I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1805 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to provide for the health and safety of certain volunteers and workers 
in disaster areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2007 
Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to provide for the health and safety 
of certain volunteers and workers in disaster areas, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Public 
Health Protections in Major Disasters and Emergencies 
Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDIVID-
UALS IN A DISASTER AREA. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act is amended by inserting after 
section 408 (42 U.S.C. 5174) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 409. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDI-
VIDUALS IN DISASTER AREA. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘individual’ in-
cludes— 
‘‘(A) a worker or volunteer who responded 
to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or re-
sponds to a major disaster or emergency, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) a police officer; 
‘‘(ii) a firefighter; 
‘‘(iii) an emergency medical techni-
cian; 
‘‘(iv) any participating member of an 
urban search and rescue team; and 
‘‘(v) any other relief or rescue worker 
or volunteer that the President determines 
to be appropriate; 
‘‘(B) a worker who responds to a disaster 
by assisting in the cleanup or restoration of 
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critical infrastructure in and around a disaster 
area; 
‘‘(C) a person whose place of residence is 
in a disaster area; 
‘‘(D) a person who is employed in or at-
tends school, child care, or adult day care in a 
building located in a disaster area; and 
‘‘(E) any other person that the President 
determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(2) MEDICAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘med-
ical institution’ includes a hospital facility (as such 
term is defined in section 391 of the Energy Policy 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6371) and an accred-
ited public or nonprofit school of medicine. 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means a 
program described in subsection (b) that is carried 
out for a disaster area. 
‘‘(4) SUBSTANCE
OF
CONCERN.—The term 
‘substance of concern’ means a chemical or other 
substance that is associated with potential acute or 
chronic human health effects, the risk of exposure to 
which could potentially be increased as the result of 
a disaster, as determined by the President. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM.— 
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