I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 706 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency to continue to administer the National Urban Search and Rescue 
Response System, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2009 
Mr. COHEN (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Flor-
ida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to direct the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue to 
administer the National Urban Search and Rescue Re-
sponse System, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Urban Search 
and Rescue Response System Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE 
SYSTEM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 327. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RE-
SPONSE SYSTEM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency. 
‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
‘‘(3) HAZARD.—The term ‘hazard’ has the 
meaning given that term by section 602. 
‘‘(4) NON-EMPLOYEE
SYSTEM
MEMBER.—The 
term ‘non-employee System member’ means a Sys-
tem member not employed by a sponsoring agency 
or participating agency. 
‘‘(5) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘par-
ticipating agency’ means a State or local govern-
ment, nonprofit organization, or private organization 
that has executed an agreement with a sponsoring 
agency to participate in the System. 
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each such individual with respect to the partici-
pation of the individual on the task force. 
‘‘(e) MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL TEAMS.—The 
Administrator shall maintain such management teams and 
other technical teams as the Administrator determines are 
necessary to administer the System. 
‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT
OF SYSTEM MEMBERS INTO 
FEDERAL SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may ap-
point a System member into Federal service for a 
period of service to provide for the participation of 
the System member in exercises, preincident staging, 
major disaster and emergency response activities, 
and training events sponsored or sanctioned by the 
Administrator. 
‘‘(2) NONAPPLICABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
CIVIL 
SERVICE LAWS.—The Administrator may make ap-
pointments under paragraph (1) without regard to 
the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov-
erning appointments in the competitive service. 
‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
AUTHORI-
TIES.—The authority of the Administrator to make 
appointments under this subsection shall not affect 
any other authority of the Administrator under this 
Act. 
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‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—A System member who is 
appointed into Federal service under paragraph (1) 
shall not be deemed an employee of the United 
States for purposes other than those specifically set 
forth in this section. 
‘‘(g) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(1) PAY
OF
SYSTEM
MEMBERS.—Subject to 
such terms and conditions as the Administrator may 
impose by regulation, the Administrator shall make 
payments to the sponsoring agency of a task force— 
‘‘(A) to reimburse each employer of a Sys-
tem member on the task force for compensation 
paid by the employer to the System member for 
any period during which the System member is 
appointed into Federal service under subsection 
(f)(1); and 
‘‘(B) to make payments directly to a non- 
employee System member on the task force for 
any period during which the non-employee Sys-
tem member is appointed into Federal service 
under subsection (f)(1). 
‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES FILL-
ING POSITIONS OF SYSTEM MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such terms 
and conditions as the Administrator may im-
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pose by regulation, the Administrator shall 
make payments to the sponsoring agency of a 
task force to reimburse each employer of a Sys-
tem member on the task force for compensation 
paid by the employer to an employee filling a 
position normally filled by the System member 
for any period during which the System mem-
ber is appointed into Federal service under sub-
section (f)(1). 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Costs incurred by an 
employer shall be eligible for reimbursement 
under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that 
the costs are in excess of the costs that would 
have been incurred by the employer had the 
System member not been appointed into Fed-
eral service under subsection (f)(1). 
‘‘(3) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—A System mem-
ber shall not be entitled to pay directly from the 
Agency for a period during which the System mem-
ber is appointed into Federal service under sub-
section (f)(1). 
‘‘(h) PERSONAL INJURY, ILLNESS, DISABILITY, OR 
DEATH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A System member who is 
appointed into Federal service under subsection 
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(f)(1) and who suffers personal injury, illness, dis-
ability, or death as a result of a personal injury sus-
tained while acting in the scope of such appointment 
shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 
of title 5, United States Code, be treated as though 
the member were an employee (as defined by section 
8101 of that title) who had sustained the injury in 
the performance of duty. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION OF BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a System member 
(or, in the case of the death of the System 
member, the System member’s dependent) is 
entitled— 
‘‘(i) under paragraph (1) to receive 
benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81 
of title 5, United States Code, by reason of 
personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 
and 
‘‘(ii) to receive benefits from a State 
or local government by reason of the same 
personal injury, illness, disability, or death, 
the System member or dependent shall elect to 
receive either the benefits referred to in clause 
(i) or (ii). 
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‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—A System member or 
dependent shall make an election of benefits 
under subparagraph (A) not later than one year 
after the date of the personal injury, illness, 
disability, or death that is the reason for the 
benefits or until such later date as the Sec-
retary of Labor may allow for reasonable cause 
shown. 
‘‘(C) EFFECT OF ELECTION.—An election 
of benefits made under this paragraph is irrev-
ocable unless otherwise provided by law. 
‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE OR LOCAL 
BENEFITS.—Subject to such terms and conditions as 
the Administrator may impose by regulation, in the 
event that a System member or dependent elects 
benefits from a State or local government under 
paragraph (2)(A), the Administrator shall reimburse 
the State or local government for the value of those 
benefits. 
