‘‘(10) the term ‘response and recovery oper-
ations and programs’ means response operations and 
programs and recovery operations and programs; 
‘‘(11) the term ‘response operations and pro-
grams’ means operations and programs that involve 
taking immediate actions to save lives, protect prop-
erty or the environment, or meet basic human needs; 
‘‘(12) the term ‘recovery operations and pro-
grams’ means operations and programs to support 
and enable recovery, as defined in section 501 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002; and 
‘‘(13) the term ‘employee’ means an employee, 
including an employee hired under section 306(b)(1) 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)), who is 
appointed to a term of 1 or more years. 
‘‘(b) DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.—In order to 
provide efficiency, continuity, quality, and accuracy in 
services performed under response and recovery operations 
and programs there is within the Agency a disaster reserve 
workforce, which shall be used to supplement the work of 
permanent full-time employees of the Agency on response 
and recovery operations and programs. 
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‘‘(c) PROVISION OF SERVICES PERFORMED UNDER 
RESPONSE
AND
RECOVERY
OPERATIONS
AND
PRO-
GRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
ensure that the disaster reserve workforce can rap-
idly and efficiently deploy qualified, skilled, and 
trained reservists for a sufficiently long period to 
provide continuity in response and recovery oper-
ations and programs. 
‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Sufficient numbers of 
qualified permanent full-time employees of the 
Agency shall lead and manage the disaster re-
serve workforce and implement response and re-
covery operations and programs, including lead-
ing individual major projects under sections 
404, 406, and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170c, 5172, and 5173). 
‘‘(B) DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.— 
The Disaster Reserve Workforce shall include— 
‘‘(i) term employees; 
‘‘(ii) permanent seasonal employees; 
‘‘(iii) employees designated for short- 
term deployments; 
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‘‘(iv) employees of the Department 
who are not employees of the Agency; and 
‘‘(v) employees of other Federal agen-
cies. 
‘‘(C) FACTORS.—In supporting the work of 
permanent full-time employees, the Adminis-
trator— 
‘‘(i) shall rely to the greatest extent 
possible on term employees and permanent 
seasonal employees deployed for long peri-
ods of time in order to help ensure greater 
efficiency, continuity, quality, and accuracy 
in services performed under recovery oper-
ations and programs; and 
‘‘(ii) may use discretion to deploy the 
reservists most able to ensure the greatest 
efficiency, continuity, quality, and accuracy 
in services performed under response and 
recovery operations and programs. 
‘‘(3) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—In order to 
ensure that efficient, continuous, and accurate serv-
ices are provided under response and recovery oper-
ations and programs, not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall develop— 
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‘‘(A) staffing policies and procedures that 
provide for the management of response and re-
covery operations and programs by sufficient 
numbers of permanent full-time senior-level of-
ficials; 
‘‘(B) plans to recruit individuals who re-
side in the area affected by a major disaster 
when long-term recovery efforts are needed; and 
‘‘(C) policies and procedures relating to 
sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5170c, 
5172, 5173, and 5192). 
‘‘(4) MINIMUM
STANDARDS
AND
GUIDELINES 
FOR THE DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.— 
‘‘(A) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Administrator shall develop 
standards and guidelines for the disaster re-
serve workforce, including— 
‘‘(i) setting appropriate mandatory be-
fore and after disaster training require-
ments; 
‘‘(ii) establishing the minimum num-
ber of days annually an individual is re-
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quired to deploy in a year during which 
there is sufficient work for members of the 
disaster reserve workforce; 
‘‘(iii) providing for a reasonably long 
time period for deployment to ensure con-
tinuity in operations; and 
‘‘(iv) establishing performance re-
quirements, including for the timely and 
accurate resolution of issues and projects. 
‘‘(B) MAINTAINING MEMBERSHIP IN THE 
DISASTER RESERVE WORKFORCE.—In order to 
maintain membership in the disaster reserve 
workforce, a reservist shall— 
‘‘(i) be credentialed in accordance 
with section 510; and 
‘‘(ii) meet all minimum standards and 
guidelines established under subparagraph 
(A)— 
‘‘(I) for term employees, before 
being appointed to a term in the dis-
aster reserve workforce; and 
‘‘(II) annually for all other re-
servists. 
‘‘(C) EVALUATION SYSTEM.—In consulta-
tion with the Director of the Office of Per-
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sonnel Management, the Administrator shall de-
velop and implement a system to continuously 
evaluate reservists to ensure that all minimum 
standards and guidelines under this paragraph 
are satisfied annually by all reservists. Chapter 
43 of title 5, United States Code, shall not 
apply to reservists covered under the system de-
veloped and implemented under this subpara-
graph. 
‘‘(5) CONTRACTORS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad-
ministrator, in conjunction with the Chief Human 
Capital Officer of the Agency, shall establish policies 
and procedures for contractors that support re-
sponse and recovery operations and programs, which 
shall ensure that the contractors have appropriate 
skills, training, knowledge, and experience for as-
signed tasks, including by ensuring that the contrac-
tors meet training, credentialing, and performance 
requirements similar to the requirements for reserv-
ists. 
