I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3377 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to enhance the Nation’s disaster preparedness, response, recovery, 

and mitigation capabilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2009 

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Mr. MICA, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. MARIO DIAZBALART of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to enhance the Nation’s disaster 

preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation capabilities, 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 Response, Re5 covery, and Mitigation Enhancement Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 


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TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 

ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 101. Pre-disaster hazard mitigation. 

Sec. 102. Integrated public alert and warning system modernization. 

Sec. 103. Health benefits for temporary employees. 

Sec. 104. Disposal of excess property to assist other disaster victims. 

Sec. 105. National Urban Search and Rescue Response System. 

Sec. 106. Disaster Relief Fund. 

TITLE II—MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 

PROGRAMS 

Sec. 201. Additional mitigation assistance. 

Sec. 202. Temporary mortgage and rental payments. 

Sec. 203. Clarification of grant authority. 

Sec. 204. Household pets and service animals. 

Sec. 205. Storage, sale, transfer, and disposal of housing units. 

TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS 

Sec. 301. Community preparedness. 

Sec. 302. Emergency management assistance compact grants. 

Sec. 303. Authority to accept and use gifts. 

Sec. 304. Individual assistance factors. 

Sec. 305. Technical corrections to references. 

1 TITLE I—MAJOR DISASTER AND 

2 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AD3 MINISTRATION 

4 SEC. 101. PRE-DISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 

5 (a) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Section 203(f) of the 

6 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist7 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(f)) is amended to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall award 

11 financial assistance under this section on a competi12 tive basis and in accordance with the criteria in sub13 section (g). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—In 

2 providing financial assistance under this section, the 

3 President shall ensure that the amount of financial 

4 assistance made available to a State (including 

5 amounts made available to local governments of the 

6 State) for a fiscal year— 

7 ‘‘(A) is not less than the lesser of— 

8 ‘‘(i) $575,000; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the amount that is equal to one 

10 percent of the total funds appropriated to 

11 carry out this section for the fiscal year; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) does not exceed the amount that is 

14 equal to 15 percent of the total funds appro15 priated to carry out this section for the fiscal 

16 year.’’. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

18 203(m) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(m)) is amended to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 

23 2012.’’. 

24 (c) REFERENCES.—Section 203 of such Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 5133) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading by striking 

2 ‘‘PREDISASTER’’ and inserting ‘‘PRE-DISASTER’’; 

3 (2) in the subsection heading for subsection (i) 

4 by striking ‘‘PREDISASTER’’ and inserting ‘‘PRE5 DISASTER’’; 

6 (3) by striking ‘‘Predisaster’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘Pre-Disaster’’; and 

8 (4) by striking ‘‘predisaster’’ each place it ap9 pears and inserting ‘‘pre-disaster’’. 

10 SEC. 102. INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYS11 TEM MODERNIZATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Robert T. 

13 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 5132) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING

17 SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To provide timely and ef19 fective disaster warnings under this section, the 

20 President, acting through the Administrator of the 

21 Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) modernize the integrated public alert 

23 and warning system of the United States (in 

24 this section referred to as the ‘public alert and 

25 warning system’) to ensure that the President 


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1 under all conditions can alert and warn govern2 mental authorities and the civilian population in 

3 areas endangered by disasters; and 

4 ‘‘(B) implement the public alert and warn5 ing system. 

6 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—In 

7 carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, 

8 consistent with the recommendations in the final re9 port of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning 

10 System Advisory Committee— 

11 ‘‘(A) establish or adopt, as appropriate, 

12 common alerting and warning protocols, stand13 ards, terminology, and operating procedures for 

14 the public alert and warning system; 

15 ‘‘(B) include in the public alert and warn16 ing system the capability to adapt the distribu17 tion and content of communications on the 

18 basis of geographic location, risks, or personal 

19 user preferences, as appropriate; 

20 ‘‘(C) include in the public alert and warn21 ing system the capability to alert and warn in22 dividuals with disabilities and individuals with 

23 limited English proficiency; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) ensure the conduct of training, tests, 

2 and exercises for the public alert and warning 

3 system. 

4 ‘‘(3) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The public 

5 alert and warning system shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) incorporate multiple communications 

7 technologies; 

8 ‘‘(B) be designed to adapt to, and incor9 porate, future technologies for communicating 

10 directly with the public; 

11 ‘‘(C) be designed to provide alerts to the 

12 largest portion of the affected population fea13 sible, including nonresident visitors and tour14 ists, and improve the ability of remote areas to 

15 receive alerts; 

16 ‘‘(D) promote local and regional public and 

17 private partnerships to enhance community pre18 paredness and response; and 

19 ‘‘(E) provide redundant alert mechanisms 

20 where practicable so as to reach the greatest 

21 number of people regardless of whether they 

22 have access to, or utilize, any specific medium 

23 of communication or any particular device. 

24 ‘‘(4) PILOT PROGRAMS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 may conduct pilot programs for the purpose of 

3 demonstrating the feasibility of using a variety 

4 of methods for achieving the system require5 ments specified in paragraph (3). 

