192 
time as all such funds are expended or the Inspector 
General and such Council determine that such re-
ports are no longer required.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 
the item related to section 856 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 856a. Enhanced accountability for Federal assistance.’’. 
SEC. 204. ENHANCED INFORMATION SHARING AMONG FED-
ERAL AGENCIES TO PREVENT FRAUD, WASTE, 
AND ABUSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 
2002 is further amended by inserting after section 856a 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 856b. ENHANCED INFORMATION SHARING AMONG 
FEDERAL AGENCIES TO PREVENT FRAUD, 
WASTE, AND ABUSE. 
‘‘(a) CONFIRMATION OF IDENTITY AND ELIGIBILITY 
OF APPLICANTS.—Any Federal, State, local, or tribal 
agency that disburses Federal grants, loans, services, and 
other assistance in response to or for the recovery from 
acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies, 
shall make reasonable efforts to confirm the identity and 
eligibility of the applicant for such assistance without plac-
ing undue burden on the applicant. 
‘‘(b) CONSENT TO ACCESS.— 
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193 
‘‘(1) 
INCLUSION
ON
APPLICATION
MATE-
RIALS.—The Federal, State, local, or tribal agency 
may include provisions on application materials for 
grants, loans, services, and other assistance that 
would allow access to Internal Revenue Service in-
formation (IRS Form 8821 Tax Information Au-
thorization) and other relevant Federal databases, to 
allow government agencies to share information and 
enhance the accuracy and expedite the delivery of 
assistance to applicants. 
‘‘(2) CONSENT NOT REQUIRED.—Any applicant 
who declines to consent to the sharing of such infor-
mation shall not be denied assistance or otherwise 
penalized for that reason.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is further amended by inserting 
after the item related to section 856a the following: 
‘‘Sec. 856b. Enhanced information sharing among Federal agencies to prevent 
fraud, waste, and abuse.’’. 
SEC. 205. DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR RESPONSE 
AND RECOVERY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VIII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 371) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
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194 
‘‘SEC. 813. DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR RESPONSE 
AND RECOVERY. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the po-
sition of Deputy Inspector General for Response and Re-
covery within the Office of the Inspector General of the 
Department. 
‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—The Deputy Inspector General 
shall be appointed— 
‘‘(1) by the Inspector General of the Depart-
ment; and 
‘‘(2) solely on the basis of integrity and dem-
onstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial 
analysis, law, management analysis, public adminis-
tration, or investigations. 
‘‘(c) REPORTING AND STATUS AS SES POSITION.— 
The Deputy Inspector General shall— 
‘‘(1) report to, and be under the direct author-
ity and supervision of, the Inspector General; and 
‘‘(2) serve as a career member of the Senior 
Executive Service. 
‘‘(d) DUTIES.— 
‘‘(1) AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The Dep-
uty Inspector General shall, in coordination with In-
spectors General of other departments, as appro-
priate, conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and 
investigations of the treatment, handling, and ex-
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195 
penditure of amounts appropriated or otherwise 
made available for response to and recovery from an 
act of terrorism, natural disaster, or other emer-
gency by the Federal Government, and of the pro-
grams, operations, and contracts carried out uti-
lizing such funds, including— 
‘‘(A) the oversight and accounting of the 
obligation and expenditure of such funds; 
‘‘(B) the monitoring and review of recon-
struction activities funded by such funds; 
‘‘(C) the monitoring and review of con-
tracts by such funds; 
‘‘(D) the monitoring and review of the 
transfer of such funds and associated informa-
tion between and among departments, agencies, 
and entities of the United States, and private 
nongovernmental entities; and 
‘‘(E) the maintenance of records on the 
use of such funds to facilitate future audits and 
investigations of such funds. 
‘‘(2) FRAUD TIP LINE.—The Deputy Inspector 
General shall ensure that not more than 48 hours 
after a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other 
national emergency, the Office of the Inspector Gen-
eral institutes and publicizes a Fraud Tip Line to 
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196 
facilitate the collection of allegations of waste, fraud, 
and abuse of Federal assistance funds. 
‘‘(3) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Dep-
uty Inspector General shall ensure, to the greatest 
extent possible, that the activities of the Deputy In-
spector General do not duplicate audits and inves-
tigations of Inspectors General and other auditors of 
Federal departments and agencies, and State and 
local government entities. 
‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH FBI.—The Deputy 
Inspector General shall ensure that investigative ac-
tivities under this section are coordinated with the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
‘‘(e) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MATTERS.—In order 
to assist the Deputy Inspector General for the purposes 
of carrying out this section, all agencies receiving or dis-
tributing Federal funds to respond to acts of terrorism, 
natural disasters, or other emergencies shall establish and 
maintain budgetary procedures to distinguish funds re-
lated to response and relief efforts from other agency 
funds. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated for operations of the Office of the Deputy Inspec-
tor General $11,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 
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197 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is further amended by inserting 
after the item related to section 812 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 813. Deputy Inspector General for Response and Recovery.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—The Inspector 
General of the Department of Homeland Security shall ap-
point the Deputy Inspector General under this section not 
later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 206. PROTECTION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
SECURITY OFFICIAL SEAL AND INSIGNIA. 
