II 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 219 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 22 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2013 
Received 
AN ACT 
To improve and streamline disaster assistance for Hurricane 
Sandy, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Public assistance program alternative procedures. 
Sec. 3. Federal assistance to individuals and households. 
Sec. 4. Hazard mitigation. 
Sec. 5. Dispute resolution pilot program. 
Sec. 6. Unified Federal review. 
Sec. 7. Simplified procedures. 
Sec. 8. Essential assistance. 
Sec. 9. Individual assistance factors. 
Sec. 10. Tribal requests for a major disaster or emergency declaration under 
the Stafford Act. 
Sec. 11. Recommendations for reducing costs of future disasters. 
SEC. 2. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE PRO-
CEDURES. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating the second section 425 (re-
lating to essential service providers) as section 427; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 428. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE 
PROCEDURES. 
‘‘(a) APPROVAL OF PROJECTS.—The President, act-
ing through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, may approve projects under the al-
ternative procedures adopted under this section for any 
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major disaster or emergency declared on or after the date 
of enactment of this section. The Administrator may also 
apply the alternate procedures adopted under this section 
to a major disaster or emergency declared before enact-
ment of this Act for which construction has not begun as 
of the date of enactment of this Act. 
‘‘(b) ADOPTION.—The Administrator, in coordination 
with States, tribal and local governments, and owners or 
operators of private nonprofit facilities, may adopt alter-
native procedures to administer assistance provided under 
sections 403(a)(3)(A), 406, 407, and 502(a)(5). 
‘‘(c) GOALS OF PROCEDURES.—The alternative pro-
cedures adopted under subsection (a) shall further the 
goals of— 
‘‘(1) reducing the costs to the Federal Govern-
ment of providing such assistance; 
‘‘(2) increasing flexibility in the administration 
of such assistance; 
‘‘(3) expediting the provision of such assistance 
to a State, tribal or local government, or owner or 
operator of a private nonprofit facility; and 
‘‘(4) providing financial incentives and disincen-
tives for a State, tribal or local government, or 
owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility for 
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the timely and cost-effective completion of projects 
with such assistance. 
‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—Participation in the alter-
native procedures adopted under this section shall be at 
the election of a State, tribal or local government, or 
owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility consistent 
with procedures determined by the Administrator. 
‘‘(e) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—The alternative pro-
cedures adopted under this section shall include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) For repair, restoration, and replacement of 
damaged facilities under section 406— 
‘‘(A) making grants on the basis of fixed 
estimates, if the State, tribal or local govern-
ment, or owner or operator of the private non-
profit facility agrees to be responsible for any 
actual costs that exceed the estimate; 
‘‘(B) providing an option for a State, tribal 
or local government, or owner or operator of a 
private nonprofit facility to elect to receive an 
in-lieu contribution, without reduction, on the 
basis of estimates of— 
‘‘(i) the cost of repair, restoration, re-
construction, or replacement of a public fa-
cility owned or controlled by the State, 
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tribal or local government or owner or op-
erator of a private nonprofit facility; and 
‘‘(ii) management expenses; 
‘‘(C) consolidating, to the extent deter-
mined appropriate by the Administrator, the fa-
cilities of a State, tribal or local government, or 
owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility 
as a single project based upon the estimates 
adopted under the procedures; 
‘‘(D) if the actual costs of a project com-
pleted under the procedures are less than the 
estimated costs thereof, the Administrator may 
permit a grantee or subgrantee to use all or 
part of the excess funds for— 
‘‘(i) cost-effective activities that re-
duce the risk of future damage, hardship, 
or suffering from a major disaster; and 
‘‘(ii) other activities to improve future 
Public Assistance operations or planning; 
‘‘(E) in determining eligible costs under 
section 406, the Administrator shall make avail-
able, at an applicant’s request and where the 
Administrator or the certified cost estimate pre-
pared by the applicant’s professionally licensed 
engineers has estimated an eligible Federal 
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share for a project of at least $5,000,000, an 
independent expert panel to validate the esti-
mated eligible cost consistent with applicable 
regulations and policies implementing this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(F) in determining eligible costs under 
section 406, the Administrator shall, at the ap-
plicant’s request, consider properly conducted 
and certified cost estimates prepared by profes-
sionally licensed engineers (mutually agreed 
upon by the Administrator and the applicant), 
to the extent that such estimates comply with 
applicable regulations, policy, and guidance. 