6 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

8 and annually thereafter for the duration of the 

9 pilot programs, the Administrator shall submit 

10 to the Committee on Transportation and Infra11 structure of the House of Representatives and 

12 the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov13 ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report con14 taining— 

15 ‘‘(i) a description and assessment of 

16 the effectiveness of the pilot programs; 

17 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations of the Ad18 ministrator for additional authority to con19 tinue the pilot programs or make any of 

20 the programs permanent; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) any other findings and conclu22 sions of the Administrator with respect to 

23 the pilot programs. 

24 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 

25 6 months after the date of submission of the final 


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1 report of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning 

2 System Advisory Committee, the Administrator shall 

3 submit to the Committee on Transportation and In4 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

5 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

6 Affairs of the Senate a detailed plan for imple7 menting this subsection. The plan shall include a 

8 timeline for implementation, a spending plan, and 

9 recommendations for any additional authority that 

10 may be necessary to fully implement this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this subsection $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

14 such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year 

15 thereafter.’’. 

16 (b) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYS17 TEM MODERNIZATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen21 cy shall establish an advisory committee to be known 

22 as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System 

23 Advisory Committee (in this subsection referred to 

24 as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 


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1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 

2 shall be composed of the following members, to be 

3 appointed by the Administrator as soon as prac4 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act: 

5 (A) The Chairman of the Federal Commu6 nications Commission (or the Chairman’s des7 ignee). 

8 (B) The Administrator of the National 

9 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the 

10 Department of Commerce (or the Administra11 tor’s designee). 

12 (C) The Assistant Secretary for Commu13 nications and Information of the Department of 

14 Commerce (or the Assistant Secretary’s des15 ignee). 

16 (D) Representatives of State and local gov17 ernments, representatives of emergency man18 agement agencies, and representatives of emer19 gency response providers, selected from among 

20 individuals nominated by national organizations 

21 representing governments and personnel. 

22 (E) Representatives from federally recog23 nized Indian tribes and national Indian organi24 zations. 


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1 (F) Individuals who have the requisite 

2 technical knowledge and expertise to serve on 

3 the Advisory Committee, including representa4 tives of— 

5 (i) communications service providers; 

6 (ii) vendors, developers, and manufac7 turers of systems, facilities, equipment, 

8 and capabilities for the provision of com9 munications services; 

10 (iii) third-party service bureaus; 

11 (iv) the broadcasting industry; 

12 (v) the national organization rep13 resenting the licensees and permittees of 

14 noncommercial broadcast television sta15 tions; 

16 (vi) the cellular industry; 

17 (vii) the cable industry; 

18 (viii) the satellite industry; and 

19 (ix) national organizations rep20 resenting individuals with special needs, in21 cluding individuals with disabilities and the 

22 elderly. 

23 (G) Qualified representatives of such other 

24 stakeholders and interested and affected parties 

25 as the Administrator considers appropriate. 


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1 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Administrator (or the 

2 Administrator’s designee) shall serve as the Chair3 person of the Advisory Committee. 

4 (4) MEETINGS.— 

5 (A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet6 ing of the Advisory Committee shall take place 

7 not later than 60 days after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. 

9 (B) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial 

10 meeting, the Advisory Committee shall meet at 

11 the call of the Chairperson. 

12 (C) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings 

13 held by the Advisory Committee shall be duly 

14 noticed at least 14 days in advance and shall be 

15 open to the public. 

16 (5) RULES.— 

17 (A) QUORUM.—One-third of the members 

18 of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a 

19 quorum for conducting business of the Advisory 

20 Committee. 

21 (B) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advi22 sory Committee in carrying out its functions, 

23 the Chairperson may establish appropriate sub24 committees composed of members of the AdviVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:19 Jul 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377

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1 sory Committee and other subject matter ex2 perts as the Chairperson considers necessary. 

3 (C) ADDITIONAL RULES.—The Advisory 

4 Committee may adopt such other rules as are 

5 necessary to carry out its duties. 

6 (6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Advisory Com7 mittee shall develop and submit in its final report 

8 recommendations for an integrated public alert and 

9 warning system, including— 

10 (A) recommendations for common alerting 

11 and warning protocols, standards, terminology, 

12 and operating procedures for the public alert 

13 and warning system; 

14 (B) recommendations to provide for a pub15 lic alert and warning system that— 

16 (i) has the capability to adapt the dis17 tribution and content of communications 

18 on the basis of geographic location, risks, 

19 or personal user preferences, as appro20 priate; 

21 (ii) has the capability to alert and 

22 warn individuals with disabilities and indi23 viduals with limited English proficiency; 

24 (iii) incorporates multiple communica25 tions technologies; 


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1 (iv) is designed to adapt to, and incor2 porate, future technologies for commu3 nicating directly with the public; 

4 (v) is designed to provide alerts to the 

5 largest portion of the affected population 

6 feasible, including nonresident visitors and 

7 tourists, and improve the ability of remote 

8 areas to receive alerts; 

9 (vi) promotes local and regional public 

10 and private partnerships to enhance com11 munity preparedness and response; and 

12 (vii) provides redundant alert mecha13 nisms where practicable so as to reach the 

14 greatest number of people regardless of 

15 whether they have access to, or utilize, any 

16 specific medium of communication or any 

17 particular device. 

