Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small State and Rural 
Rescue Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF SMALL STATE AND RURAL ADVO-
CATE. 
Section 326(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165d) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(2); 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) assist States in the collection and presen-
tation of material in the disaster or emergency dec-
laration request relevant to demonstrate severe local-
ized impacts within the State for a specific incident, 
including— 
‘‘(A) the per capita personal income by 
local area, as calculated by the Bureau of Eco-
nomic Analysis; 
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‘‘(B) the disaster impacted population pro-
file, as reported by the Bureau of the Census, 
including— 
‘‘(i) the percentage of the population 
for whom poverty status is determined; 
‘‘(ii) the percentage of the population 
already receiving Government assistance 
such as Supplemental Security Income and 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-
gram benefits; 
‘‘(iii) the pre-disaster unemployment 
rate; 
‘‘(iv) the percentage of the population 
that is 65 years old and older; 
‘‘(v) the percentage of the population 
18 years old and younger; 
‘‘(vi) the percentage of the population 
with a disability; 
‘‘(vii) the percentage of the population 
who speak a language other than English 
and speak English less than ‘very well’; 
and 
‘‘(viii) any unique considerations re-
garding American Indian and Alaskan Na-
tive Tribal populations raised in the 
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State’s request for a major disaster dec-
laration that may not be reflected in the 
data points referenced in this subpara-
graph; 
‘‘(C) the impact to community infrastruc-
ture, including— 
‘‘(i) disruptions to community life-sav-
ing and life-sustaining services; 
‘‘(ii) disruptions or increased demand 
for essential community services; and 
‘‘(iii) disruptions to transportation, in-
frastructure, and utilities; and 
‘‘(D) any other information relevant to 
demonstrate severe local impacts.’’. 
SEC. 3. GAO REVIEW OF A FINAL RULE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall 
conduct a review of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency’s implementation of its final rule, published on 
March 21, 2019, amending section 206.48(b) of title 44, 
Code of Federal Regulations (regarding factors considered 
when evaluating a Governor’s request for a major disaster 
declaration), which revised the factors that the Agency 
considers when evaluating a Governor’s request for a 
major disaster declaration authorizing individual assist-
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ance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq). 
(b) SCOPE.—The review required under subsection 
(a) shall include the following: 
(1) An assessment of the criteria used by the 
Agency to assess individual assistance requests fol-
lowing a major disaster declaration authorizing indi-
vidual assistance. 
(2) An assessment of the consistency with 
which the Agency uses the updated Individual As-
sistance Declaration Factors when assessing the im-
pact of individual communities after a major dis-
aster declaration. 
(3) An assessment of the impact, if any, of 
using the updated Individual Assistance Declaration 
Factors has had on equity in disaster recovery out-
comes. 
(4) Recommendations to improve the use of the 
Individual Assistance Declaration Factors to in-
crease equity in disaster recovery outcomes. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
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of the Senate a report on the review required under this 
section. 
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Union Calendar No. 272 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7211 
[Report No. 117–360] 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act, review a final 
rule of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, and for other purposes. 
JUNE 13, 2022 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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