Section 875 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 455) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) PROTECTION
OF NAME, INITIALS, INSIGNIA, 
AND SEAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except with the written 
permission of the Secretary, no person may know-
ingly use, in connection with any advertisement, 
commercial activity, audiovisual production (includ-
ing film or television production), impersonation, 
Internet domain name, Internet e-mail address, or 
Internet web site, merchandise, retail product, or so-
licitation in a manner reasonably calculated to con-
vey the impression that the Department or any orga-
nizational element of the Department has approved, 
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198 
endorsed, or authorized such use, any of the fol-
lowing (or any colorable imitation thereof): 
‘‘(A) The words ‘Department of Homeland 
Security’, the initials ‘DHS’, the insignia or 
seal of the Department, or the title ‘Secretary 
of Homeland Security’. 
‘‘(B) The name, initials, insignia, or seal of 
any organizational element (including any 
former such element) of the Department, or the 
title of any other officer or employee of the De-
partment, notice of which has been published by 
the Secretary of Homeland Security in accord-
ance with paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION.—Whenever it appears to 
the Attorney General that any person is engaged or 
is about to engage in an act or practice that con-
stitutes or will constitute conduct prohibited by sub-
section (d)(1), the Attorney General may initiate a 
civil proceeding in a district court of the United 
States to enjoin such act or practice. Such court 
shall proceed as soon as practicable to the hearing 
and determination of such action and may, at any 
time before final determination, enter such restrain-
ing orders or prohibitions, or take such other actions 
as is warranted, to prevent injury to the United 
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199 
States or to any person or class of persons for whose 
protection the action is brought. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE
AND
PUBLICATION.—The notice 
and publication to which paragraph (1)(B) refers is 
a notice published in the Federal Register including 
the name, initials, seal, or class of titles protected 
under paragraph (1)(B) and a statement that they 
are protected under that provision. The Secretary 
may amend such notices from time to time as the 
Secretary determines appropriate in the public inter-
est and shall publish such amendments in the Fed-
eral Register. 
‘‘(4) AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION.—For the pur-
pose of this subsection, the term ‘audiovisual pro-
duction’ means the production of a work that con-
sists of a series of related images that are intrinsi-
cally intended to be shown by the use of machines 
or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic 
equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if 
any, regardless of the nature of the material objects, 
such as films or tapes, in which the work is em-
bodied.’’. 
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200 
TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO DIS-
ASTER RELIEF AND EMER-
GENCY 
ASSISTANCE 
PRO-
GRAM 
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) MAJOR DISASTER.—Section 102(2) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘major dis-
aster’ means any natural or manmade disaster (in-
cluding any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, 
winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, 
volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, 
drought, terrorist attack, fire, flood, explosion, or 
other similar incident), in any part of the United 
States, which in the determination of the President 
causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude 
to warrant major disaster assistance under this Act 
to supplement the efforts and available resources of 
States, local governments, and disaster relief organi-
zations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or 
suffering caused thereby.’’. 
(b) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT.—Section 102 of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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201 
‘‘(10) CATASTROPHIC
INCIDENT.—The term 
‘catastrophic incident’ means any major disaster 
that results in extraordinary levels of mass casual-
ties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the 
population, infrastructure, environment, economy, 
national morale, or government functions. A cata-
strophic incident could result in sustained national 
impacts over a prolonged period of time; almost im-
mediately exceeds resources normally available to 
State, local, tribal, and private-sector authorities in 
the impacted area; and significantly interrupts gov-
ernmental operations and emergency services to such 
an extent that national security could be threat-
ened.’’. 
SEC. 302. STATE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAMS. 
Section 201(c)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131) 
is amended by striking ‘‘emergencies and major disasters’’ 
and inserting ‘‘emergencies, major disasters, and cata-
strophic incidents’’. 
SEC. 303. STANDARDS AND REVIEWS. 
Section 313 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5156) is 
amended by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
following: ‘‘The President shall conduct annual reviews of 
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202 
Federal agencies, States, and local governments in pre-
paring for emergencies, major disasters, and catastrophic 
incidents and in providing major disaster and emergency 
assistance in order to ensure maximum coordination and 
effectiveness of such programs and consistency in policies 
for reimbursement of States under this Act.’’. 
SEC. 304. PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF FUNDS. 