18 (7) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 

20 Committee shall submit to the Administrator, the 

21 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

22 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

23 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

24 Senate a report containing the recommendations of 

25 the Advisory Committee. 


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1 (8) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

2 Neither the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

3 U.S.C. App.) nor any rule, order, or regulation pro4 mulgated under that Act shall apply to the Advisory 

5 Committee. 

6 (9) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee 

7 shall terminate not later than 60 days following the 

8 submission of its final report. 

9 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 202(c) of the 

10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist11 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5132(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec12 tion 611(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 611(d)’’. 

13 (d) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

14 Nothing in this section (including the amendments made 

15 by this section) shall be construed to affect the authority 

16 of the Department of Commerce or the Federal Commu17 nications Commission. 

18 SEC. 103. HEALTH BENEFITS FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOY19 EES. 

20 Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) HEALTH BENEFITS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provi25 sion of title 5, United States Code, or related regulaVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:19 Jul 30, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377

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1 tions limiting or prohibiting the provision of health 

2 benefits for temporary or intermittent employees, 

3 personnel appointed under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

4 eligible to enroll in the Federal Employees Health 

5 Benefits plan or any successor health benefits plan 

6 approved and administered by the Office of Per7 sonnel Management under terms and conditions set 

8 by the agency appointing the temporary personnel. 

9 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one 

10 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

11 and annually thereafter, the President shall submit 

12 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc13 ture of the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af15 fairs of the Senate a report on the implementation 

16 of this subsection.’’. 

17 SEC. 104. DISPOSAL OF EXCESS PROPERTY TO ASSIST 

18 OTHER DISASTER VICTIMS. 

19 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

20 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) 

21 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 327. DISPOSAL OF EXCESS MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, 

23 AND EQUIPMENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro25 vision of law, if the President determines that materials, 


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1 supplies, or equipment acquired by the President pursuant 

2 to title IV or V for response or recovery efforts in connec3 tion with a major disaster or emergency are in excess of 

4 the amount needed for those efforts, the President may 

5 transfer the excess materials, supplies, or equipment, by 

6 sale, at a price that is fair and equitable, directly to a 

7 State, local government, or relief or disaster assistance or8 ganization for the purpose of— 

9 ‘‘(1) assisting disaster victims in other major 

10 disasters and emergencies; and 

11 ‘‘(2) assisting victims in incidents caused by a 

12 hazard that do not result in a declaration of a major 

13 disaster or emergency if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Governor of the affected State 

15 certifies that— 

16 ‘‘(i) there is an urgent need for the 

17 materials, supplies, or equipment; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the State is unable to provide the 

19 materials, supplies, or equipment in a 

20 timely manner; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the President determines that the 

22 materials, supplies, or equipment are not read23 ily available from commercial sources, except 

24 that this subparagraph shall not apply in the 

25 case of a transfer of perishable supplies. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, any proceeds received under sub3 section (a) shall be deposited in the appropriate Disaster 

4 Relief Fund account. 

5 ‘‘(c) HAZARD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

6 ‘hazard’ has the meaning given that term by section 

7 602.’’. 

8 SEC. 105. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RE9 SPONSE SYSTEM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford 

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

12 5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 328. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RE15 SPONSE SYSTEM. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

17 definitions apply: 

18 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis19 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

20 Emergency Management Agency. 

21 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means the 

22 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

23 ‘‘(3) HAZARD.—The term ‘hazard’ has the 

24 meaning given that term by section 602. 


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1 ‘‘(4) NON-EMPLOYEE SYSTEM MEMBER.—The 

2 term ‘non-employee System member’ means a Sys3 tem member not employed by a sponsoring agency 

4 or participating agency. 

5 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘par6 ticipating agency’ means a State or local govern7 ment, nonprofit organization, or private organization 

8 that has executed an agreement with a sponsoring 

9 agency to participate in the System. 

10 ‘‘(6) SPONSORING AGENCY.—The term ‘spon11 soring agency’ means a State or local government 

12 that is the sponsor of a task force designated by the 

13 Administrator to participate in the System. 

14 ‘‘(7) SYSTEM.—The term ‘System’ means the 

15 National Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys16 tem to be administered under this section. 

17 ‘‘(8) SYSTEM MEMBER.—The term ‘System 

18 member’ means an individual who is not a full-time 

19 employee of the Federal Government, who serves on 

20 a task force or on a System management or other 

21 technical team. 

22 ‘‘(9) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘task force’ 

23 means an urban search and rescue team designated 

24 by the Administrator to participate in the System. 


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1 ‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the require2 ments of this section, the Administrator shall continue to 

3 administer the emergency response system known as the 

4 ‘National Urban Search and Rescue Response System’. 

5 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—In administering the System, the 

6 Administrator shall provide for a national network of 

7 standardized search and rescue resources to assist States 

8 and local governments in responding to hazards. 

9 ‘‘(d) TASK FORCES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

11 designate task forces to participate in the System. 

12 The Administrator shall determine the criteria for 

13 such participation. 

