major disaster, or with respect to indi-
viduals with disabilities, rendered in-
accessible by a disaster; and 
‘‘(II) eligible hazard mitigation 
measures that reduce the likelihood 
and future damage to such residences, 
utilities, and infrastructure. 
‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of as-
sistance under this subparagraph shall not 
be eligible for assistance under paragraph 
(1), unless otherwise determined by the 
Administrator. 
‘‘(iii) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AS-
SISTANCE.—Assistance allowed under this 
paragraph may be used in coordination 
with other sources for the repair and re-
building of an owner-occupied residence. 
‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
ASSIST-
ANCE.—A recipient of assistance provided 
under this paragraph shall not be required to 
show that the assistance can be met through 
other means, except insurance proceeds.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘in cases in 
which’’ and all that follows through the end of the 
paragraph and inserting ‘‘if the President considers 
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it a cost effective alternative to other housing solu-
tions, including the costs associated with temporary 
housing provided under this section, and long-term 
rebuilding costs associated with section 431.’’. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 408(b)(1) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5174(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘rendered uninhabitable’’ and 
inserting ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘uninhabitable, as a result of 
damage caused by a major disaster’’ and inserting 
‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’. 
(c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend-
ments made by this section shall apply to funds appro-
priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 6. FEMA EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(a) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (J) by striking the 
period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(K) minor repairs up to habitability of 
owner-occupied homes damaged by the disaster 
in order for survivors to safely shelter in place, 
subject to the availability of appropriations.’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) SHELTERING
AND
HOUSING
OPTIONS.— 
Not later than 15 days after a declaration of a 
major disaster, the Federal coordinating officer shall 
identify all sheltering and housing options available 
under this section or section 408 to a State Gov-
ernor, or the designated State coordinating officer. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘minor repairs up to habitability’ means the 
minimum standards for permanent housing de-
scribed in section 576.403(c) of title 24, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).’’. 
(b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue final 
regulations to implement the amendments made by this 
section. 
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SEC. 7. APPEALS OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS PRO-
GRAM BENEFITS. 
(a) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—Clauses (iii) and (iv) 
of section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5174(c)(1)(B)) are amended by striking ‘‘18-month pe-
riod’’ and inserting ‘‘24-month period’’. 
(b) APPEALS.—The Administrator shall revise sec-
tion 206.115 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 
provide to any applicant who appeals a determination of 
eligibility of assistance— 
(1) any documentation used to make such de-
termination, including any inspection documents 
that exist; 
(2) a description of— 
(A) the reasons for such determination; 
and 
(B) recommended steps that could be 
taken to remedy a determination of ineligibility, 
including, as applicable, a list of additional doc-
umentation that the applicant may provide; and 
(3) any inspection documents that exist not 
later than 10 days after the completion of the in-
spection. 
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(c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend-
ment made by this section shall apply to funds appro-
priated on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MAJOR DISASTER DEC-
LARATIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report 
containing the following information with respect to each 
major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 5-year period pre-
ceding such date of enactment: 
(1) The process used by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to determine individual house-
hold need. 
(2) An itemization of the most common reasons 
for denial of individual and household assistance 
pursuant to section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5174). 
(3) The rate of appeals of denial of such assist-
ance. 
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(4) The amount of time the Agency takes to 
issue a decision regarding eligibility for individual 
assistance, disaggregated by each such major dis-
aster. 
(5) Information on the use of Disaster Legal 
Services and the number of applicants who were eli-
gible for such services. 
(6) The total number of Disaster Legal Services 
volunteers as of such date of enactment. 
(7) The number of such volunteers who were 
activated for each such major disaster. 
(8) The amount of time taken after the declara-
tion of each such major disaster to set up disaster 
recovery centers that provide access to individual as-
sistance. 
(9) The number of disaster recovery centers 
opened for each such major disaster. 
(10) The process used for selecting the location 
of such disaster recovery centers. 
(11) The average amount of time disaster re-
covery centers remained open. 
(12) The average amount of time individual 
survivors spend at such centers. 
(13) A description of outreach efforts in low-in-
come, rural, and underserved communities regarding 
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the availability of assistance provided by the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency under the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act. 
SEC. 9. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall— 
(1) conduct a review of the fiscal controls of 
States that receive assistance under section 432 of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act, as added by section 3; and 
(2) make recommendations regarding the pro-
gram established under such section to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent-
atives. 
SEC. 10. GAO STUDY ON TIMING OF CLOSING OUT DIS-
ASTER RECOVERY. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report on how long it takes 
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency to officially close out each major disaster declared 
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under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) pursuant 
to section 705 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205). 
Æ 
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