‘‘(6) REEMPLOYED ANNUITANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In appointing reserv-
ists to the disaster reserve workforce, the appli-
cation of sections 8344 and 8468 of title 5, 
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United States Code (relating to annuities and 
pay on reemployment) or any other similar pro-
vision of law under a Government retirement 
system may be waived by the Administrator for 
annuitants reemployed on deployments involv-
ing a direct threat to life or property or other 
unusual circumstances for the entirety of the 
deployment. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—The authority under 
subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) is granted to assist the Adminis-
trator in establishing and effectively oper-
ating the disaster reserve workforce if no 
other qualified applicant is available for a 
reservist position; and 
‘‘(ii) may be exercised only— 
‘‘(I) with respect to natural dis-
asters, acts of terrorism, or other 
man-made disasters, including cata-
strophic incidents; and 
‘‘(II) if the applicant will not ac-
cept the position without a waiver. 
‘‘(C) NOT
EMPLOYEE
FOR
RETIREMENT 
PURPOSES.—An annuitant to whom a waiver 
under subparagraph (A) is in effect shall not be 
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considered an employee for purposes of any 
Government retirement system. 
‘‘(7) PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An employee hired 
under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Staf-
ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)) and NCCC-FEMA 
corps members who complete their terms of 
service pursuant to an Interagency Agreement 
between FEMA and the Corporation for Na-
tional and Community Service may compete for 
permanent positions in the Agency under merit 
promotion procedures. The actual time deployed 
as a reservist shall be considered creditable 
service for purposes of such competition and 
shall be calculated, for purposes of section 8411 
of title 5, United States Code, by dividing the 
total number of days of service as a reservist by 
365 to obtain the number of years of service 
and dividing any remainder by 30 to obtain the 
number of additional months of service and ex-
cluding from the aggregate the fractional part 
of a month, if any. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—In evaluating a 
reservist hired under section 306(b)(1) of the 
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Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)) 
for a potential permanent employment position, 
the Administrator shall consider the qualifica-
tions of, and performance as a reservist by, the 
reservist, including the ability of the reservist to 
timely, accurately, and creatively resolve issues 
and projects when deployed. 
‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE
DATE
AND
APPLICA-
TION.—This paragraph shall— 
‘‘(i) take effect on the date on which 
the Administrator implements the evalua-
tion system under paragraph (4)(C); and 
‘‘(ii) apply to periods of service per-
formed after that date. 
‘‘(8) NO IMPACT ON AGENCY PERSONNEL CEIL-
ING.—Reservists shall not be counted against any 
personnel ceiling limitation applicable to the Agen-
cy.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 525 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 526. Administration of response and recovery operations and programs.’’. 
(c) PERMANENT SEASONAL EMPLOYEES.—Section 
306(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
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Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘or perma-
nent seasonal employees (as that term is defined 
under section 526(a)(8) of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002)’’ after ‘‘temporary personnel’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘or the em-
ployment of permanent seasonal employees (as that 
term is defined under section 526(a)(8) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002)’’ after ‘‘additional 
personnel’’. 
SEC. 18. FEDERAL RECOVERY PREPAREDNESS OFFICIALS. 
Section 653(a) of the Post-Katrina Emergency Man-
agement Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 753(a)) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In support of the national 
preparedness system, the President shall ensure that 
each Federal agency with responsibilities under the 
National Response Plan or the National Disaster 
Recovery Framework— 
‘‘(A) has designated a lead senior official 
to— 
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‘‘(i) ensure the Federal agency is pre-
pared to execute its response and recovery 
responsibilities under such plans; and 
‘‘(ii) coordinate disaster response and 
recovery efforts and activities with the Ad-
ministrator; 
‘‘(B) has the operational capability to meet 
the national preparedness goal, including— 
‘‘(i) the personnel to make and com-
municate decisions; 
‘‘(ii) organizational structures that 
are assigned, trained, and exercised for the 
missions of the agency; 
‘‘(iii) sufficient physical resources; and 
‘‘(iv) the command, control, and com-
munication channels to make, monitor, and 
communicate decisions; 
‘‘(C) complies with the National Incident 
Management System, including credentialing of 
personnel and typing of resources likely needed 
to respond to a natural disaster, act of ter-
rorism, or other man-made disaster in accord-
ance with section 510 of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 320); 
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‘‘(D) develops, trains and exercises rosters 
of response and recovery personnel to be de-
ployed when the agency is called upon to sup-
port a Federal response and recovery; 
‘‘(E) develops deliberate operational plans 
and the corresponding capabilities, including 
crisis planning, to effectively respond to and re-
cover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, 
and other man-made disasters in support of the 
National Response Plan and National Disaster 
Recovery Framework to ensure a coordinated 
Federal response; and 
‘‘(F) regularly updates, verifies the accu-
racy of, and provides to the Administrator the 
information in the inventory required under sec-
tion 651. 
‘‘(2) NATIONAL DISASTER RECOVERY FRAME-
WORK DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘Na-
tional Disaster Recovery Framework’ means the Na-
tional Disaster Recovery Framework developed 
under section 682, or any successor document.’’. 
SEC. 19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
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(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 
disasters, the Administrator shall establish proce-
dures under which an applicant may request the use 
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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 
an employee of the Federal Government) 
selected by the Administrator; and 
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(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. 
(E) require an independent review panel to 
expeditiously issue a written decision for any al-
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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 
under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the Committee on 
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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; 
(E) a recommendation as to whether any 
aspect of the program under this section should 
be made a permanent authority; and 
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(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. 
Æ 
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