14 ‘‘(2) SPONSORING AGENCIES.—Each task force 

15 shall have a sponsoring agency. The Administrator 

16 shall enter into an agreement with the sponsoring 

17 agency of each task force with respect to the partici18 pation of the task force in the System. 

19 ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—A task 

21 force may include, at the discretion of the spon22 soring agency of the task force, one or more 

23 participating agencies. The sponsoring agency 

24 of a task force shall enter into an agreement 

25 with each participating agency of the task force 


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1 with respect to the participation of the partici2 pating agency on the task force. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—A task force 

4 may also include, at the discretion of the spon5 soring agency of the task force, other individ6 uals not otherwise associated with the spon7 soring agency or a participating agency of the 

8 task force. The sponsoring agency of a task 

9 force may enter into a separate agreement with 

10 each such individual with respect to the partici11 pation of the individual on the task force. 

12 ‘‘(e) MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL TEAMS.—The 

13 Administrator shall maintain such management teams and 

14 other technical teams as the Administrator determines are 

15 necessary to administer the System. 

16 ‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT OF SYSTEM MEMBERS INTO

17 FEDERAL SERVICE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may ap19 point a System member into Federal service for a 

20 period of service to provide for the participation of 

21 the System member in exercises, preincident staging, 

22 major disaster and emergency response activities, 

23 and training events sponsored or sanctioned by the 

24 Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL

2 SERVICE LAWS.—The Administrator may make ap3 pointments under paragraph (1) without regard to 

4 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov5 erning appointments in the competitive service. 

6 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORI7 TIES.—The authority of the Administrator to make 

8 appointments under this subsection shall not affect 

9 any other authority of the Administrator under this 

10 Act. 

11 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—A System member who is 

12 appointed into Federal service under paragraph (1) 

13 shall not be deemed an employee of the United 

14 States for purposes other than those specifically set 

15 forth in this section. 

16 ‘‘(g) COMPENSATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PAY OF SYSTEM MEMBERS.—Subject to 

18 such terms and conditions as the Administrator may 

19 impose by regulation, the Administrator shall make 

20 payments to the sponsoring agency of a task force— 

21 ‘‘(A) to reimburse each employer of a Sys22 tem member on the task force for compensation 

23 paid by the employer to the System member for 

24 any period during which the System member is 


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1 appointed into Federal service under subsection 

2 (f)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) to make payments directly to a non4 employee System member on the task force for 

5 any period during which the non-employee Sys6 tem member is appointed into Federal service 

7 under subsection (f)(1). 

8 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES FILL9 ING POSITIONS OF SYSTEM MEMBERS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such terms 

11 and conditions as the Administrator may im12 pose by regulation, the Administrator shall 

13 make payments to the sponsoring agency of a 

14 task force to reimburse each employer of a Sys15 tem member on the task force for compensation 

16 paid by the employer to an employee filling a 

17 position normally filled by the System member 

18 for any period during which the System mem19 ber is appointed into Federal service under sub20 section (f)(1). 

21 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Costs incurred by an 

22 employer shall be eligible for reimbursement 

23 under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that 

24 the costs are in excess of the costs that would 

25 have been incurred by the employer had the 


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1 System member not been appointed into Fed2 eral service under subsection (f)(1). 

3 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—A System mem4 ber shall not be entitled to pay directly from the 

5 Agency for a period during which the System mem6 ber is appointed into Federal service under sub7 section (f)(1). 

8 ‘‘(h) PERSONAL INJURY, ILLNESS, DISABILITY, OR

9 DEATH.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A System member who is 

11 appointed into Federal service under subsection 

12 (f)(1) and who suffers personal injury, illness, dis13 ability, or death as a result of a personal injury sus14 tained while acting in the scope of such appointment 

15 shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 

16 of title 5, United States Code, be treated as though 

17 the member were an employee (as defined by section 

18 8101 of that title) who had sustained the injury in 

19 the performance of duty. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELECTION OF BENEFITS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a System member 

22 (or, in the case of the death of the System 

23 member, the System member’s dependent) is 

24 entitled— 


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1 ‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) to receive 

2 benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81 

3 of title 5, United States Code, by reason of 

4 personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to receive benefits from a State 

7 or local government by reason of the same 

8 personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 

9 the System member or dependent shall elect to 

10 receive either the benefits referred to in clause 

11 (i) or (ii). 

12 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—A System member or 

13 dependent shall make an election of benefits 

14 under subparagraph (A) not later than one year 

15 after the date of the personal injury, illness, 

16 disability, or death that is the reason for the 

17 benefits or until such later date as the Sec18 retary of Labor may allow for reasonable cause 

19 shown. 

20 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF ELECTION.—An election 

21 of benefits made under this paragraph is irrev22 ocable unless otherwise provided by law. 

23 ‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE OR LOCAL

24 BENEFITS.—Subject to such terms and conditions as 

25 the Administrator may impose by regulation, in the 


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1 event that a System member or dependent elects 

2 benefits from a State or local government under 

3 paragraph (2)(A), the Administrator shall reimburse 

4 the State or local government for the value of those 

5 benefits. 

