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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2692

To improve the ability of the Federal Government to prepare for and respond

to major disasters, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 21, 1993

Mr. PETERSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred

jointly to the Committees on Public Works and Transportation and

Armed Services

A BILL

To improve the ability of the Federal Government to prepare

for and respond to 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Federal Emergency Response Improvement Act of

6 1993’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Declaration of purpose.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress.

Sec. 5. Presidential and State response plans.

Sec. 6. Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit.
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Sec. 7. Damage and needs assessment.

Sec. 8. Catastrophic disasters.

Sec. 9. Reorganization of FEMA.

1 SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE.

2 The purposes of this Act are—

3 (1) to improve Government preparedness for

4 and response to disasters;

5 (2) to shift the emphasis of the Federal Emer6 gency Management Agency (hereinafter in this Act

7 referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) from nuclear attack-related

8 activities to an all hazards approach; and

9 (3) to ensure that FEMA adopts a risk-based

10 strategy to improve preparedness for all hazards.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 Section 102 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re13 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is

14 amended—

15 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the

16 following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(2) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘major dis18 aster’ means any event that the President deter19 mines causes damage of sufficient severity and mag20 nitude to warrant major disaster assistance under

21 this Act to supplement the efforts and available re22 sources of State and local governments and disaster

23 relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss,
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1 and hardship caused by the event. Such events may

2 result from all hazards.’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraphs:

5 ‘‘(10) CATASTROPHIC DISASTER.—The term

6 ‘catastrophic disaster’ means a major disaster that

7 immediately overwhelms the ability of State, local,

8 and volunteer agencies to adequately provide victims

9 of the disaster with services necessary to sustain life.

10 ‘‘(11) ALL HAZARDS.—The term ‘all hazards’

11 as used with respect to a disaster means that the

12 disaster results from any natural, accidental, or

13 man-caused event, including any civil disturbance,

14 act of terrorism, or attack-related disaster.

15 ‘‘(12) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means

16 the Director of the Federal Emergency Management

17 Agency.’’.

18 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

19 It is the sense of Congress that—

20 (1) the Federal Government should give imme21 diate attention to developing a broad risk-based

22 strategy for improving Federal readiness and re23 sponse to major disasters;

24 (2) the all hazards approach is the best way to

25 prepare the United States for all threats;
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1 (3) the American Red Cross and other volun2 teer organizations have made, and will continue to

3 make, valuable contributions in responding to disas4 ters nationwide by providing channels for the gener5 ous sharing of time and resources with those in

6 need; and

7 (4) the initial response to emergencies and dis8 asters is made by State and local agencies, whose

9 capabilities must therefore be strengthened and

10 maintained.

11 SEC. 5. PRESIDENTIAL AND STATE RESPONSE PLANS.

12 Section 201 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re13 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 sections:

16 ‘‘(e) DISASTER RESOURCE INVENTORY.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

18 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the

19 President or his designee shall conduct and complete

20 an inventory of critical resources related to emer21 gency assistance that are available to the Federal

22 Government, including medical assets and foreign

23 language communication capability, through public

24 or private entities, for use or deployment, or both,

25 in disaster relief or search and rescue operations fol-
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1 lowing a major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or

2 emergency. Each item in the inventory shall include

3 the information necessary for prompt access to the

4 resource with permission of the Federal agency head

5 in the case of government property and with permis6 sion of the owner in case of private property.

7 ‘‘(2) ORGANIZATION.—The inventory shall be

8 organized to facilitate the dispatch of resources on

9 a regional basis. Nothing in this paragraph shall be

10 construed to preclude the dispatch of specialized

11 equipment or scarce resources from outside the geo12 graphic proximity of the disaster or emergency.

13 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—The President shall en14 sure that the inventory is made available to the Gov15 ernor of each State.

16 ‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE.—The President shall en17 sure that information in the inventory is current and

18 accurate.