‘‘(2) 
For 
debris 
removal 
under 
sections 
403(a)(3)(A), 407, and 502(a)(5)— 
‘‘(A) making grants on the basis of fixed 
estimates to provide financial incentives and 
disincentives for the timely or cost-effective 
completion if the State, tribal or local govern-
ment, or owner or operator of the private non-
profit facility agrees to be responsible to pay for 
any actual costs that exceed the estimate; 
‘‘(B) using a sliding scale for determining 
the Federal share for removal of debris and 
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wreckage based on the time it takes to complete 
debris and wreckage removal; 
‘‘(C) allowing use of program income from 
recycled debris without offset to the grant 
amount; 
‘‘(D) reimbursing base and overtime wages 
for employees and extra hires of a State, tribal 
or local government, or owner or operator of a 
private nonprofit facility performing or admin-
istering debris and wreckage removal; 
‘‘(E) providing incentives to a State or 
tribal or local government to have a debris 
management plan approved by the Adminis-
trator and have pre-qualified 1 or more debris 
and wreckage removal contractors before the 
date of declaration of the major disaster; and 
‘‘(F) if the actual costs of projects under 
subparagraph (A) are less than the estimated 
costs of the project, the Administrator may per-
mit a grantee or subgrantee to use all or part 
of the excess funds for— 
‘‘(i) debris management planning; 
‘‘(ii) acquisition of debris management 
equipment for current or future use; and 
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‘‘(iii) other activities to improve future 
debris removal operations, as determined 
by the Administrator. 
‘‘(f) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Until such time as the 
Administrator promulgates regulations to implement this 
section, the Administrator may— 
‘‘(1) waive notice and comment rulemaking, if 
the Administrator determines the waiver is necessary 
to expeditiously implement this section; and 
‘‘(2) carry out the alternative procedures under 
this section as a pilot program. 
‘‘(g) OVERTIME PAYMENTS.—The guidelines for re-
imbursement for costs under subsection (e)(2)(D) shall 
ensure that no State or local government is denied reim-
bursement for overtime payments that are required pursu-
ant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.). 
‘‘(h) REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 3 years, 
and not later than 5 years, after the date of enact-
ment of this section, the Inspector General of the 
Department of Homeland Security shall submit to 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
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Representatives a report on the alternative proce-
dures for the repair, restoration, and replacement of 
damaged facilities under section 406 authorized 
under this section. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain an 
assessment of the effectiveness of the alternative 
procedures, including— 
‘‘(A) whether the alternative procedures 
helped to improve the general speed of disaster 
recovery; 
‘‘(B) the accuracy of the estimates relied 
upon; 
‘‘(C) whether the financial incentives and 
disincentives were effective; 
‘‘(D) whether the alternative procedures 
were cost effective; 
‘‘(E) whether the independent expert panel 
described in subsection (e)(1)(E) was effective; 
and 
‘‘(F) recommendations for whether the al-
ternative procedures should be continued and 
any recommendations for changes to the alter-
native procedures.’’. 
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SEC. 3. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 
HOUSEHOLDS. 
Section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5174(c)(1)(B)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 
clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 
‘‘(ii) LEASE AND REPAIR OF RENTAL 
UNITS FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Presi-
dent, to the extent the President de-
termines it would be a cost-effective 
alternative to other temporary housing 
options, may— 
‘‘(aa) enter into lease agree-
ments with owners of multifamily 
rental property located in areas 
covered by a major disaster dec-
laration to house individuals and 
households eligible for assistance 
under this section; and 
‘‘(bb) make repairs or im-
provements to properties under 
such lease agreements, to the ex-
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tent necessary to serve as safe 
and adequate temporary housing. 
‘‘(II) IMPROVEMENTS
OR
RE-
PAIRS.—Under the terms of any lease 
agreement for property entered into 
under this subsection, the value of the 
improvements or repairs— 
‘‘(aa) shall be deducted from 
the value of the lease agreement; 
and 
‘‘(bb) may not exceed the 
value of the lease agreement.’’; 
and 
(3) in clause (iv) (as so redesignated) by strik-
ing ‘‘clause (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (iii)’’. 