6 ‘‘(i) LIABILITY.—A System member appointed into 

7 Federal service under subsection (f)(1), while acting with8 in the scope of the appointment, is deemed an employee 

9 of the Government under section 1346(b) of title 28, 

10 United States Code, and chapter 171 of that title, relating 

11 to tort claims procedure. 

12 ‘‘(j) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.— 

13 With respect to a System member who is not a regular 

14 full-time employee of a sponsoring agency or participating 

15 agency, the following terms and conditions apply: 

16 ‘‘(1) Service as a System member shall be 

17 deemed ‘service in the uniformed services’ for pur18 poses of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 

19 relating to employment and reemployment rights of 

20 individuals who have performed service in the uni21 formed services (regardless of whether the individual 

22 receives compensation for such participation). All 

23 rights and obligations of such persons and proce24 dures for assistance, enforcement, and investigation 

25 shall be as provided for in such chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Preclusion of giving notice of service by 

2 necessity of appointment under this section shall be 

3 deemed preclusion by ‘military necessity’ for pur4 poses of section 4312(b) of title 38, United States 

5 Code, pertaining to giving notice of absence from a 

6 position of employment. A determination of such ne7 cessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall 

8 not be subject to judicial review. 

9 ‘‘(k) LICENSES AND PERMITS.—If a System member 

10 holds a valid license, certificate, or other permit issued by 

11 any State or other governmental jurisdiction evidencing 

12 the member’s qualifications in any professional, mechan13 ical, or other skill or type of assistance required by the 

14 System, the System member shall be deemed to be per15 forming a Federal activity when rendering aid involving 

16 such skill or assistance during a period of appointment 

17 into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). 

18 ‘‘(l) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es20 tablish and maintain an advisory committee to pro21 vide expert recommendations to the Administrator in 

22 order to assist the Administrator in administering 

23 the System. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee 

2 shall be composed of members from geographically 

3 diverse areas, and shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) the chief officer or senior executive 

5 from at least 3 sponsoring agencies; 

6 ‘‘(B) the senior emergency manager from 

7 at least 2 States that include sponsoring agen8 cies; and 

9 ‘‘(C) at least one representative rec10 ommended by the leaders of the task forces. 

11 ‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY OF TERMINATION RE12 QUIREMENT.—Section 14(a)(2) of the Federal Advi13 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

14 to the advisory committee under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(m) PREPAREDNESS COOPERATIVE AGREE16 MENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

18 of appropriations for such purpose, the Adminis19 trator shall enter into an annual preparedness coop20 erative agreement with each sponsoring agency. 

21 Amounts made available to a sponsoring agency 

22 under such a preparedness cooperative agreement 

23 shall be for the following purposes: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Training and exercises, including 

2 training and exercises with other Federal, 

3 State, and local government response entities. 

4 ‘‘(B) Acquisition and maintenance of 

5 equipment, including interoperable communica6 tions and personal protective equipment. 

7 ‘‘(C) Medical monitoring required for re8 sponder safety and health in anticipation of and 

9 following a major disaster, emergency, or other 

10 hazard, as determined by the Administrator. 

11 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Not12 withstanding section 1552(b) of title 31, United 

13 States Code, amounts made available for cooperative 

14 agreements under this subsection that are not ex15 pended shall be deposited in an Agency account and 

16 shall remain available for such agreements without 

17 fiscal year limitation. 

18 ‘‘(n) RESPONSE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

19 Administrator shall enter into a response cooperative 

20 agreement with each sponsoring agency, as appropriate, 

21 under which the Administrator agrees to reimburse the 

22 sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring 

23 agency in responding to a major disaster or emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(o) OBLIGATIONS.—The Administrator may incur 

2 all necessary obligations consistent with this section in 

3 order to ensure the effectiveness of the System. 

4 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

6 appropriated to carry out this section $52,000,000 

7 for each of fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012. Such 

8 sums shall be in addition to amounts made available 

9 from the Disaster Relief Fund for response coopera10 tive agreements entered into under subsection (n). 

11 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Ad12 ministrator may use not to exceed 6 percent of the 

13 funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to 

14 paragraph (1) for salaries, expenses, and other ad15 ministrative costs incurred by the Administrator in 

16 carrying out this section.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 5, UNITED

19 STATES CODE.—Section 8101(1) of title 5, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

22 at the end; 

23 (B) by moving subparagraph (F) to appear 

24 after subparagraph (E); 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (F) by adding ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; and 

3 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(G) an individual who is a System mem6 ber of the National Urban Search and Rescue 

7 Response System during a period of appoint8 ment into Federal service pursuant to section 

9 328 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

10 and Emergency Assistance Act;’’. 

11 (2) INCLUSION AS PART OF UNIFORMED SERV12 ICES FOR PURPOSES OF USERRA.—Section 4303 of 

13 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (A) in paragraph (13) by inserting ‘‘, a pe15 riod for which a System member of the Na16 tional Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys17 tem is absent from a position of employment 

18 due to an appointment into Federal service 

19 under section 328 of the Robert T. Stafford 

20 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ 

21 before ‘‘, and a period’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (16) by inserting after 

23 ‘‘Public Health Service,’’ the following: ‘‘System 

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1 pointment into Federal service under section 

2 328 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act,’’. 