19 ‘‘(5) STATE PARTICIPATION.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90

21 days after the date of completion of the inven22 tory, the Director shall request each Governor

23 of a State to identify the State coordinating of24 ficer and other public safety officials who are

25 responsible for coordinating or overseeing State
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1 and local response to disasters and emergencies

2 in the State.

3 ‘‘(B) ACCESS.—A public safety official des4 ignated by a Governor pursuant to a request

5 under subparagraph (A) shall have direct and

6 immediate access to the information contained

7 in the inventory to expedite State and local re8 sponses to disasters and emergencies not de9 clared by the President.

10 ‘‘(6) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap11 propriated $15,000,000 to carry out this subsection.

12 ‘‘(f) CERTIFIED STATES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days

14 after the date of the enactment of the Federal

15 Emergency Response Improvement Act of 1993, the

16 Director shall establish a certification program for

17 the purpose of encouraging States to prepare for, re18 spond to, and recover from major disasters, cata19 strophic disasters, and emergencies, including eval20 uations of hazards in the State. Applications for cer21 tification shall be reviewed by the Director. The Di22 rector shall grant certification under this subsection

23 only upon compliance by the applicant State with

24 the performance standards established under para25 graph (3).
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1 ‘‘(2) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE.—States

2 which receive certification under this subsection shall

3 be eligible for an increased Federal share under sec4 tion 425 of this Act.

5 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—

6 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1

7 year after the date of the enactment of this

8 subsection, the Director shall establish perform9 ance standards to determine eligibility for cer10 tification under this subsection.

11 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The performance stand12 ards shall ensure that the State is prepared for,

13 and has the capability to respond to, and re14 cover from, major disasters, catastrophic disas15 ters, and emergencies, shall be based on the rel16 ative severity of risk to public health, safety,

17 and property in the State, and shall include

18 provisions for—

19 ‘‘(i) conducting the State’s inventory

20 of resources that are available for use or

21 deployment, or both, in disaster relief or

22 search and rescue operations following a

23 major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or

24 emergency, including with respect to each
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1 item in the inventory the information nec2 essary for prompt access to the resource;

3 ‘‘(ii) establishing emergency oper4 ations plans for the State; and

5 ‘‘(iii) ensuring interoperability be6 tween Federal, State, and local emergency

7 operations plans.

8 ‘‘(C) REVIEW.—The Director shall conduct

9 an annual review of the inventory and emer10 gency operations plans for each State certified

11 under this subsection to ensure that such inven12 tory and plans meet the criteria described in

13 subparagraph (B) and to ensure that the State

14 is otherwise prepared for, and has the capability

15 to respond to, and recover from, major disas16 ters, catastrophic disasters, and emergencies.

17 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—The Director shall

18 notify a State that does not meet the perform19 ance standards for certification under this sub20 section within 60 days after the date on which

21 the review for such certification is conducted by

22 the Director. The notice shall include the Direc23 tor’s recommendations of the steps that must

24 be taken for the State to meet such standards.
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1 ‘‘(E) REAPPLICATION.—Once a State has

2 submitted a new application after receiving no3 tification under subparagraph (D), the Director

4 shall review the reapplication and advise the

5 State of its findings within 180 days of the date

6 of such submission.

7 ‘‘(g) VOLUNTEERS.—Not later than 180 days after

8 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the President

9 shall—

10 ‘‘(1) establish a system that is coordinated with

11 systems of private relief agencies to manage and uti12 lize disaster volunteers to carry out priority disaster

13 response services; and

14 ‘‘(2) report to Congress on the system.

15 ‘‘(h) DONATED GOODS.—Not later than 180 days

16 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the

17 President shall—

18 ‘‘(1) establish a system for the management of

19 goods donated to the Federal Government for disas20 ter victims; and

21 ‘‘(2) report to Congress on the system.’’.

22 SEC. 6. DOMESTIC CRISIS MONITORING UNIT.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
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1 establish a unit within the National Security Council to

2 be known as the ‘‘Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit’’.