Section 314(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5157(a)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) MISUSE OF FUNDS.—Any person who knowingly 
and willfully misapplies the proceeds of a loan or other 
cash benefit obtained under this Act shall be fined an 
amount equal to 3 times the misapplied amount of the 
proceeds or cash benefit.’’. 
SEC. 305. ADVANCE OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE. 
Section 319(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5162(a)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may lend or ad-
vance to an eligible applicant or a State the portion of 
assistance for which the State is responsible under the 
cost-sharing provisions of this Act in any case in which 
a catastrophic incident occurs.’’. 
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203 
SEC. 306. MITIGATION PLANNING. 
Section 322(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165(a)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘, including any critical infra-
structure,’’ after ‘‘vulnerabilities’’. 
SEC. 307. PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION OF MAJOR DIS-
ASTERS. 
Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) REQUEST AND DECLARA-
TION.—’’ before ‘‘All requests’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) MAJOR DISASTERS INVOLVING FEDERAL PRI-
MARY RESPONSIBILITY.—The President may declare that 
a major disaster exists without a request from an affected 
State in the event of a catastrophic incident or if the 
President determines that the primary responsibility for 
the response rests with the Federal Government because 
the major disaster involves a subject area for which, under 
the Constitution or laws of the United States, the Federal 
Government exercises exclusive or preeminent responsi-
bility and authority. In determining whether or not such 
a major disaster exists, the President should consult with 
the Governor of any affected State, if practicable.’’. 
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204 
SEC. 308. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE. 
Section 403(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(b)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Federal share of assistance under this section 
shall be not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost 
of such assistance. 
‘‘(2) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENTS.—In the case 
of a catastrophic incident, the Federal share of as-
sistance under this section shall be— 
‘‘(A) 100 percent of the eligible cost of 
such assistance for 72 hours after the incident; 
and 
‘‘(B) not be less than 75 percent of the eli-
gible cost of such assistance thereafter.’’. 
SEC. 309. TEMPORARY HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 
Section 408(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5174(c)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘18-month’’ 
and inserting ‘‘10-month’’. 
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205 
SEC. 310. PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION OF EMER-
GENCIES. 
Section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) EMERGENCIES INVOLVING FEDERAL PRIMARY 
RESPONSIBILITY.—The President may declare that an 
emergency exists without a request from an affected State 
in the event of a catastrophic incident or if the President 
determines the primary responsibility for the response 
rests with the Federal Government because the emergency 
involves a subject area for which, under the Constitution 
or laws of the United States, the Federal Government ex-
ercises exclusive or preeminent responsibility and author-
ity. In determining whether or not such an emergency ex-
ists, the President should consult the Governor of any af-
fected State, if practicable.’’. 
TITLE IV—GOOD SAMARITAN LI-
ABILITY IMPROVEMENT AND 
VOLUNTEER 
ENCOURAGE-
MENT 
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan Li-
ability Improvement and Volunteer Encouragement Act of 
2006’’ or the ‘‘GIVE Act of 2006’’. 
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206 
SEC. 402. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) It is in the national interest to encourage 
individuals to volunteer, and particularly to assist 
victims of national disasters. 
(2) The willingness of volunteers to offer their 
services is deterred by the potential for liability ac-
tions against them. 
(3) The contribution of programs that use vol-
unteers to their communities is thereby diminished, 
resulting in fewer and higher cost programs than 
would be obtainable if volunteers were participating. 
(4) The exposure of potential volunteers, their 
employers, and those who would use the services of 
volunteers under existing law to compensatory and 
punitive damages for negligent acts discourages the 
provision of these services. 
(5) The availability of damages for actions that 
constitute gross negligence creates uncertainty con-
cerning the actual conduct that might cause liability 
to be imposed on volunteers. 
(6) Potential liability for acts of volunteers dis-
courages the employers or business partners of po-
tential volunteers from permitting those potential 
volunteers to provide disaster relief services. 
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207 
(7) Potential liability for acts of volunteers dis-
courages entities that might use the services pro-
vided by volunteers from doing so. 
(8) Well-founded fear of liability under existing 
law for providing goods, equipment, access to facili-
ties, and other in-kind contributions discourages 
those who would donate them from doing so. 
(9) Well-founded fear of liability under existing 
law for providing goods discourages governmental 
and intergovernmental entities from providing need-
ed disaster relief goods. 
(10) Well-founded fear of liability for punitive 
damages under existing law discourages govern-
mental and intergovernmental entities from pro-
viding needed disaster relief goods and discourages 
potential volunteers from providing volunteer serv-
ices to disaster victims. 
(11) Fear of compensatory and punitive dam-
ages for providing volunteer services deters potential 
volunteers from States located outside the national 
disaster area from providing volunteer services. 
(12) Fear of compensatory and punitive dam-
ages for providing volunteer services deters potential 
foreign volunteers from providing disaster relief 
services. 
