(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) APPLICABILITY
OF
TITLE
5, 
UNITED 
STATES CODE.—Section 8101(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) by moving subparagraph (F) to appear 
after subparagraph (E); 
(C) in subparagraph (F)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘United States Code,’’; 
and 
(ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 
the following: 
‘‘(G) an individual who is a System mem-
ber of the National Urban Search and Rescue 
Response System during a period of appoint-
ment into Federal service pursuant to section 
327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act;’’. 
(2) INCLUSION AS PART OF UNIFORMED SERV-
ICES FOR PURPOSES OF USERRA.—Section 4303 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (13) by inserting ‘‘, a pe-
riod for which a System member of the Na-
tional Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys-
tem is absent from a position of employment 
due to an appointment into Federal service 
under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ 
before ‘‘, and a period’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (16) by inserting after 
‘‘Public Health Service,’’ the following: ‘‘System 
members of the National Urban Search and 
Rescue Response System during a period of ap-
pointment into Federal service under section 
327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act,’’. 
SEC. 302. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705(a)(1) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting ‘‘Not-
withstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, United 
States Code, and except’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘report for the disaster or emer-
gency’’ and inserting ‘‘report for project completion 
as certified by the grantee’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to disaster or 
emergency assistance provided to a State or local 
government on or after January 1, 2004— 
(A) no administrative action may be taken 
to recover a payment of such assistance after 
the date of enactment of this Act if the action 
is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205(a)(1)), 
as amended by subsection (a); and 
(B) any administrative action to recover a 
payment of such assistance that is pending on 
such date of enactment shall be terminated if 
the action is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) 
of that Act, as amended by subsection (a). 
(2) LIMITATION.—This section, including the 
amendments made by this section, may not be con-
strued to invalidate or otherwise affect any adminis-
tration action completed before the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 303. ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE FIELD TRANSITION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall report to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate regarding the plans the agency will undertake to pro-
vide the following: 
(1) Consistent guidance to applicants on FEMA 
disaster funding procedures during the response to 
an emergency. 
(2) Appropriate record maintenance and trans-
fer of documents to new teams during staff transi-
tions. 
(3) Accurate assistance to applicants and grant-
ees to ease the administrative burden throughout the 
process of obtaining and monitoring assistance. 
(b) MAINTAINING RECORDS.—The report shall also 
include a plan for implementing operating procedures and 
document retention requirements to ensure the mainte-
nance of appropriate records throughout the lifecycle of 
the disaster. 
(c) NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—Finally, the report shall 
identify new technologies that further aid the disaster 
workforce in partnering with State, local, and tribal gov-
ernments and private nonprofits in the wake of a disaster 
or emergency to educate, assist, and inform applicants on 
the status of their disaster assistance applications and 
projects.
SEC. 304. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES. 
Section 422(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘$35,000’’ the first place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 
(2) by striking the second sentence. 
SEC. 305. MANAGEMENT COSTS. 
Section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165b) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘any adminis-
trative expense, and any other expense not directly 
chargeable to’’ and inserting ‘‘direct administrative 
cost, and any other administrative expense associ-
ated with’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and inserting 
the following: ‘‘implement the following:’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Ad-
ministrator shall provide the following percentage 
rates, in addition to the eligible project costs, to
cover direct and indirect costs of administering the 
following programs: 
‘‘(A) HAZARD
MITIGATION.—A grantee 
under section 404 may be reimbursed not more 
than 15 percent of the total amount of the 
grant award under such section of which not 
more than 10 percent may be used by the 
grantee and 5 percent by the subgrantee for 
such costs. 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE.—A grantee 
under sections 403, 406, 407, and 502, may be 
reimbursed not more than 10 percent of the 
total award amount under such sections, of 
which not more than 6 percent may be used by 
the grantee and 4 percent by the subgrantee for 
such costs.’’. 
SEC. 306. DEBTS OWED TO THE UNITED STATES RELATED 
TO DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 
assistance’’ means assistance provided— 
(1) under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5174); and 
(2) in relation to a major disaster or emergency 
declared by the President under section 401 or 501