4 SEC. 106. DISASTER RELIEF FUND. 

5 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) 

7 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 329. DISASTER RELIEF FUND. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Treasury a fund 

10 known as the Disaster Relief Fund. 

11 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS AND CREDITS.—The Fund shall con12 sist of amounts appropriated and credited to the Fund 

13 pursuant to this Act. 

14 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUND.—Amounts in the 

15 Fund shall be available to the President, as provided in 

16 advance in appropriations Acts— 

17 ‘‘(1) to provide assistance in response to a 

18 major disaster or emergency pursuant to titles IV 

19 and V; and 

20 ‘‘(2) for programs and activities of the Federal 

21 Emergency Management Agency that support the 

22 provision of such assistance, including programs and 

23 activities that are not readily attributable to a single 

24 major disaster or emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SUPPORT PROGRAMS.—The programs and ac2 tivities referred to in subsection (c)(2) include the pro3 grams and activities authorized by sections 302, 303, and 

4 306(b). 

5 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Amounts made available from the 

6 Fund for programs and activities referred to in subsection 

7 (c)(2) may not exceed $300,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—On or before the date on 

9 which the President submits the budget of the United 

10 States to the Congress under section 1105 of title 31, 

11 United States Code, the President shall submit each year 

12 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen15 ate a report on the uses of the Fund in the previous fiscal 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 

19 as may be necessary. 

20 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts in the 

21 Fund shall remain available until expended.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—MAJOR DISASTER AND 

2 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE 

3 PROGRAMS 

4 SEC. 201. ADDITIONAL MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Robert T. 

6 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, at the time of a declara11 tion of a major disaster, the affected State has in 

12 effect and is actively enforcing throughout the State 

13 an approved State building code, the President may 

14 increase the maximum total of contributions under 

15 this section for the major disaster, as specified in 

16 subsection (a) and section 322(e), by an amount 

17 equal to 4 percent of the estimated aggregate 

18 amount of grants to be made (less any associated 

19 administrative costs) under this Act with respect to 

20 the major disaster. 

21 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—To be eligible for an in22 creased Federal share under paragraph (1), a State 

23 shall submit its State building code to the President 

24 for approval. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—The President shall approve 

2 a State building code submitted under paragraph (2) 

3 if the President determines that the building code— 

4 ‘‘(A) is consistent with the most recent 

5 version of a nationally recognized model build6 ing code; 

7 ‘‘(B) has been adopted by the State within 

8 6 years of the most recent version of the na9 tionally recognized model building code; and 

10 ‘‘(C) uses the nationally recognized model 

11 building code as a minimum standard. 

12 ‘‘(4) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The President shall 

13 set appropriate standards, by regulation, for the 

14 periodic update, resubmission, and reapproval of a 

15 State building code approved by the President in ac16 cordance with paragraph (3) that are consistent with 

17 similar requirements related to mitigation planning 

18 under section 322. 

19 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol20 lowing definitions apply: 

21 ‘‘(A) ACTIVELY ENFORCING.—The term 

22 ‘actively enforcing’ means effective jurisdic23 tional execution of all phases of a State building 

24 code in the process of examination and approval 

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1 nical data and the inspection of new construc2 tion or renovation. 

3 ‘‘(B) NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED MODEL

4 BUILDING CODE.—The term ‘nationally recog5 nized model building code’ means a building 

6 code for residential and commercial construc7 tion and construction materials that— 

8 ‘‘(i) has been developed and published 

9 by a code organization in an open con10 sensus type forum with input from na11 tional experts; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) is based on national structural 

13 design standards that establish minimum 

14 acceptable criteria for the design, construc15 tion, and maintenance of residential and 

16 commercial buildings for the purpose of 

17 protecting the health, safety, and general 

18 welfare of the building’s users against nat19 ural disasters. 

20 ‘‘(C) STATE BUILDING CODE.—The term 

21 ‘State building code’ means requirements and 

22 associated standards for residential and com23 mercial construction and construction materials 

24 that are implemented on a statewide basis by 

25 ordinance, resolution, law, housing or building 


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1 code, or zoning ordinance. At a minimum, such 

2 requirements and associated standards shall 

3 apply— 

4 ‘‘(i) to construction-related activities 

5 of residential building contractors applica6 ble to single-family and 2-family residential 

7 structures; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) to construction-related activities 

9 of engineers, architects, designers, and 

10 commercial building contractors applicable 

11 to the structural safety, design, and con12 struction of commercial, industrial, and 

13 multifamily structures. 

14 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

16 President, acting through the Administrator of the 

17 Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall issue 

18 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

19 this subsection.’’. 

20 (b) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE AWARDS.—Section 

21 203(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(g)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

23 (9); 

24 (2) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para25 graph (11); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(10) the extent to which the State or local 

4 government is carrying out activities to implement a 

5 State building code approved under section 404(d); 

6 and’’. 