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208 
(13) Any lessening of liability for volunteers 
providing disaster relief services, their employers and 
business partners, and entities utilizing their serv-
ices should maintain adequate incentives for each of 
these classes of persons or entities to avoid causing 
harm. 
(14) Unwillingness to provide volunteer services 
in the face of uncertain liability substantially affects, 
burdens, and deters interstate commerce and travel. 
(15) Unwillingness of employers and business 
partners to allow their employees and business part-
ners to provide volunteer and disaster relief services 
in the face of uncertain liability substantially affects, 
burdens, and deters interstate commerce and travel. 
(16) Unwillingness of persons, entities, or orga-
nizations to accept volunteer and disaster relief serv-
ices from volunteers in the face of uncertain liability 
substantially affects, burdens, and deters interstate 
commerce and travel. 
(17) Unwillingness by foreigners to provide vol-
unteer and disaster relief services in the face of un-
certain liability substantially affects, burdens, and 
deters foreign commerce and travel. 
(18) Because Federal funds are expended on 
useful and cost-effective social service programs, 
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209 
many of which are national in scope, depend heavily 
on volunteer participation, and represent some of the 
most successful public-private partnerships, protec-
tion of volunteerism through clarification and limita-
tion of the personal liability risks assumed by the 
volunteer in connection with such participation is an 
appropriate subject for Federal legislation. 
(19) Services and goods provided by volunteers 
and nonprofit organizations would often otherwise be 
provided by private entities that operate in interstate 
commerce. 
(20) Due to high liability costs and unwar-
ranted litigation costs, volunteers and nonprofit or-
ganizations face higher costs in purchasing insur-
ance, through interstate insurance markets, to cover 
their activities. 
(21) Clarifying and limiting the liability risk as-
sumed by volunteers is an appropriate subject for 
Federal legislation because— 
(A) of the national scope of the problems 
created by the legitimate fears of volunteers 
about frivolous, arbitrary, or capricious law-
suits; 
(B) the citizens of the United States de-
pend on, and the Federal Government expends 
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210 
funds on and provides tax exemptions and other 
consideration to, numerous social programs that 
depend on the services of volunteers; 
(C) it is in the interest of the Federal Gov-
ernment to encourage the continued operation 
of volunteer service organizations and contribu-
tions of volunteers, as the Federal Government 
lacks the capacity to carry out all of the serv-
ices provided by such organizations and volun-
teers; and 
(D)(i) liability reform for volunteers, will 
promote the free flow of goods and services, 
lessen burdens on interstate commerce and up-
hold constitutionally protected due process 
rights; and 
(ii) therefore, liability reform is an appro-
priate use of the powers contained in article 1, 
section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the 
United States, and the fourteenth amendment 
to the Constitution of the United States. 
(22) Unless Congress provides uniform stand-
ards to address disasters that could occur in any 
State or combination of States, potential volunteers 
and others will not be certain which laws would gov-
ern their providing disaster relief services, which 
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211 
would substantially affect, burden, and deter inter-
state and foreign commerce and travel in the event 
of a national disaster. 
Subtitle A—Disaster Relief 
Volunteer Protection 
SEC. 411. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle— 
(1) the term ‘‘compensation’’— 
(A) means monetary or other compensation 
of any kind provided in exchange for an individ-
ual’s services; and 
(B) does not include— 
(i) reasonable reimbursement or allow-
ance for expenses actually incurred by such 
individual; 
(ii) provision of reasonable supplies, 
lodging, or transportation to such an indi-
vidual; or 
(iii) the ordinary salary or compensa-
tion paid to such an individual by the em-
ployer of the individual while the individual 
is on leave from performing ordinary du-
ties for the employer of the individual in 
order to provide disaster relief services; 
(2) the term ‘‘declared disaster’’ means— 
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212 
(A) a public health emergency declared by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
under section 319 of the Public Health Services 
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 
(B) a public health emergency, or a risk of 
such emergency, as determined by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security in accordance with clause 
(i) or (ii) of section 2811(b)(3)(A) of the Public 
Health 
Services 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
300hh- 
11(b)(3)(A)), as transferred by section 503(5) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 313(5)); or 
(C) an emergency or major disaster de-
clared by the President under section 401 or 
501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170, 5191); 
(3) the term ‘‘disaster relief goods’’ means ei-
ther— 
(A) those goods provided in preparation 
for, response to, or recovery from a declared 
disaster and reasonably necessary to such prep-
aration, response, or recovery; or 
(B) those goods defined by a supplemental 
declaration under this subtitle; 
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213 
(4) the term ‘‘disaster relief services’’ means 
services or assistance provided in preparation for, re-
sponse to, or recovery from a declared disaster, in-
cluding health, medical, firefighting, rescue, recon-
struction, and any other services or assistance speci-
fied by a supplemental declaration under this sub-
title as necessary or desirable to prepare for, re-
spond to, or recover from such declared disaster; 
(5) the term ‘‘disaster relief volunteer’’ means 
an individual— 
(A) who provides disaster relief services or 
assistance in connection with a declared dis-
aster without expectation or receipt of com-
pensation in exchange for providing such serv-
ices or assistance; and 
(B) who, to the extent required by the ap-
propriate authorities of a State (even if such 
State is not the State in which the volunteer 
provides services or assistance) or, if, and to 
the extent, specified in a supplemental declara-
tion under this subtitle, a foreign country, is li-
censed, certified, or authorized to provide the 
relevant services or assistance; 
(6) the term ‘‘non-economic loss’’ means losses 
for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconven-
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214 
ience, physical impairment, mental anguish, dis-
figurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society 
and companionship, loss of consortium (other than 
loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to 
reputation, and all other non-pecuniary losses of any 
kind or nature; 
(7) the term ‘‘supplemental declaration’’ means 
a declaration under section 418 regarding the scope 
of a declared disaster; and 
(8) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States of the United States, the District of Colum-
bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any other 
territory or possession of the United States, and any 
political subdivision of any such State, territory, or 
possession. 
