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panies with total United States wholesale sales of gasoline
and petroleum distillates for calendar 2004 in excess of
$500,000,000 and by any retail distributor of gasoline and
petroleum distillates against which multiple formal com-
plaints (that identify the location of a particular retail dis-
tributor and provide contact information for the complain-
ant) of price-gouging were filed in August or September,
2005, with a Federal or State consumer protection agency,
(2) a comparison of, and an explanation of the reasons for
changes in, profit levels of such companies during the 12-
month period ending on August 31, 2005, and their profit
levels for the month of September, 2005, including informa-
tion for particular companies on a basis that does not per-
mit the identification of any company to which the infor-
mation relates, (3) a summary of tax expenditures (as de-
fined in section 3(3) of the Congressional Budget and Im-
poundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(3)) for such
companies, (4) the effects of increased gasoline prices and
gasoline price-gouging on economic activity in the United
States, and (5) the overall cost of increased gasoline prices
and gasoline price-gouging to the economy, including the
impact on consumers’ purchasing power in both declared
State and National disaster areas and elsewhere; Provided
further, That, in conducting its investigation, the Commis-
sion shall treat as evidence of price-gouging any finding
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that the average price of gasoline available for sale to the
public in September, 2005, or thereafter in a market area
located in an area designated as a State or National dis-
aster area because of Hurricane Katrina, or in any other
area where price-gouging complaints have been filed because
of Hurricane Katrina with a Federal or State consumer
protection agency, exceeded the average price of such gaso-
line in that area for the month of August, 2005, unless the
Commission finds substantial evidence that the increase is
substantially attributable to additional costs in connection
with the production, transportation, delivery, and sale of
gasoline in that area or to national or international market
trends; Provided further, That in any areas of markets in
which the Commission determines price increases are due
to factors other than the additional costs, it shall also notify
the appropriate State agency of its findings; Provided fur-
ther, That the Commission shall provide information on the
progress of the investigation to the Senate and House Ap-
propriations Committees, the Senate Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of Rep-
resentatives Committee on Energy and Commerce every 30
days after the date of enactment of this Act, shall provide
those Committees a written interim report 90 days after
such date, and shall transmit a final report to those Com-
mittees, together with its findings and recommendations, no
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later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act;
Provided further, That the Commission shall transmit rec-
ommendations, based on its findings, to the Congress for
any legislation necessary to protect consumers from gasoline
price-gouging in both State and National disaster areas
and elsewhere; Provided further, That chapter 35 of title
44, United States Code, does not apply to the collection of
information for the investigation required by this section;
Provided further, That if, during the investigation, the
Commission obtains evidence that a person may have vio-
lated a criminal law, the Commission may transmit that
evidence to appropriate Federal or State authorities; and
Provided further, That nothing in this section affects any
other authority of the Commission to disclose information.
HURRICANE KATRINA ASSISTANCE VOUCHERS
SEC. 526. HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY ASSIST-
ANCE VOUCHERS.—(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may
be cited as the ‘‘Helping to House the Victims of Hurricane
Katrina Act of 2005’’.
(b) HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
VOUCHERS.—Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(20) HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY ASSIST-
ANCE VOUCHERS.—
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HR 2862 EAS
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the 6-month pe-
riod beginning on the date of enactment of the
Helping to House the Victims of Hurricane
Katrina Act of 2005, the Secretary shall provide
temporary rental assistance to any individual or
family, if—
‘‘(i) the individual or family resides,
or resided on August 29, 2005, in any area
that is subject to a declaration by the Presi-
dent of a major disaster or emergency under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et seq.) in connection with Hurricane
Katrina; and
‘‘(ii) the residence of the individual or
family became uninhabitable or inaccessible
as result of that major disaster or emer-
gency.
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 30
days after the date of enactment of the Helping
to House the Victims of Hurricane Katrina Act
of 2005, the Secretary shall issue final rules to
establish 
the 
procedures 
applicable 
to 
the
issuance of assistance under subparagraph (A).
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HR 2862 EAS
‘‘(C) NOTICE.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and such other agencies as
the Secretary determines appropriate, shall es-
tablish procedures for providing notice of the
availability of assistance under this paragraph
to individuals or families that may be eligible
for such assistance.
‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT WITH PHA’S
AND OTHERS.—The Secretary may contract with
any State or local government agency or public
housing agency, or in consultation with any
State or local government agency, with any other
entity, to ensure that assistance payments under
this paragraph are provided in an efficient and
expeditious manner.
‘‘(E) WAIVER
OF
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—In providing assistance under this
paragraph, the Secretary shall waive the require-
ments under—
‘‘(i) paragraph (2), relating to tenant
contributions towards rent, except that any
such waiver shall expire on an individual’s
return to work;
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HR 2862 EAS
‘‘(ii) paragraph (4), relating to the eli-
gibility of individuals to receive assistance;
‘‘(iii) subsection (k) and paragraph (5)
of this subsection, relating to verification of
income;
‘‘(iv) paragraph (7)(A), relating to the
requirement that leases shall be for a term
of 1 year;
‘‘(v) paragraph (8), relating to initial
inspection of housing units by a public
housing agency; and
‘‘(vi) subsection (r)(1)(B), relating to
restrictions on portability.