7 SEC. 202. TEMPORARY MORTGAGE AND RENTAL PAY8 MENTS. 

9 Section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re10 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(c)) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) TEMPORARY MORTGAGE AND RENTAL PAY13 MENTS.—The President may provide assistance on a 

14 temporary basis in the form of mortgage or rental 

15 payments to or on behalf of individuals and families 

16 who, as a result of financial hardship caused by a 

17 major disaster, are at imminent risk of dispossession 

18 or eviction from a residence by reason of foreclosure 

19 of any mortgage or lien, cancellation of any contract 

20 for sale, or termination of any lease, entered into 

21 prior to such disaster. Such assistance shall be pro22 vided for the duration of the period of financial 

23 hardship, but not to exceed 18 months of assistance 

24 or the maximum amount of assistance that is au25 thorized to be provided pursuant to subsection (h).’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. CLARIFICATION OF GRANT AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) SECTION 418.—Section 418 of the Robert T. 

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5185) is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

6 ‘‘The President’’; 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘to provide assistance, includ8 ing grants, equipment, supplies, and personnel, in 

9 order’’ before ‘‘to establish’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of assist12 ance under this section shall be not less than 75 percent 

13 of the eligible cost of such assistance.’’. 

14 (b) SECTION 419.—Section 419 of the Robert T. 

15 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5186) is amended— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

18 ‘‘The President’’; 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘to provide assistance, includ20 ing grants, equipment, supplies, and personnel, in 

21 order’’ before ‘‘to provide’’ the first place it appears; 

22 and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of assist25 ance under this section shall be not less than 75 percent 

26 of the eligible cost of such assistance.’’. 


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1 (c) SECTION 309.—Section 309(b) of the Robert T. 

2 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is 

3 amended by adding ‘‘, including grant agreements,’’ after 

4 ‘‘agreements’’. 

5 SEC. 204. HOUSEHOLD PETS AND SERVICE ANIMALS. 

6 (a) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Section 502(a) of 

7 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist8 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5192(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

10 (7); 

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(9) provide assistance for rescue, care, shelter, 

15 and essential needs— 

16 ‘‘(A) to individuals with household pets 

17 and service animals; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to such pets and animals.’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 403(a)(3) of 

20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)(3)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘medical 

22 equipment,,’’ and inserting ‘‘medical equipment,’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) by striking the second subparagraph (J), as 

25 added by section 4 of Public Law 109–308. 


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1 SEC. 205. STORAGE, SALE, TRANSFER, AND DISPOSAL OF 

2 HOUSING UNITS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi4 nitions apply: 

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

7 (2) EMERGENCY; MAJOR DISASTER.—The terms 

8 ‘‘emergency’’ and ‘‘major disaster’’ have the mean9 ings given such terms in section 102 of the Stafford 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

11 (3) FEMA.—The term ‘‘FEMA’’ means the 

12 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

13 (4) HAZARD.—The term ‘‘hazard’’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 602 of the Staf15 ford Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a). 

16 (5) SUITABLE CONDITION.—The term ‘‘suitable 

17 condition’’ means, with respect to a temporary hous18 ing unit, a unit that satisfies, as determined by the 

19 Administrator, the criteria of disposal condition code 

20 1, 4, or 7 under section 102–36.240 of title 41, 

21 Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date 

22 of enactment of this Act. 

23 (6) STAFFORD ACT.—The term ‘‘Stafford Act’’ 

24 means the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

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


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1 (b) NEEDS ASSESSMENT; ESTABLISHMENT OF CRI2 TERIA.—Not later than 3 months after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall— 

4 (1) complete an assessment to determine the 

5 number of temporary housing units that FEMA 

6 needs to maintain in stock to respond appropriately 

7 to emergencies or major disasters occurring after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act; and 

9 (2) establish criteria for determining whether 

10 the individual temporary housing units stored by 

11 FEMA are in suitable condition. 

12 (c) PLAN.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis15 trator shall establish a plan for— 

16 (A) storing the number of temporary hous17 ing units that the Administrator has deter18 mined under subsection (b)(1) that FEMA 

19 needs to maintain in stock; 

20 (B) selling, transferring, donating, or oth21 erwise disposing of the temporary housing units 

22 in the inventory of FEMA, as of the date of en23 actment of this Act, that— 

24 (i) are in excess of the number of 

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1 trator has determined under subsection 

2 (b)(1) that FEMA needs to maintain in 

3 stock; and 

4 (ii) are in suitable condition, based on 

5 the criteria established under subsection 

6 (b)(2); and 

7 (C) disposing of the temporary housing 

8 units in the inventory of FEMA that the Ad9 ministrator determines are not in suitable con10 dition, based on the criteria established under 

11 subsection (b)(2). 

12 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 9 

13 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 Administrator shall implement the plan established 

15 under paragraph (1). 