SEC. 412. LIABILITY OF DISASTER RELIEF VOLUNTEERS. 
Except as provided in section 419, a disaster relief 
volunteer shall not be liable for harm caused by an act 
or omission of the volunteer that is within the scope of 
the activities of the volunteer to provide or facilitate the 
provision of disaster relief services in connection with a 
declared disaster if— 
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215 
(1) the harm was not caused by willful, know-
ing, or reckless misconduct by the volunteer; and 
(2) the harm was not caused by the volunteer 
operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other 
vehicle for which the State requires the operator or 
the owner of the vehicle, craft, or vessel to— 
(A) possess an operator’s license; or 
(B) maintain insurance. 
SEC. 413. LIABILITY OF EMPLOYER OR PARTNER OF DIS-
ASTER RELIEF VOLUNTEER. 
Except as provided in section 419, an employer or 
business partner of a disaster relief volunteer shall not be 
liable for any act or omission of such volunteer within the 
scope of the activities of the volunteer to provide or facili-
tate the provision of disaster relief services in connection 
with a declared disaster. 
SEC. 414. LIABILITY OF HOST OR ENABLING PERSON, ENTI-
TY, OR ORGANIZATION. 
Except as provided in section 419, a person, entity, 
or organization, including a governmental or intergovern-
mental entity, that works with, accepts services from, or 
opens its facilities to a disaster relief volunteer to enable 
the volunteer to render disaster relief services in connec-
tion with a declared disaster shall not be liable for any 
act or omission of a disaster relief volunteer. 
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216 
SEC. 415. LIABILITY OF GOVERNMENTAL AND INTERGOV-
ERNMENTAL ENTITIES FOR DONATIONS OF 
DISASTER RELIEF GOODS. 
Except as provided in section 419, a governmental 
or intergovernmental entity that donates disaster relief 
goods to an agency or instrumentality of the United States 
in connection with a declared disaster shall not be liable 
for harm caused by such donated goods if the harm was 
not caused by willful, knowing, or reckless misconduct by 
the governmental or intergovernmental entity. 
SEC. 416. LIMITATION ON PUNITIVE AND NON-ECONOMIC 
DAMAGES BASED ON ACTIONS OF DISASTER 
RELIEF VOLUNTEERS AND GOVERNMENTAL 
OR INTERGOVERNMENTAL DONORS. 
(a) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—Except as provided in sec-
tion 419, punitive damages may not be awarded in any 
civil action against a disaster relief volunteer or govern-
mental or intergovernmental entity unless a claimant es-
tablishes by clear and convincing evidence that the dam-
ages to the claimant were proximately caused by willful, 
knowing, or reckless misconduct by either— 
(1) a disaster relief volunteer in an action 
brought for harm caused by the activities of the vol-
unteer to provide or facilitate the provision of dis-
aster relief services in connection with a declared 
disaster; or 
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217 
(2) a governmental or intergovernmental entity 
for harm caused by disaster relief goods donated by 
such governmental or intergovernmental entity in 
connection with a declared disaster. 
(b) NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sec-
tion 419, liability for non-economic loss in any civil 
action brought against either a disaster relief volun-
teer for harm caused the activities of the volunteer 
to provide or facilitate the provision of disaster relief 
services in connection with a declared disaster, or a 
governmental or intergovernmental entity for harm 
caused by disaster relief goods donated by such gov-
ernmental or intergovernmental entity in connection 
with a declared disaster, if permitted under section 
412 or section 415, shall be determined in accord-
ance with paragraph (2). 