‘‘(F) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, funds available for assist-
ance under this paragraph—
‘‘(i) shall be made available by the Sec-
retary to individuals to cover the cost of—
‘‘(I) rent;
‘‘(II) security and utility deposits;
‘‘(III) relocation expenses, includ-
ing expenses incurred in relocating
back to the major disaster area when
such relocation is permitted; and
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‘‘(IV) such additional expenses as
the Secretary determines necessary;
and
‘‘(ii) shall be used by the Secretary—
‘‘(I) for payments to public hous-
ing agencies, State or local government
agencies, or other voucher administra-
tors for vouchers used to assist individ-
uals or families affected by the major
disaster or emergency described in this
paragraph up to their authorized level
of vouchers, if any such vouchers are
not otherwise funded; and
‘‘(II) to provide operating sub-
sidies to public housing agencies for
public housing units provided to indi-
viduals or families affected by the
major disaster or emergency described
in this paragraph, if such a subsidy
was not previously provided for those
units.
‘‘(G) PAYMENT
STANDARD.—For purposes
of this paragraph, the payment standard for
each size of dwelling unit in a market area may
not exceed 150 percent, or higher if the Secretary
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approves of such increase, of the fair market
rental established under subsection (c) for the
same size dwelling unit in the same market area,
and shall be not less than 90 percent of that fair
market rental.
‘‘(H) NONDISCRIMINATION.—In selecting in-
dividuals or families for tenancy, a landlord or
owner may not exclude or penalize an individual
or family solely because any portion of the rental
payment of that individual or family is provided
under this paragraph.
‘‘(I) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Assist-
ance provided under this paragraph shall—
‘‘(i) terminate 6 months after the date
on which such assistance was received; and
‘‘(ii) extend for an additional 6
months unless at that time the Secretary
makes a determination that assistance
under this paragraph is no longer needed.
‘‘(21) ASSISTANCE FOR CURRENT VOUCHER RE-
CIPIENTS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE KATRINA.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
waive any of the requirements described in
clauses (i) through (vi) of paragraph (20)(E) for
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any individual or family receiving assistance
under this section on August 29, 2005, if—
‘‘(i) the individual or family resides,
or resided on August 29, 2005, in any area
that is subject to a declaration by the Presi-
dent of a major disaster or emergency under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et seq.) in connection with Hurricane
Katrina; and
‘‘(ii) the residence of the individual or
family became uninhabitable or inaccessible
as result of that major disaster or emer-
gency.
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL USES OF FUNDS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary shall provide, as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate, supplemental assistance to
an individual or family receiving assistance
under this section on August 29, 2005, and meet-
ing the requirements described in subparagraph
(A), to assist the individual or family with the
additional costs of relocating to new housing, in-
cluding to cover—
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‘‘(i) the additional cost of rent and
utilities;
‘‘(ii) security and utility deposits;
‘‘(iii) relocation expenses, including ex-
penses incurred in relocating back to the
major disaster area when such relocation is
permitted; and
‘‘(iv) such additional expenses as the
Secretary determines necessary.
‘‘(C) PAYMENT STANDARD.—For purposes of
this paragraph, the payment standard for each
size of dwelling unit in a market area may not
exceed 150 percent, or higher if the Secretary ap-
proves of such increase, of the fair market rental
established under subsection (c) for the same size
dwelling unit in the same market area, and shall
be not less than 90 percent of that fair market
rental.
‘‘(D) NONDISCRIMINATION.—A landlord or
owner may not exclude or penalize an individual
or family solely because that individual or fam-
ily is eligible for any waivers or benefits pro-
vided under this paragraph.
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‘‘(E) TERMINATION
OF
AUTHORITY.—The
authority of the Secretary to provide assistance
under this paragraph shall—
‘‘(i) apply during the 6-month period
beginning on the date of enactment of the
Helping to House the Victims of Hurricane
Katrina Act of 2005; and
‘‘(ii) extend for an additional 6
months after that period, unless if at that
time the Secretary makes a determination
that assistance under this paragraph is no
longer needed.
‘‘(22) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY TO DI-
RECTLY ADMINISTER VOUCHERS WHEN PHA’S ARE UN-
ABLE TO DO SO.—If the Secretary determines that a
public housing agency is unable to implement the
provisions of this subsection due to the effects of Hur-
ricane Katrina, the Secretary may—
‘‘(A) directly administer any voucher pro-
gram described in paragraphs (1) through (20);
and
‘‘(B) perform the functions assigned to a
public housing agency by this subsection.’’.
(c) REPORT ON INVENTORY OF AVAILABILITY OF TEM-
PORARY HOUSING.—Not later than 10 days after the date
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of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, the Ad-
ministrator of the General Services Administration, the
Secretary of Agriculture, and such other agency heads as
the Secretary determines appropriate, shall compile and re-
port to the Secretary an inventory of Federal civilian and
defense facilities that can be used—
(1) to provide emergency housing; or
(2) as locations for the construction or deploy-
ment of temporary housing units.
(d) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated and are appropriated $3,500,000,000 to
provide assistance under this Act.
(2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amount ap-
propriated under paragraph (1) is designated as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of H.
Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress).
TRADE REMEDY LAWS
SEC. 527. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise
made available by this Act may be used in a manner that
is inconsistent with the principle negotiating objective of
the United States with respect to trade remedy laws to pre-
serve the ability of the United States—
‘‘(1) to enforce vigorously its trade laws, includ-
ing the antidumping, countervailing duty, and safe-
guard laws;