16 (d) APPLICABILITY OF DISPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any sale, transfer, donation, 

18 or disposal of a temporary housing unit under the 

19 plan established under subsection (c)(1) shall be 

20 subject to the requirements of section 408(d)(2) of 

21 the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(d)(2)) and other 

22 applicable provisions of law. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

24 (1), the Administrator may sell, transfer, donate, or 

25 otherwise make available temporary housing units in 


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1 suitable condition in the inventory of FEMA, as of 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, to States, other 

3 governmental entities, and voluntary organizations 

4 for the purpose of providing temporary housing to 

5 victims of incidents caused by hazards that do not 

6 result in a declaration of a major disaster or emer7 gency by the President, if— 

8 (A) the Governor of the affected State cer9 tifies that— 

10 (i) there is an urgent need for the 

11 temporary housing units; and 

12 (ii) the State is unable to provide the 

13 temporary housing units in a timely man14 ner; and 

15 (B) the State, other governmental entity, 

16 or voluntary organization agrees— 

17 (i) to comply with the nondiscrimina18 tion provisions of section 308 of the Staf19 ford Act (42 U.S.C. 5151); and 

20 (ii) to obtain and maintain hazard 

21 and flood insurance on the housing units. 

22 (3) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC23 TION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

24 affect section 689k of the Post-Katrina Emergency 

25 Management Reform Act of 2006 (120 Stat. 1456). 


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1 For purposes of that section, a disposal of a tem2 porary housing unit under subsection (d)(2) shall be 

3 treated as a disposal to house individuals or house4 holds under section 408 of the Stafford Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 5174). 

6 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

8 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen11 ate a report on the status of the distribution, sale, trans12 fer, donation, or other disposal of the unused temporary 

13 housing units purchased by FEMA. 

14 TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS 

15 SEC. 301. COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS. 

16 Subtitle A of title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Dis17 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 5196 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 617. COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS. 

21 ‘‘(a) CITIZEN CORPS.—The Administrator shall con22 tinue to administer the citizen preparedness program 

23 known as the ‘Citizen Corps’. 

24 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the program, the 

25 Administrator may— 


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1 ‘‘(1) collaborate with community leaders to co2 ordinate and leverage efforts to strengthen commu3 nity involvement in preparedness, planning, mitiga4 tion, response, and recovery for hazards; 

5 ‘‘(2) educate and train citizens in emergency 

6 preparedness and mitigation; and 

7 ‘‘(3) train citizens in basic response skills, in8 cluding fire safety, light search and rescue, and 

9 medical operations in preparation for hazards. 

10 ‘‘(c) COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

11 PROGRAM.—In carrying out the program, the Adminis12 trator shall continue to administer the Community Emer13 gency Response Team Program. 

14 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

17 ‘‘(2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

18 ‘‘(3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

19 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts ap20 propriated to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not 

21 to exceed $2,000,000 may be used to carry out the Com22 munity Emergency Response Team Program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COM2 PACT GRANTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title VI of the Rob4 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 5196 et seq.) is further amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 618. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COM8 PACT GRANTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make 

10 grants to provide for implementation of the Emergency 

11 Management Assistance Compact consented to by Con12 gress in the joint resolution entitled ‘Joint resolution 

13 granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency Man14 agement Assistance Compact’ (Public Law 104–321; 110 

15 Stat. 3877). 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENTS.—States and the 

17 Administrator of the Emergency Management Assistance 

18 Compact shall be eligible to receive grants under sub19 section (a). 

20 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant received under this 

21 section shall be used— 

22 ‘‘(1) to carry out recommendations identified in 

23 the Emergency Management Assistance Compact 

24 after-action reports for the 2004 and 2005 hurricane 

25 seasons; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to administer compact operations on behalf 

2 of States, as such term is defined in the compact, 

3 that have enacted the compact; 

4 ‘‘(3) to continue coordination with the Agency 

5 and appropriate Federal agencies; 

6 ‘‘(4) to continue coordination with States and 

7 local governments and their respective national orga8 nizations; and 

9 ‘‘(5) to assist State and local governments, 

10 emergency response providers, and organizations 

11 representing such providers with credentialing the 

12 providers and the typing of emergency response re13 sources. 

14 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall con15 sult with the Administrator of the Emergency Manage16 ment Assistance Compact to ensure effective coordination 

17 of efforts in responding to requests for assistance. 

18 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012. 

21 Such sums shall remain available until expended.’’. 

22 (b) REPEAL.—Section 661 of the Post-Katrina 

23 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

24 761) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 303. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT AND USE GIFTS. 

2 The first sentence of section 701(b) of the Robert T. 

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5201(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, through 

5 any means including grants,’’ before ‘‘bequests’’. 

6 SEC. 304. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE FACTORS. 

7 In order to provide more objective criteria for evalu8 ating the need for assistance to individuals and to speed 

9 a declaration of a major disaster or emergency under the 

10 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist11 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), not later than one year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in co14 operation with representatives of State and local emer15 gency management agencies, shall review, update, and re16 vise through rulemaking the factors considered under sec17 tion 206.48 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

18 measure the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster. 

19 SEC. 305. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO REFERENCES. 

20 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer21 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in section 602(a) by striking paragraph (7) 

24 and inserting the following: 


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•HR 3377 IH

1 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

3 Emergency Management Agency.’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place it appears 

5 and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’, except— 

6 (A) the second and fourth places it appears 

7 in section 622(c); and 

8 (B) in section 626(b). 

Æ 


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