SEC. 4. HAZARD MITIGATION. 
(a) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES; ADVANCE ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of pro-
viding assistance under this section, the President 
shall ensure that— 
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‘‘(A) adequate resources are devoted to en-
sure that applicable environmental reviews 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and historic preservation reviews under 
the National Historic Preservation Act are com-
pleted on an expeditious basis; and 
‘‘(B) the shortest existing applicable proc-
ess under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preser-
vation Act is utilized. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORITY FOR OTHER EXPEDITED PRO-
CEDURES.—The President may utilize expedited pro-
cedures in addition to those required under para-
graph (1) for the purpose of providing assistance 
under this section, such as procedures under the 
Prototype Programmatic Agreement of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, for the consider-
ation of multiple structures as a group and for an 
analysis of the cost-effectiveness and fulfillment of 
cost-share requirements for proposed hazard mitiga-
tion measures. 
‘‘(e) ADVANCE ASSISTANCE.—The President may 
provide not more than 25 percent of the amount of the 
estimated cost of hazard mitigation measures to a State 
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grantee eligible for a grant under this section before eligi-
ble costs are incurred.’’. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA RELATING TO AD-
MINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE BY 
STATES.—Section 404(c)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170c(c)(2)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘applications 
submitted under paragraph (1).’’ the following: ‘‘Until 
such time as the Administrator promulgates regulations 
to implement this paragraph, the Administrator may 
waive notice and comment rulemaking, if the Adminis-
trator determines doing so is necessary to expeditiously 
implement this section, and may carry out this section as 
a pilot program.’’. 
(c) 
APPLICABILITY.—The 
authority 
under 
the 
amendments made by this section shall apply to— 
(1) any major disaster or emergency declared 
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) 
on or after the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(2) a major disaster or emergency declared 
under that Act before the date of enactment of this 
Act for which the period for processing requests for 
assistance has not ended as of the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
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SEC. 5. DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 
emergency Management Agency. 
(2) ELIGIBLE ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘eligible 
assistance’’ means assistance— 
(A) under section 403, 406, or 407 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 
5173); 
(B) for which the legitimate amount in dis-
pute is not less than $1,000,000, which sum the 
Administrator shall adjust annually to reflect 
changes in the Consumer Price Index for all 
Urban Consumers published by the Department 
of Labor; 
(C) for which the applicant has a non-Fed-
eral share; and 
(D) for which the applicant has received a 
decision on a first appeal. 
(b) PROCEDURES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, and in 
order to facilitate an efficient recovery from major 
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disasters, the Administrator shall establish proce-
dures under which an applicant may request the use 
of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitra-
tion by an independent review panel, to resolve dis-
putes relating to eligible assistance. 
(2) BINDING EFFECT.—A decision by an inde-
pendent review panel under this section shall be 
binding upon the parties to the dispute. 
(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The procedures estab-
lished under this section shall— 
(A) allow a party of a dispute relating to 
eligible assistance to request an independent re-
view panel for the review; 
(B) require a party requesting an inde-
pendent review panel as described in subpara-
graph (A) to agree to forgo rights to any fur-
ther appeal of the dispute relating to any eligi-
ble assistance; 
(C) require that the sponsor of an inde-
pendent review panel for any alternative dispute 
resolution under this section be— 
(i) an individual or entity unaffiliated 
with the dispute (which may include a 
Federal agency, an administrative law 
judge, or a reemployed annuitant who was 
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an employee of the Federal Government) 
selected by the Administrator; and 
(ii) responsible for identifying and 
maintaining an adequate number of inde-
pendent experts qualified to review and re-
solve disputes under this section; 
(D) require an independent review panel 
to— 
(i) resolve any remaining disputed 
issue in accordance with all applicable 
laws, regulations, and Agency interpreta-
tions of those laws through its published 
policies and guidance; 
(ii) consider only evidence contained 
in the administrative record, as it existed 
at the time at which the Agency made its 
initial decision; 
(iii) only set aside a decision of the 
Agency found to be arbitrary, capricious, 
an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in 
accordance with law; and 
(iv) in the case of a finding of mate-
rial fact adverse to the claimant made on 
first appeal, only set aside or reverse such 
finding if the finding is clearly erroneous; 
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(E) require an independent review panel to 
expeditiously issue a written decision for any al-
ternative dispute resolution under this section; 
and 
(F) direct that if an independent review 
panel for any alternative dispute resolution 
under this section determines that the basis 
upon which a party submits a request for alter-
native dispute resolution is frivolous, the inde-
pendent review panel shall direct the party to 
pay the reasonable costs to the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency relating to the re-
view by the independent review panel. Any 
funds received by the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency under the authority of this sec-
tion shall be deposited to the credit of the ap-
propriation or appropriations available for the 
eligible assistance in dispute on the date on 
which the funds are received. 
