IB 
Union Calendar No. 663 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9750 
[Report No. 118–811] 
To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and Indian 
Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 
Mr. ROUZER (for himself and Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
DECEMBER 5, 2024 
Additional sponsors: Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N and Mr. EDWARDS 
DECEMBER 5, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 23, 2024] 
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A BILL 
To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance 
to States and Indian Tribes under a major disaster re-
covery program, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2024’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Natural Disaster Recovery Program. 
Sec. 3. Unmet needs assistance. 
Sec. 4. Further considerations for disaster declarations. 
Sec. 5. Repair and rebuilding. 
Sec. 6. FEMA Emergency Home Repair Program. 
Sec. 7. Appeals of individuals and households program benefits. 
Sec. 8. Report to Congress on major disaster declarations. 
Sec. 9. Review by Comptroller General. 
Sec. 10. GAO study on timing of closing out disaster recovery. 
SEC. 2. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end of title IV the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 431. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) 
NATURAL
DISASTER
RECOVERY
RESERVE 
FUND.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States an account to be known 
as the Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in 
this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—The Fund shall consist of— 
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‘‘(A) any amounts appropriated, and depos-
ited in the Fund, for a specific major disaster 
declared under section 401; and 
‘‘(B) amounts deposited into the Fund pur-
suant to paragraph (4). 
‘‘(3) USE
OF
FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 
shall be available, pursuant to a declaration of a 
major disaster— 
‘‘(A) to States and Indian tribal govern-
ments for unmet need related to a major disaster 
is declared under section 401; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to grantees that have been 
allocated assistance for such unmet need, for 
technical assistance and capacity building under 
subsection (c)(2) to facilitate planning and in-
crease capacity to administer assistance under 
this section. 
‘‘(4) UNUSED AMOUNTS.—If any amounts made 
available for assistance under this section to grantees 
remain unexpended on the earlier of— 
‘‘(A) the date that the grantee of such 
amounts notifies the President that the grantee 
has completed all activities; or 
‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), 
the expiration of the 6-year period beginning 
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when the President obligates such amounts to the 
grantee, the President shall transfer such unex-
pended amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury 
for deposit into the Fund, except that the Presi-
dent may permit the grantee to retain amounts 
needed to close out the grant. 
‘‘(5) EXTENSION
OF
PERIOD
FOR
USE
OF 
FUNDS.—The period under paragraph (4)(B) may be 
extended by not more than 4 years if, before the expi-
ration of such 6-year period, the President waives this 
requirement and submits a written justification for 
such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate that 
specifies the period of such extension. 
‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF UNMET NEED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To assess unmet need with 
respect to a major disaster under section, not later 
than 90 days after the declaration of such a disaster, 
the President shall coordinate with other Federal 
agencies, as determined appropriate and including 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administra-
tion, to obtain data on all recovery needs and the 
amount of such recovery needs that are unmet, in-
cluding— 
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‘‘(A) all data on damage caused by the dis-
aster; 
‘‘(B) information on how any Federal as-
sistance provided in connection with the disaster 
has been expended; 
‘‘(C) information on the effect of the disaster 
on education, transportation capabilities and de-
pendence, housing needs, health care capacity, 
and displacement of persons; and 
‘‘(D) the extent of the unmet need remain-
ing in relation to such disaster. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The President shall 
make publicly available the data described in para-
graph (1) for any major disaster for which assistance 
is provided from the Fund under this section. 
‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE 
INFORMATION.—In carrying out this subsection, the 
President and any recipient of funds under this sec-
tion shall take such actions as may be necessary to 
ensure that personally identifiable information re-
garding recipients of assistance provided under this 
section is not made publicly available by any agency 
with which information is shared pursuant to this 
subsection. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribal 
government receiving a grant under this section may 
use not more than 13 percent of the amount of grant 
funds received, or within such other percentage as 
may be established pursuant to subparagraph (B), for 
administrative costs, including costs related to audits, 
reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations. 