(2) AMOUNT OF LIABILITY.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of dam-
ages for non-economic loss allocated to a dis-
aster relief volunteer or governmental or inter-
governmental entity defendant shall be in direct 
proportion to the percentage of responsibility of 
that defendant, determined in accordance with 
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218 
subparagraph (B), for the harm to the claimant 
with respect to which that defendant is liable. 
(B) PERCENTAGE.—In a civil action de-
scribed in paragraph (1), for purposes of deter-
mining the amount of non-economic loss, the 
trier of fact shall determine the percentage of 
responsibility of each defendant found liable for 
harm to the claimant. 
(C) SEPARATE
JUDGMENTS.—The court 
shall render a separate judgment against each 
defendant for any non-economic loss. 
SEC. 417. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A claimant in a civil action for 
an act or omission subject to the limitations of liability 
under this subtitle shall attach 1 or more sworn affidavits 
or documents containing admissible evidence of an act or 
omission outside the limitations of section 412, 413, 414, 
or 415. 
(b) INITIAL REVIEW.—Before allowing a civil action 
described in subsection (a) to proceed into discovery, the 
trial judge shall determine whether, as a matter of law, 
the evidence submitted is sufficient to raise a genuine 
issue of material fact. 
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219 
SEC. 418. SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a declared dis-
aster, the President, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, or the Secretary of Homeland Security may issue 
a supplemental declaration. 
(b) TEMPORAL EFFECT.—A supplemental declara-
tion may provide that, for purposes of this subtitle, such 
declared disaster shall have such temporal effect as the 
President or the Secretary may deem necessary or appro-
priate to further the public interest, including providing 
that such declared disaster shall have an effective date 
earlier than the date of the declaration or determination 
of such declared disaster. 
(c) GEOGRAPHIC AND OTHER CONDITIONS.—A sup-
plemental declaration may provide that, for purposes of 
this subtitle, such declared disaster shall have such geo-
graphic or other conditions as the President or the rel-
evant Secretary may deem necessary or appropriate to fur-
ther the public interest. 
SEC. 419. ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NONAPPLICA-
BILITY. 
A provision of this subtitle shall not apply to any civil 
action in a State court against a person in which all par-
ties are citizens of the State if such State enacts a stat-
ute— 
(1) citing the authority of this subtitle; 
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220 
(2) declaring the election of such State that 
such provision shall not apply to such civil action in 
the State; and 
(3) containing no other provisions. 
SEC. 420. CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to abro-
gate or limit any protection that a volunteer, as defined 
in section 6(6) of the Volunteer Protection Act (42 U.S.C. 
14505(6)), may be entitled to under that Act. Neither 
shall anything in this subtitle be construed to confer any 
private right of action or to abrogate or limit any protec-
tion with respect to either liability or damages that any 
person may be entitled to under any other provision of 
law. 
Subtitle B—Volunteer Protection 
Improvements 
SEC. 441. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle— 
(1) the term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 40102 of title 49, United States 
Code; 
(2) the term ‘‘equipment’’ includes mechanical 
equipment, electronic equipment, and office equip-
ment; 
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221 
(3) the term ‘‘facility’’ means any real property, 
including any building, improvement, or appur-
tenance; 
(4) the term ‘‘motor vehicle’’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 30102 of title 49, United 
States Code; 
(5) the term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means— 
(A) any organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 
such Code; or 
(B) any not-for-profit organization orga-
nized and conducted for public benefit and op-
erated primarily for charitable, civic, edu-
cational, religious, welfare, or health purposes; 
(6) the term ‘‘person’’ includes any govern-
mental or other entity; and 
(7) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, any other territory or possession of the 
United States, or any political subdivision of any 
such State, territory, or possession. 
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222 
SEC. 442. LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR ACTIONS OF VOLUN-
TEERS GENERALLY. 
Section 4 of the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 
(42 U.S.C. 14503) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(3) by striking ‘‘willful or 
criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless mis-
conduct’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘willful, know-
ing, or reckless misconduct’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) EFFECT ON LIABILITY OF NONPROFIT ORGANI-
ZATIONS.—No nonprofit organization shall be liable for 
the acts or omissions of a volunteer with respect to harm 
caused to any person unless— 
‘‘(1) the acts or omissions of the volunteer are 
not subject to the limitations on liability under sub-
section (a); and 
‘‘(2) the nonprofit organization has willfully dis-
regarded or been recklessly indifferent to the reason-
able expectations or safety of the individual harmed 
by the volunteer.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant in a civil action 
for an act or omission subject to the limitations of 
liability under this Act shall attach 1 or more sworn 
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223 
affidavits or documents containing admissible evi-
dence of an act or omission outside the limitations 
of subsection (a), (c), (e)(1), or (f)(1). 
