I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4090 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to modify the terms of the community disaster loan program, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 20, 2005 
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. MELANCON, and Mr. JEFFERSON) 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 Emer-
gency Assistance Act to modify the terms of the commu-
nity disaster loan program, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Whatever It Takes 
to Rebuild Act, Part II’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Major disasters, including natural disasters 
and disasters caused by terrorist acts, often result in
a decline in economic activity in areas affected by 
the disaster and a reduction in tax collections by 
State and local governments serving those areas. 
(2) A report of the Government Accountability 
Office entitled ‘‘September 11: Recent Estimates of 
Fiscal Impact of 2001 Terrorist Attack on New 
York’’, dated March 2005, confirmed prior estimates 
that— 
(A) 
New 
York 
City 
lost 
between 
$2,500,000,000 and $2,900,000,000 in tax rev-
enues for fiscal years 2002 and 2003; and 
(B) 
the 
State 
of 
New 
York 
lost 
$2,900,000,000 for fiscal years 2002 and 2003. 
(3) The impact of Hurricane Katrina on State 
and local tax revenues is not yet known, but the im-
pact is believed to be extensive. 
(4) Under the community disaster loan program 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘CDL program’’), 
as authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the President 
may make loans to a local government suffering a 
substantial loss of tax and other revenues as a result 
of a major disaster, if the local government dem-
onstrates a need for financial assistance in order to 
preform its governmental function.
(5) The President may cancel the repayment of 
all or any part of a loan made to a local government 
under the CDL program if revenues following the 
disaster are insufficient to meet the operating budg-
et of that local government as a result of disaster- 
related revenue losses and additional unreimbursed 
disaster-related municipal operating expenses. In the 
case of a major disaster designated as an incident of 
national significance, including natural disasters and 
disasters caused by terrorist acts, repayment of any 
interest or principal on a loan made under the CDL 
program should not be required. 
(6) Assistance made available under the CDL 
program is often instrumental in aiding the full re-
covery of a local government following a major dis-
aster. 
(7) The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 estab-
lished a $5,000,000 limitation on loans made to a 
local government under the CDL program in connec-
tion with a major disaster. Before the date of enact-
ment of such Act, there was not any limitation on 
the amount of such loans. 
(8) The $5,000,000 limitation is inequitable 
when applied to a local government serving a largely 
populated area, such as New York City, and when
applied to an area that is completely devastated by 
a major disaster (such as Orleans, St. Bernard, and 
Plaquemines parishes in the State of Louisiana fol-
lowing Hurricane Katrina), and is inconsistent with 
the objective of the CDL program to provide mean-
ingful assistance to a local government recovering 
from a major disaster. 
(9) On October 4, 2005, the Mayor of New Or-
leans announced that the city was laying off 3,000 
city employees as a result of reduced tax revenues 
following Hurricane Katrina. 
(10) On October 7, 2005, Congress passed and 
the President signed into law the Community Dis-
aster Loan Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–88), 
which— 
(A) made available $1,000,000,000 for 
making community disaster loans to commu-
nities affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurri-
cane Rita; 
(B) waived the $5,000,000 limitation that 
is generally applicable to community disaster 
loans with respect to loans made to commu-
nities affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurri-
cane Rita; and
(C) prohibited the forgiveness of commu-
nity disaster loans made to communities af-
fected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 
(11) Repayment of community disaster loans 
has frequently been forgiven under the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act, and the prohibition on forgiveness contained in 
the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 is the 
first time such a prohibition has applied to such 
loans. 
SEC. 3. REPEAL. 
The Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 (Public 
Law 108–88) is repealed. 
SEC. 4. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—Section 417 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) is amended by striking ‘‘local 
government’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘State 
or local government’’. 
(b) AMOUNT.—Section 417(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
5184(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘based on need, shall’’ and in-
serting ‘‘based on need and shall’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘, and shall not exceed 
$5,000,000’’.
(c) INCIDENTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—Sec-
tion 417 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) INCIDENTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.— 
‘‘(1) LOAN TERMS.—In the case a loan made 
under this section to a State or local government 
which may suffer a substantial loss of tax and other 
revenues as a result of a major disaster that the 
President determines to be an incident of national 
significance— 
‘‘(A) the amount of the loan shall not be 
subject to the per centum limitation in sub-
section (b); and 
‘‘(B) the President shall not require the 
payment of any interest or principal on a loan. 
‘‘(2) INCIDENT
OF
NATIONAL
SIGNIFICANCE 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘incident of 
national significance’ has the meaning such term has 
in the national response plan established pursuant to 
section 502(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 312(6)).’’. 
(d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply with respect to any major disaster oc-
curring on or after August 24, 2005.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated for making community dis-
aster loans under section 417 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
5184) to State and local governments which may suffer 
a substantial loss of tax and other revenues as a result 
of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita $1,000,000,000 
and such additional sums as may be necessary. 
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