‘‘(2) 
DISCRETION
TO
ESTABLISH
SLIDING 
SCALE.—The President may establish a series of per-
centage limitations on the amount of grant funds re-
ceived that may be used by a grantee for administra-
tive costs, but only if— 
‘‘(A) such percentage limitations are based 
on the amount of grant funds received by a 
grantee; and 
‘‘(B) such series provides that the percent-
age that may be used is lower for grantees receiv-
ing a greater amount of grant funds and such 
percentage that may be used is higher for grant-
ees receiving a lesser amount of grant funds. 
‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; CAPACITY BUILD-
ING.—From funds made available for use under this 
section, the President may provide— 
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‘‘(A) necessary technical assistance to grant-
ees to ensure grantees are compliant with Fed-
eral law; and 
‘‘(B) capacity building assistance, including 
assistance regarding contracting and procure-
ment processes, including providing solicitation 
and contractual templates that conform to Fed-
eral requirements for use by grantees. 
‘‘(d) ALLOCATION, PROCESS, AND PROCEDURES; CO-
ORDINATION.— 
‘‘(1) ALLOCATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall al-
locate funds under this section proportionally to 
grantees based on their level of unmet need as de-
termined under subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) GRANTEE
USE
OF
FUNDS.—Each 
grantee— 
‘‘(i) shall be solely responsible for de-
termining how funds provided under this 
section are prioritized and expended; and 
‘‘(ii) shall not be required to provide 
an action or spending plan to the President 
before or after funds are allocated. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding section 
312, a loan shall not— 
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‘‘(i) be considered a duplication of ben-
efits with funds provided by a Federal agen-
cy; or 
‘‘(ii) limit or otherwise impact the 
ability of a recipient to receive any other 
Federal assistance. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR PROVISION OF FUNDS.— 
An entity awarded a grant under this section shall be 
provided an initial amount that equals 50 percent of 
total grant amount allocated under paragraph (1). To 
be eligible for the remaining 50 percent of the alloca-
tion, a grantee shall submit to the Committees on Ap-
propriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives, the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate, and the Inspector General of the 
United States a report containing— 
‘‘(A) a detailed description of how such 
amount was spent; and 
‘‘(B) a certification from an auditor of the 
State or Indian tribal government that none of 
the funds were wasted or used inappropriately. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State and Indian 
tribal government that receives funds under this sec-
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tion shall establish or adhere to existing guidelines for 
procurement processes and procedures and require 
that subgrantees— 
‘‘(A) provide for full and open competition 
and require cost or price analysis; 
‘‘(B) specify methods of procurement and 
their applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-per-
centage-of cost or percentage-of-construction-cost 
methods of procurement; 
‘‘(C) include standards of conduct governing 
employees engaged in the award or administra-
tion of contracts; and 
‘‘(D) ensure that all purchase orders and 
contracts include any clauses required by Fed-
eral statute, Executive order, or implementing 
regulation. 
‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Any funds provided under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) shall supplement and not supplant any 
other assistance provided by the President or any 
other Federal agency in response to a major disaster; 
and 
‘‘(2) may not be considered a duplication of as-
sistance. 
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‘‘(f) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Any Federal agency 
or recipient of funds received under this section that fund 
or use funds to supplement funds provided under section 
402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 may adopt, 
without review or public comment, any environmental re-
view, approval, or permit performed by a Federal agency. 
‘‘(g) BEST PRACTICES.—The President shall identify 
best practices for grantees on issues including developing 
action plans, establishing financial controls, building 
grantee technical and administrative capacity, procure-
ment, and use of grant funds as local match for other 
sources of Federal funding. Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the President shall publish 
a compilation of such identified best practices and share 
with all relevant grantees to facilitate a more efficient and 
effective disaster recovery process. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) STATE AUDITOR.—The term ‘State auditor’ 
means the individual selected by the Governor or head 
of an Indian tribal government to submit a certifi-
cation in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii). 