‘‘(2) INITIAL REVIEW.—Before allowing a civil 
action described in paragraph (1) to proceed into 
discovery, the trial judge shall determine whether, as 
a matter of law, the evidence submitted is sufficient 
to raise a genuine issue of material fact.’’. 
SEC. 443. CHARITABLE DONATIONS LIABILITY REFORM 
FOR IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) LIABILITY FOR DONATIONS OF EQUIPMENT 
TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (b), a person shall not be subject to 
civil liability relating to any injury or death that 
results from the use of equipment donated by 
such person to a nonprofit organization. 
(B) APPLICATION.—This paragraph shall 
apply with respect to civil liability under Fed-
eral and State law. 
(2) LIABILITY FOR PROVIDING USE OF FACILI-
TIES TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (b), a person shall not be subject to 
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224 
civil liability relating to any injury or death oc-
curring at a facility owned or operated by the 
person in connection with a use of such facility 
by a nonprofit organization, if— 
(i) the use occurs outside of the nor-
mal use of the facility by the person; 
(ii) such injury or death occurs during 
a period that such facility is used by the 
nonprofit organization; and 
(iii) the person authorized the use of 
such facility by the nonprofit organization. 
(B) APPLICATION.—This paragraph shall 
apply— 
(i) with respect to civil liability under 
Federal and State law; and 
(ii) regardless of whether a nonprofit 
organization pays for the use of a facility. 
(3) LIABILITY
FOR
PROVIDING
USE
OF
A 
MOTOR VEHICLE OR AIRCRAFT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subsection (b), a person shall not be subject to 
civil liability relating to any injury or death oc-
curring as a result of the operation of an air-
craft or a motor vehicle the person loaned to a 
nonprofit organization, if— 
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225 
(i) the use occurs outside of the nor-
mal use of the aircraft or motor vehicle by 
the person; 
(ii) such injury or death occurs during 
a period that such motor vehicle or aircraft 
is used by a nonprofit organization; and 
(iii) the person authorized the use by 
the nonprofit organization of motor vehicle 
or aircraft that resulted in the injury or 
death. 
(B) APPLICATION.—This paragraph shall 
apply— 
(i) with respect to civil liability under 
Federal and State law; and 
(ii) regardless of whether a nonprofit 
organization pays for the use of the air-
craft or motor vehicle. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
an injury or death that results from an act or omission 
of a person that constitutes willful, knowing, or reckless 
misconduct. 
(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant in a civil action 
for an act or omission subject to the limitations of 
liability under this section shall attach 1 or more 
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226 
sworn affidavits or documents containing admissible 
evidence of an act or omission outside the limitations 
of subsection (a). 
(2) INITIAL REVIEW.—Before allowing a civil 
action described in paragraph (1) to proceed into 
discovery, the trial judge shall determine whether, as 
a matter of law, the evidence submitted is sufficient 
to raise a genuine issue of material fact. 
(d) SUPERSEDING PROVISION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2) and subsection (e), this section preempts 
the laws of any State to the extent that such laws 
are inconsistent with this section, except that this 
section shall not preempt any State law that pro-
vides additional protection for a person for an injury 
or death described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of 
subsection (a) with respect to which the conditions 
specified in such paragraph apply. 
(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to supersede any Federal or State 
health or safety law. 
(e) ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NONAPPLICA-
BILITY.—A provision of this section shall not apply to any 
civil action in a State court against a person in which all 
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227 
parties are citizens of the State if such State enacts a stat-
ute— 
(1) citing the authority of this section; 
(2) declaring the election of such State that 
such provision shall not apply to such civil action in 
the State; and 
(3) containing no other provisions. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to li-
ability for injury or death caused by equipment donated, 
facilities used, or aircraft or motor vehicles loaned on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
TITLE V—DISASTER RECOVERY 
PERSONAL PROTECTION 
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Recovery 
Personal Protection Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 502. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution 
states, ‘‘A well regulated militia being necessary to 
the security of a free State, the right of the people 
to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,’’ and 
Congress has repeatedly recognized this language as 
protecting an individual right. 
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228 
(2) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, State 
and local law enforcement and public safety service 
organizations were overwhelmed and could not fulfill 
the safety needs of the citizens of the State of Lou-
isiana. 
(3) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the safe-
ty of these citizens, and of their homes and property, 
was threatened by instances of criminal activity. 
(4) Many of these citizens lawfully kept fire-
arms for the safety of themselves, their loved ones, 
their businesses, and their property, as guaranteed 
by the Second Amendment, and used their firearms, 
individually or in concert with their neighbors, for 
protection against crime. 
(5) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, certain 
agencies confiscated the firearms of these citizens, in 
contravention of the Second Amendment, depriving 
these citizens of the right to keep and bear arms and 
rendering them helpless against criminal activity. 
(6) These confiscations were carried out at gun-
point, by nonconsensual entries into private homes, 
by traffic checkpoints, by stoppage of boats, and 
otherwise by force. 