‘‘(i) LIABILITY.—A System member appointed into 
Federal service under subsection (f)(1), while acting with-
in the scope of the appointment, is deemed an employee 
of the Government under section 1346(b) of title 28, 
United States Code, and chapter 171 of that title, relating 
to tort claims procedure. 
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‘‘(j) EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.— 
With respect to a System member who is not a regular 
full-time employee of a sponsoring agency or participating 
agency, the following terms and conditions apply: 
‘‘(1) Service as a System member shall be 
deemed ‘service in the uniformed services’ for pur-
poses of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 
relating to employment and reemployment rights of 
individuals who have performed service in the uni-
formed services (regardless of whether the individual 
receives compensation for such participation). All 
rights and obligations of such persons and proce-
dures for assistance, enforcement, and investigation 
shall be as provided for in such chapter. 
‘‘(2) Preclusion of giving notice of service by 
necessity of appointment under this section shall be 
deemed preclusion by ‘military necessity’ for pur-
poses of section 4312(b) of title 38, United States 
Code, pertaining to giving notice of absence from a 
position of employment. A determination of such ne-
cessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall 
not be subject to judicial review. 
‘‘(k) LICENSES AND PERMITS.—If a System member 
holds a valid license, certificate, or other permit issued by 
any State or other governmental jurisdiction evidencing 
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the member’s qualifications in any professional, mechan-
ical, or other skill or type of assistance required by the 
System, the System member shall be deemed to be per-
forming a Federal activity when rendering aid involving 
such skill or assistance during a period of appointment 
into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). 
‘‘(l) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es-
tablish and maintain an advisory committee to pro-
vide expert recommendations to the Administrator in 
order to assist the Administrator in administering 
the System. 
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee 
shall be composed of members from geographically 
diverse areas, and shall include— 
‘‘(A) the chief officer or senior executive 
from at least 3 sponsoring agencies; 
‘‘(B) the senior emergency manager from 
at least 2 States that include sponsoring agen-
cies; and 
‘‘(C) at least one representative rec-
ommended by the leaders of the task forces. 
‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
TERMINATION
RE-
QUIREMENT.—Section 14(a)(2) of the Federal Advi-
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sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 
to the advisory committee under this subsection. 
‘‘(m) 
PREPAREDNESS
COOPERATIVE
AGREE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 
of appropriations for such purpose, the Adminis-
trator shall enter into an annual preparedness coop-
erative agreement with each sponsoring agency. 
Amounts made available to a sponsoring agency 
under such a preparedness cooperative agreement 
shall be for the following purposes: 
‘‘(A) Training and exercises, including 
training and exercises with other Federal, 
State, and local government response entities. 
‘‘(B) Acquisition and maintenance of 
equipment, including interoperable communica-
tions and personal protective equipment. 
‘‘(C) Medical monitoring required for re-
sponder safety and health in anticipation of and 
following a major disaster, emergency, or other 
hazard, as determined by the Administrator. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Not-
withstanding section 1552(b) of title 31, United 
States Code, amounts made available for cooperative 
agreements under this subsection that are not ex-
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pended shall be deposited in an Agency account and 
shall remain available for such agreements without 
fiscal year limitation. 
‘‘(n) RESPONSE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 
Administrator shall enter into a response cooperative 
agreement with each sponsoring agency, as appropriate, 
under which the Administrator agrees to reimburse the 
sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring 
agency in responding to a major disaster or emergency. 
‘‘(o) OBLIGATIONS.—The Administrator may incur 
all necessary obligations consistent with this section in 
order to ensure the effectiveness of the System. 
‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $52,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Such 
sums shall be in addition to amounts made available 
from the Disaster Relief Fund for response coopera-
tive agreements entered into under subsection (n). 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—The Ad-
ministrator may use not to exceed 6 percent of the 
funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to 
paragraph (1) for salaries, expenses, and other ad-
ministrative costs incurred by the Administrator in 
carrying out this section.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) APPLICABILITY
OF
TITLE
5, 
UNITED 
STATES CODE.—Section 8101(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) by moving subparagraph (F) to appear 
after subparagraph (E); 
(C) in subparagraph (F) by adding ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 
the following: 
‘‘(G) an individual who is a System mem-
ber of the National Urban Search and Rescue 
Response System during a period of appoint-
ment into Federal service pursuant to section 
327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act;’’. 
(2) INCLUSION AS PART OF UNIFORMED SERV-
ICES FOR PURPOSES OF USERRA.—Section 4303 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (13) by inserting ‘‘, a pe-
riod for which a System member of the Na-
tional Urban Search and Rescue Response Sys-
tem is absent from a position of employment 
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due to an appointment into Federal service 
under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ 
before ‘‘, and a period’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (16) by inserting after 
‘‘Public Health Service,’’ the following: ‘‘System 
members of the National Urban Search and 
Rescue Response System during a period of ap-
pointment into Federal service under section 
327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act,’’. 
Æ 
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