‘‘(2) UNMET NEED.—The term ‘unmet need’— 
‘‘(A) means any necessary expenses for ac-
tivities related to disaster relief, resiliency, long- 
term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 
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housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization 
related to a major disaster declared by the Presi-
dent under section 401; and 
‘‘(B) may include— 
‘‘(i) any unresourced item, support, or 
assistance that has been assessed and 
verified as necessary for a survivor to re-
cover from a major disaster, including food, 
clothing, shelter, first aid, emotional and 
spiritual care, household items, home re-
pair, or rebuilding; and 
‘‘(ii) cleaning and removing debris 
from rivers, creeks, streams, and ditches.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION.—No amounts made available by an 
appropriations Act that provide funding for any activity 
not authorized by law for the program established under 
section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (as added by this Act) may be 
expended. 
SEC. 3. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 432. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any major disaster, the Gov-
ernor or the Chief Executive of the Indian tribal government 
may request a grant from the President to provide assist-
ance to meet unmet needs resulting from a major disaster. 
‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF FUNDING.—The President may 
set aside from the Disaster Relief Fund, with respect 
to each major disaster, an amount equal to 10 percent 
of the estimated aggregate amount of the grants to be 
made pursuant to sections 406 and 408 of the major 
disaster in order to provide technical and financial 
assistance under this section and such amounts shall 
be deemed to be related to activities carried out pur-
suant to major disasters under this Act. 
‘‘(2) ESTIMATED
AGGREGATE
AMOUNT.—Not 
later than 180 days after each major disaster declared 
pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggregate amount 
of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) shall be deter-
mined by the President and such estimated amount 
need not be reduced, increased, or changed due to 
variations in estimates. 
‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The amount 
set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not reduce 
the amounts otherwise made available for sections 
403, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 under this Act. 
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‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—A State or Indian tribal govern-
ment may use unmet needs grants to provide assistance, 
in addition to other assistance made available under this 
Act, for the following unmet needs resulting from a major 
disaster: 
‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding 
financial assistance to families for permanent housing 
purposes, including in conjunction with eligible ex-
penditures under section 408. 
‘‘(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families 
who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 
other sources. 
‘‘(3) Other disaster-related services that alleviate 
human suffering and promote the well-being of dis-
aster victims. 
‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (including 
food and agriculture) after a disaster to implement 
post-disaster economic recovery measures, including 
planning and technical assistance for long-term eco-
nomic recovery plans, infrastructure improvements, 
business or infrastructure financing, market or indus-
try research, and other activities authorized under a 
comprehensive economic development strategy. 
‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING AND FISCAL CONTROLS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 
until all such funds are expended, each State or In-
dian tribal government receiving such funds shall 
submit to the Administrator a report that includes— 
‘‘(A) the criteria established for determining 
how the funds are spent; 
‘‘(B) the allocation of such funds; and 
‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com-
ment. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State or In-
dian tribal government that receives funds under this 
section may expend not more than 5 percent of the 
amount of such funds for the administrative costs of 
providing financial assistance to individuals and 
households in the State.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amendments 
made by this section shall apply to funds appropriated on 
or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER DEC-
LARATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In making recommendations to the 
President regarding the declaration of a major disaster or 
emergency pursuant to section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
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eral Emergency Management Agency shall issue final regu-
lations to implement the amendments made by this section. 
SEC. 7. APPEALS OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO-
GRAM BENEFITS. 
(a) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—Clauses (iii) and (iv) 
of section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief 
and 
Emergency 
Assistance 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
5174(c)(1)(B)) are amended by striking ‘‘18-month period’’ 
and inserting ‘‘24-month period’’. 
(b) APPEALS.—The Administrator shall revise section 
206.115 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to require 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide to 
any applicant who appeals a determination of eligibility 
of assistance— 
(1) any documentation used to make such deter-
mination, including any inspection documents that 
exist; 
(2) a description of— 
(A) the reasons for such determination; and 
(B) recommended steps that could be taken 
to remedy a determination of ineligibility, in-
cluding, as applicable, a list of additional docu-
mentation that the applicant may provide; and 
(3) any inspection documents that exist not later 
than 10 days after the completion of the inspection. 
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