3 (b) HEAD.—The Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit

4 shall be headed by a member of the National Security

5 Council designated by the President.

6 (c) OTHER PARTICIPANTS.—The Domestic Crisis

7 Monitoring Unit shall consist of Federal Government de8 partment and agency heads designated by the President

9 or the designee of any such department or agency head.

10 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Domestic Crisis Mon11 itoring Unit shall—

12 (1) monitor potential and pending disasters and

13 emergencies;

14 (2) notify the President and Federal agencies of

15 imminent disasters and emergencies when it deems

16 necessary; and

17 (3) ensure effective, rapid, and immediate Fed18 eral agency response to a major disaster, cata19 strophic disaster, or emergency by coordinating the

20 activities of Federal entities with FEMA and the

21 Governors of States affected by a major disaster,

22 catastrophic disaster, or emergency or in which a

23 major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or emergency

24 is likely to be declared. Those activities will include

25 consulting with participating agencies to determine
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1 disaster response priorities and directing participat2 ing agencies to carry out assignments as needed.

3 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Domestic Crisis Mon4 itoring Unit shall have a staff to be supervised by the head

5 of the Unit. All executive departments and agencies shall

6 cooperate with the Unit and shall provide such assistance,

7 information, and advice to the Unit as the Unit may re8 quest but only to the extent permitted by law.

9 SEC. 7. DAMAGE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

10 Title III of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

11 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141–5164) is

12 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 322. DISASTER STRIKE TEAMS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after

15 the date of the enactment of this section, the Director

16 shall establish disaster strike teams to be deployed at the

17 discretion of the Director to an area where a major disas18 ter, catastrophic disaster, or emergency is likely to be de19 clared. The Director or any other official of the Federal

20 Emergency Management Agency designated by the Direc21 tor shall lead each strike team. The purpose of the strike

22 team shall be to assess damage and resulting needs.

23 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Director shall request ex24 perts and officials from appropriate Federal agencies, in25 cluding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
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1 Department of Defense, the Department of Health and

2 Human Services, supported by representatives of State

3 and local agencies, and private relief agencies, to serve on

4 disaster strike teams.

5 ‘‘(c) DAMAGE AND NEED ASSESSMENT.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 hours

7 after the onset of a potential or actual catastrophic

8 disaster, the Director shall deploy a disaster strike

9 team established under subsection (a) to evaluate

10 the extent of the damage and the resulting needs for

11 Federal disaster relief assistance.

12 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—As soon as possible

13 after deployment, a disaster strike team shall make

14 recommendations to the Director, the President, the

15 head of the Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit, and

16 the Governors of the affected States regarding the

17 damage and the resources needed to provide life sup18 port to the affected areas. The recommendations

19 shall classify the disaster and the anticipated level of

20 response.

21 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL

22 OFFICIALS.—The damage and needs assessments

23 shall be conducted in coordination with State and

24 local officials of the affected area.’’.
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1 SEC. 8. CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS.

2 Title IV of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170–5189b)

4 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 425. CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS.

6 ‘‘(a) DECLARATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATION BY DISASTER STRIKE

8 TEAM.—At the onset of a disaster for which a disas9 ter strike team established under section 322(a) has

10 been deployed, or immediately thereafter, the disas11 ter strike team shall make concurrent recommenda12 tions to the Director, the President, the head of the

13 Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit, and the Governors

14 of the affected States as to whether the disaster

15 should be declared a catastrophic disaster.

16 ‘‘(2) REQUEST FOR DECLARATION.—Requests

17 for a declaration by the President that a cata18 strophic disaster exists shall be made by the Gov19 ernors of the affected States. A request for a major

20 disaster declaration complying with the requirements

21 of section 401 may accompany the request for a dec22 laration of a catastrophic disaster.