(7) The citizens from whom firearms were con-
fiscated were either in their own homes or attempt-
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229 
ing to flee the flooding and devastation by means of 
motor vehicle or boat, and were accosted, stopped, 
and arbitrarily deprived of their private property and 
means of protection. 
(8) The means by which the confiscations were 
carried out, which included intrusion into the home, 
temporary detention of persons, and seizures of 
property, constituted unreasonable searches and sei-
zures and deprived these citizens of liberty and prop-
erty without due process of law in violation of funda-
mental rights under the Constitution. 
(9) Many citizens who took temporary refuge in 
emergency housing were prohibited from storing fire-
arms on the premises, and were thus treated as sec-
ond-class citizens who had forfeited their constitu-
tional right to keep and bear arms. 
(10) At least one highly-qualified search and 
rescue team was prevented from joining in relief ef-
forts because the team included individuals with fire-
arms, although these individuals had been deputized 
as Federal law enforcement officers. 
(11) These confiscations and prohibitions, and 
the means by which they were carried out, deprived 
the citizens of Louisiana not only of their right to 
keep and bear arms, but also of their rights to per-
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230 
sonal security, personal liberty, and private property, 
all in violation of the Constitution and laws of the 
United States. 
SEC. 503. PROHIBITION ON CONFISCATION OF FIREARMS 
DURING CERTAIN NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 
Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5201) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 706. FIREARMS POLICIES. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION
ON CONFISCATION
OF FIRE-
ARMS.—No officer or employee of the United States (in-
cluding any member of the uniformed services), or person 
operating pursuant to or under color of Federal law, or 
receiving Federal funds, or under control of any Federal 
official, or providing services to such an officer, employee, 
or other person, while acting in support of relief from a 
major disaster or emergency, may— 
‘‘(1) temporarily or permanently seize, or au-
thorize seizure of, any firearm the possession of 
which is not prohibited under Federal or State law, 
other than for forfeiture in compliance with Federal 
law or as evidence in a criminal investigation; 
‘‘(2) require registration of any firearm for 
which registration is not required by Federal or 
State law; 
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231 
‘‘(3) prohibit possession of any firearm, or pro-
mulgate any rule, regulation, or order prohibiting 
possession of any firearm, in any place or by any 
person where such possession is not otherwise pro-
hibited by Federal or State law; or 
‘‘(4) prohibit the carrying of firearms by any 
person otherwise authorized to carry firearms under 
Federal or State law, solely because such person is 
operating under the direction, control, or supervision 
of a Federal agency in support of relief from a 
major disaster or emergency. 
‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved 
by a violation of this section may seek relief in an 
action at law, suit in equity, or other proper pro-
ceeding for redress against any person who subjects 
such individual, or causes such individual to be sub-
jected, to the deprivation of any of the rights, privi-
leges, or immunities secured by this section. 
‘‘(2) REMEDIES.—In addition to any existing 
remedy in law or equity, under any law, an indi-
vidual aggrieved by the seizure or confiscation of a 
firearm in violation of this section may bring an ac-
tion for return of such firearm in the United States 
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232 
district court in the district in which that individual 
resides or in which such firearm may be found. 
‘‘(3) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any action or pro-
ceeding to enforce this section, the court shall award 
the prevailing party, other than the United States, 
a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’. 
TITLE VI—HURRICANE 
ELECTION RELIEF 
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Hurricane Election 
Relief Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 602. GRANTS TO STATES FOR RESTORING AND RE-
PLACING ELECTION ADMINISTRATION SUP-
PLIES, MATERIALS, RECORDS, EQUIPMENT, 
AND TECHNOLOGY WHICH WERE DAMAGED, 
DESTROYED, OR DISLOCATED BY HURRI-
CANES KATRINA OR RITA. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Election 
Assistance Commission shall make a grant to each eligible 
State, in such amount as the Commission considers appro-
priate, for purposes of restoring and replacing supplies, 
materials, records, equipment, and technology used in the 
administration of Federal elections in the State which 
were damaged, destroyed, or dislocated as a result of Hur-
ricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and ensuring the full 
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233 
participation in such elections by individuals who were dis-
placed as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 
(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Funds received under 
a grant under subsection (a) shall be used in a manner 
that is consistent with the requirements of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 
grant under this section if the State submits to the Com-
mission (at such time and in such form as the Commission 
may require) a certification that— 
(1) supplies, materials, records, equipment, and 
technology used in the administration of Federal 
elections in the State were damaged, destroyed, or 
dislocated as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Hur-
ricane Rita; or 
(2) the system of such State for conducting 
Federal elections has been significantly impacted by 
the displacement of individuals as a result of Hurri-
cane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. 
SEC. 603. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated for grants 
under this title $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. Such 
sums shall remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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