish pilot programs to provide 

long-term rental housing assistance and case management services after certain major disasters, 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 ‘‘Disaster Housing As5 sistance Program Accountability Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF DISASTER HOUSING ASSIST2 ANCE PILOT PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the authority under, 

4 and meeting the requirements of, sections 408 and 426 

5 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

6 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174, 5189d), the President, 

7 acting through the Administrator, shall establish at least 

8 3 pilot programs, to be administered by an appropriate 

9 Federal agency, to provide for long-term rental housing 

10 assistance and case management services to eligible fami11 lies affected by a covered disaster in a State. 

12 (b) CONSULTATION.—In establishing a pilot program 

13 under this section, the Administrator shall consult with 

14 the Governor of the State in which the disaster occurred. 

15 (c) LIMITATION.—In establishing a pilot program 

16 under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that 

17 multiple pilot programs are not established in any 1 State. 

18 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Administrator shall— 

19 (1) ensure that each pilot program established 

20 under subsection (a) assists eligible families with 

21 transitioning toward self-sufficiency through case 

22 management services provided in a cost-effective 

23 manner; and 

24 (2) determine whether the cost of each pilot 

25 program and the services provided under any such 


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1 pilot program are competitive with other housing op2 tions provided by the Administrator. 

3 (e) EXTENT OF SERVICES.—The Administrator, in 

4 consultation with other Federal agencies with appropriate 

5 expertise, shall determine the extent of case management 

6 services required for an eligible family to obtain self-suffi7 ciency. 

8 (f) TERMINATION.—The Administrator may termi9 nate each pilot program established under subsection (a) 

10 at any time the Administrator considers appropriate. 

11 (g) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—To carry out each 

12 pilot program, the Administrator and a relevant Federal 

13 agency shall enter into an interagency agreement that, at 

14 a minimum— 

15 (1) includes policies, procedures, and framework 

16 for— 

17 (A) program management; 

18 (B) financial management; and 

19 (C) oversight; 

20 (2) establishes requirements for cost and pro21 gram effectiveness data to be maintained and re22 ported to the Administrator on a regular basis; and 

23 (3) identifies the type and amount of adminis24 trative fees that will be charged under each pilot 

25 program. 


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1 (h) COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) PROGRAM COMPARISON DATA.—The Fed3 eral agency implementing the pilot program estab4 lished in subsection (a) shall provide the Adminis5 trator with such data as may be necessary for the 

6 Administrator to conduct a comparison between each 

7 pilot program established under subsection (a) and 

8 other temporary housing options provided by the Ad9 ministrator under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

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

11 5121 et seq.). 

12 (2) CASE MANAGEMENT DATA.—The Federal 

13 agency implementing the pilot program established 

14 in subsection (a) shall provide the Administrator 

15 with such data as may be necessary to determine the 

16 extent of case management services required and 

17 provided under each program and the effectiveness 

18 of such services in transitioning eligible families to19 ward self-sufficiency. 

20 (3) FEES.—The Administrator shall ensure 

21 that— 

22 (A) the administrative fees of each pilot 

23 program are reasonable compared to the cost of 

24 temporary housing assistance provided to eligi25 ble families; 


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1 (B) case management services fees are rea2 sonable compared to the cost of the case man3 agement services provided to eligible families; 

4 and 

5 (C) administrative fees and case manage6 ment services fees do not exceed the amounts 

7 provided under the Interagency Agreement exe8 cuted on March 25, 2013, to implement Dis9 aster Housing Assistance Program–Sandy. 

10 (i) ANALYSIS AND REPORT.— 

11 (1) ANALYSIS.—After termination of a pilot 

12 program, the Administrator shall conduct an anal13 ysis comparing the costs, benefits, and effectiveness 

14 of each pilot program, including any case manage15 ment services provided, with other temporary hous16 ing options provided by the Administrator under the 

17 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

18 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

19 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

20 the Administrator terminates a pilot program, the 

21 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

23 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 

24 Security and Government Affairs of the Senate a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 27, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7385.IH H7385

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1 port that contains the analysis required under para2 graph (1). 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

7 Emergency Management Agency. 

8 (2) COVERED DISASTER.—The term ‘‘covered 

9 disaster’’ means a major disaster declared by the 

10 President under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf11 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5170)— 

13 (A) during 2017 in the territories of the 

14 United States; or 

15 (B) during 2018 in a State. 

16 (3) ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘eligible 

17 families’’ means families that the Administrator de18 termines are eligible for housing assistance under 

19 section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

20 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) 

21 and case management services under section 426 of 

22 such Act. 

23 (4) FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘families’’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 3(b)(3)(B) of 


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

2 1437a). 

3 (5) GOVERNOR; STATE.—The terms ‘‘Governor’’ 

4 and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

5 section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

Æ 


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