HR 152 RDS 
(iii) only set aside a decision of the 
Agency found to be arbitrary, capricious, 
an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in 
accordance with law; and 
(iv) in the case of a finding of mate-
rial fact adverse to the claimant made on 
first appeal, only set aside or reverse such 
finding if the finding is clearly erroneous; 
(E) require an independent review panel to 
expeditiously issue a written decision for any al-
ternative dispute resolution under this section; 
and 
(F) direct that if an independent review 
panel for any alternative dispute resolution 
under this section determines that the basis 
upon which a party submits a request for alter-
native dispute resolution is frivolous, the inde-
pendent review panel shall direct the party to 
pay the reasonable costs to the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency relating to the re-
view by the independent review panel. Any 
funds received by the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency under the authority of this sec-
tion shall be deposited to the credit of the ap-
propriation or appropriations available for the 
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eligible assistance in dispute on the date on 
which the funds are received. 
(c) SUNSET.—A request for review by an independent 
review panel under this section may not be made after De-
cember 31, 2015. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the termination of authority under this section 
under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a re-
port analyzing the effectiveness of the program 
under this section. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
(A) a determination of the availability of 
data required to complete the report; 
(B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 
the program under this section, including an as-
sessment of whether the program expedited or 
delayed the disaster recovery process; 
(C) an assessment of whether the program 
increased or decreased costs to administer sec-
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tion 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; 
(D) an assessment of the procedures and 
safeguards that the independent review panels 
established to ensure objectivity and accuracy, 
and the extent to which they followed those pro-
cedures and safeguards; 
(E) a recommendation as to whether any 
aspect of the program under this section should 
be made a permanent authority; and 
(F) recommendations for any modifications 
to the authority or the administration of the 
authority under this section in order to improve 
the disaster recovery process. 
SEC. 1106. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (as amended by this division) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 429. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this section, and in consultation 
with the Council on Environmental Quality and the Advi-
sory Council on Historic Preservation, the President shall 
establish an expedited and unified interagency review 
process to ensure compliance with environmental and his-
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toric requirements under Federal law relating to disaster 
recovery projects, in order to expedite the recovery proc-
ess, consistent with applicable law. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The review process established 
under this section shall include mechanisms to expedi-
tiously address delays that may occur during the recovery 
from a major disaster and be updated, as appropriate, 
consistent with applicable law.’’. 
SEC. 1107. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES. 
Section 422 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘If the Federal estimate’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Federal esti-
mate’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(or, if the Administrator has 
established a threshold under subsection (b), the 
amount established under subsection (b))’’ after 
‘‘$35,000’’ the first place it appears; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘or, if applicable, the amount 
established under subsection (b),’’ after ‘‘$35,000 
amount’’ the second place it appears; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) THRESHOLD.— 
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HR 152 RDS 
‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the President, 
acting through the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Administrator’), shall— 
‘‘(A) complete an analysis to determine 
whether an increase in the threshold for eligi-
bility under subsection (a) is appropriate, which 
shall include consideration of cost-effectiveness, 
speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past 
performance, and accountability measures; and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report regarding the analysis con-
ducted under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—After the Administrator sub-
mits the report required under paragraph (1), the 
President shall direct the Administrator to— 
‘‘(A) immediately establish a threshold for 
eligibility under this section in an appropriate 
amount, without regard to chapter 5 of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
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