23 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.—Based on a request or

24 requests under paragraph (2), the President may de25 clare that a catastrophic disaster, a major disaster,

26 or an emergency exists.
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1 ‘‘(b) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding sec3 tion 403(b), the Federal share of the eligible cost of

4 essential direct Federal assistance necessary to sus5 tain life or to protect property following a cata6 strophic disaster declaration in States certified

7 under section 201(f) shall be for the first 72 hours

8 following a Presidential declaration of catastrophic

9 disaster (and for up to an additional 96 hours, at

10 the discretion of the President) 100 percent. For

11 States that have not been so certified, the provisions

12 of section 403(b), relating to Federal share, shall be

13 applicable.

14 ‘‘(2) DISASTER RESPONSE.—Upon the declara15 tion of a catastrophic disaster, the head of the Do16 mestic Crisis Monitoring Unit, in consultation with

17 the leader of the disaster strike team designated

18 under section 322(a), shall assume an active role in

19 determining whether ancillary resources, such as the

20 resources of the Department of Defense, are re21 quired to support any disaster response activities.

22 Upon the determination that ancillary resources are

23 required, the head of the Domestic Crisis Monitoring

24 Unit shall ensure that the necessary resources of
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1 Federal agencies are made available, pursuant to

2 this and other authorities.

3 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

4 DEFENSE.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—While all departments

6 are expected to participate in providing assist7 ance, the Department of Defense has certain

8 unique capabilities inherent to emergency re9 sponse. Therefore, following the declaration of a

10 catastrophic disaster, the Secretary of Defense

11 shall, when requested by the President and with

12 the concurrence of the Governor of the affected

13 State, provide to persons adversely affected by

14 the disaster, disaster response services not oth15 erwise available from State, local, or volunteer

16 agencies, including—

17 ‘‘(i) food, water, and shelter;

18 ‘‘(ii) communications;

19 ‘‘(iii) debris removal;

20 ‘‘(iv) medical assistance; and

21 ‘‘(v) any other services necessary to

22 sustain human life or promote recovery, to

23 the limit of the Department’s ability with24 out jeopardizing national security.
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1 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of

2 Defense shall be reimbursed from the disaster

3 relief fund for the provision of disaster response

4 services described in subparagraph (A). Such

5 reimbursement may be made without prior ap6 proval of the Federal Emergency Management

7 Agency in any case in which such approval

8 would delay response.

9 ‘‘(C) DIRECTION OF ACTIVITIES.—The

10 provision of disaster response services under

11 subparagraph (A) and the administration of re12 lief by consenting State, local, and volunteer

13 agencies shall be authorized by the head of the

14 Domestic Crisis Monitoring Unit, in consulta15 tion with the Director and in coordination with

16 the Governors of the affected States or a des17 ignee of the Governors. After a declaration of a

18 catastrophic disaster, specific requests by the

19 Governors for individual disaster response serv20 ices described in subparagraph (A) shall not be

21 necessary before initiation of response.

22 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), the assistance provided in this sub25 section shall supplement and not supplant the
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1 major disaster assistance programs provided in

2 titles IV and V.

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Sections 302 and 303

4 shall not apply to catastrophic disasters for the

5 applicable period under paragraph (1).’’.

6 SEC. 9. REORGANIZATION OF FEMA.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall restructure

8 FEMA to implement an all hazards approach to disaster

9 management that includes activities and measures de10 signed or undertaken to—

11 (1) minimize the effects of natural disasters,

12 civil disturbances, or attack-related emergencies and

13 disasters;

14 (2) respond to the immediate emergency condi15 tions that are created by disasters; and

16 (3) effectuate emergency repairs to, or the

17 emergency restoration of, vital utilities and facilities

18 destroyed or damaged by a disaster, subject to reim19 bursement by private utilities.

20 (b) REDESIGNATION OF EMPLOYEE POSITIONS.—

21 Not later than December 31, 1995, the following employee

22 positions within FEMA shall be classified as career re23 served positions within the meaning of section 3132(a)(8)

24 of title 5, United States Code:
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1 (1) The positions of Regional Director of

2 FEMA.

3 (2) The position of General Counsel of FEMA.

4 (3) The position of Senior Policy Advisor to the

5 State and Local Programs and Support Directorate.

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