(c) SUNSET.—A request for review by an independent 
review panel under this section may not be made after De-
cember 31, 2015. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the termination of authority under this section 
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under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a re-
port analyzing the effectiveness of the program 
under this section. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
(A) a determination of the availability of 
data required to complete the report; 
(B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 
the program under this section, including an as-
sessment of whether the program expedited or 
delayed the disaster recovery process; 
(C) an assessment of whether the program 
increased or decreased costs to administer sec-
tion 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; 
(D) an assessment of the procedures and 
safeguards that the independent review panels 
established to ensure objectivity and accuracy, 
and the extent to which they followed those pro-
cedures and safeguards; 
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(E) a recommendation as to whether any 
aspect of the program under this section should 
be made a permanent authority; and 
(F) recommendations for any modifications 
to the authority or the administration of the 
authority under this section in order to improve 
the disaster recovery process. 
SEC. 6. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (as amended by this Act) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 429. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this section, and in consultation 
with the Council on Environmental Quality and the Advi-
sory Council on Historic Preservation, the President shall 
establish an expedited and unified interagency review 
process to ensure compliance with environmental and his-
toric requirements under Federal law relating to disaster 
recovery projects, in order to expedite the recovery proc-
ess, consistent with applicable law. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The review process established 
under this section shall include mechanisms to expedi-
tiously address delays that may occur during the recovery 
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from a major disaster and be updated, as appropriate, 
consistent with applicable law.’’. 
SEC. 7. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES. 
Section 422 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘If the Federal estimate’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Federal esti-
mate’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(or, if the Administrator has 
established a threshold under subsection (b), the 
amount established under subsection (b))’’ after 
‘‘$35,000’’ the first place it appears; 
(3) by inserting ‘‘or, if applicable, the amount 
established under subsection (b),’’ after ‘‘$35,000 
amount’’ the second place it appears; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) THRESHOLD.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the President, 
acting through the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Administrator’), shall— 
‘‘(A) complete an analysis to determine 
whether an increase in the threshold for eligi-
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bility under subsection (a) is appropriate, which 
shall include consideration of cost-effectiveness, 
speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past 
performance, and accountability measures; and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report regarding the analysis con-
ducted under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—After the Administrator sub-
mits the report required under paragraph (1), the 
President shall direct the Administrator to— 
‘‘(A) immediately establish a threshold for 
eligibility under this section in an appropriate 
amount, without regard to chapter 5 of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
‘‘(B) adjust the threshold annually to re-
flect changes in the Consumer Price Index for 
all Urban Consumers published by the Depart-
ment of Labor. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date on which the Administrator establishes a 
threshold under paragraph (2), and every 3 years 
thereafter, the President, acting through the Admin-
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istrator, shall review the threshold for eligibility 
under this section.’’. 
SEC. 8. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE. 
(a) OTHER NEEDS ASSISTANCE.—Section 408(e)(1) 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the paragraph heading by inserting 
‘‘CHILD CARE,’’ after ‘‘DENTAL,’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘child care,’’ after ‘‘dental,’’. 
(b) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.—Section 403 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(d) SALARIES AND BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the President declares a 
major disaster or emergency for an area within the 
jurisdiction of a State, tribal, or local government, 
the President may reimburse the State, tribal, or 
local government for costs relating to— 
‘‘(A) basic pay and benefits for permanent 
employees of the State, tribal, or local govern-
ment conducting emergency protective measures 
under this section, if— 
‘‘(i) the work is not typically per-
formed by the employees; and 
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