I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1711
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act to authorize programs for predisaster mitigation, to streamline the
administration of disaster relief, to control the Federal costs of disaster
assistance, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 5, 1999
Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mrs. FOWLER, and Mr. TRAFI-
CANT) (all by request) 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 authorize programs for
predisaster mitigation, to streamline the administration
of disaster relief, to control the Federal costs of disaster
assistance, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Disaster Mitigation Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Amendments to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act.
TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARDS MITIGATION
Sec. 101. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 102. Predisaster hazard mitigation.
Sec. 103. Maximum contribution for mitigation costs.
Sec. 104. Conforming amendment.
TITLE II—DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION
ASSISTANCE
Sec. 201. Insurance.
Sec. 202. Management costs.
Sec. 203. Assistance to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace damaged facili-
ties.
Sec. 204. Federal assistance to households.
Sec. 205. Repeals.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD DIS-
ASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
ACT.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made
to a section or other provision of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5121 et seq.).
TITLE I—PREDISASTER
HAZARDS MITIGATION
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) natural disasters, including earthquakes,
tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding, cause
great danger to human life and to property through-
out the United States;
(2) greater emphasis needs to be placed on
identifying and assessing the risks to State and local
communities and on implementing adequate meas-
ures to reduce losses from such disasters, and to en-
sure that communities’ critical public infrastructure
and facilities will continue to function after a dis-
aster;
(3) expenditures for post-disaster assistance are
increasing without commensurate reductions in the
likelihood of future losses from such natural disas-
ters;
(4) high priority in the expenditure of Federal
funds under this Act should be given to mitigate
hazards for existing and new construction at the
local level; and
(5) with a unified effort of economic incentives,
awareness, and education, technical assistance, and
demonstrated Federal support, States and local com-
munities can form effective community-based part-
nerships for hazard mitigation purposes, implement
effective hazards mitigation measures that reduce
the existing disaster potential, ensure continued
functionality of communities’ critical public infra-
structure, leverage additional non-Federal resources
into their disaster resistance goals, and make com-
mitments to long-term mitigation efforts in new and
existing construction.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab-
lish a national disaster mitigation program that—
(1) reduces the loss of life and property, human
suffering, economic disruption, and disaster assist-
ance costs resulting from natural hazards; and
(2) provides a source of predisaster mitigation
funding that will assist States and local governments
in implementing effective mitigation measures that
are designed to ensure the continued functionality of
their critical facilities and public infrastructure after
a natural disaster.
SEC. 102. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.)
is amended by adding new section 203 as follows:
‘‘SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Director may es-
tablish a program of technical and financial assistance to
States and local governments that implement predisaster
mitigation measures in order to reduce injuries and loss
of life and damage and destruction of property including
damage to their critical public infrastructure and facilities.
‘‘(b) APPROVAL BY DIRECTOR.—If the Director finds
that a State or local government has identified all natural
disaster hazards in its jurisdiction and has demonstrated
its ability to form effective public/private disaster mitiga-
tion partnerships, he may provide financial assistance to
the State or local government for such purposes from the
fund established under subsection (d) of this section.
‘‘(c) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—(1) The financial assist-
ance shall be used principally by States and local govern-
ments to implement the predisaster hazard mitigation
measures contained in proposals approved by the Director.
Funding may also be used to support effective public/pri-
vate partnerships, to ensure that new community growth
and construction is disaster resistant, and to improve the
assessment 
of 
a 
community’s 
natural 
hazards
vulnerabilities or to set a community’s mitigation prior-
ities.
‘‘(2) The Director shall take into account the fol-
lowing when establishing priorities for predisaster mitiga-
tion grants:
‘‘(A) the level and nature of the risks to be
mitigated;
‘‘(B) Grantee commitment to reduce damages
from future disasters.
‘‘(C) Commitment by the State or local govern-
ment to support ongoing non-Federal support for
the mitigation measures to be undertaken.
‘‘(d) NATIONAL PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND.—
To carry out the predisaster mitigation program author-
ized in subsection (a), the Director may establish in the
United States Treasury a National Predisaster Mitigation
Fund (‘‘Fund’’), which shall be available without fiscal
year limitation for grants to States and local governments
under subsection (b) of this section.
‘‘(e) FUNDS FOR THE ACCOUNT.—The Fund shall be
credited with—
‘‘(1) funds appropriated by the Congress for the
purposes of this section, which funds shall be avail-
able until expended; and
‘‘(2) sums available from bequests, gifts, or do-
nations of service, money, or property, real, per-
sonal, or mixed, tangible, or intangible, given for
purposes of predisaster mitigation.
‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject to the provisions of
subsections (g) and (h) of this section, grants from the
Fund shall be not more than 75 percent of the total costs
of the mitigation proposal(s) approved by the Director.
‘‘(g) LIMIT ON GRANTS.—No grants shall be made
in excess of the money available in the Fund.
‘‘(h) RULES GOVERNING THE ACCOUNT.—The Direc-
tor shall publish rules to carry out the provisions of this
section.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) of this section
shall take effect on the date of enactment of the Disaster
Mitigation Act of 1999.
SEC. 103. MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION FOR MITIGATION
COSTS.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section 404(a) (42 U.S.C.
5170c(a)) is amended in the last sentence by striking ‘‘15
percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to each major disaster declared
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) after the
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 104. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Title II (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is amended by strik-
ing the title heading and inserting the following:
‘‘TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED-
NESS AND MITIGATION AS-
SISTANCE’’.
TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED-
NESS AND MITIGATION AS-
SISTANCE
SEC. 201. INSURANCE.
Section 
311(a)(2) 
(42 
U.S.C. 
5154(a)(2)) 
is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before the sentence; and
(2) by adding subparagraph (B) to the sub-
section as follows:
‘‘(B) The President shall publish rules to
require States, communities, or other applicants
to protect property through self-insurance or
adequate mitigation measures if the appropriate
State insurance commissioner makes the certifi-
cation provided in subparagraph (A) and the
President determines that the property is not
adequately protected against natural or other
disasters.’’.
SEC. 202. MANAGEMENT COSTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.)
is amended by adding a new section 322 as follows:
‘‘SEC. 322. MANAGEMENT COSTS.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION
OF MANAGEMENT COST.—The
term ‘management cost’, as used in this section, includes
any indirect cost, administrative expense, and any other
expense not directly chargeable to a specific project under
a major disaster, emergency, or emergency preparedness
activity or measure.
‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT COST RATES.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law (including any administrative
rule or guidance), the President shall establish manage-
ment cost rates for grantees and subgrantees that shall
be used to determine contributions under this Act for
management costs.
‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The President shall review the man-
agement cost rates established under subsection (b) not
later than 3 years after the date of establishment of the
rates and periodically thereafter.
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The President shall promul-
gate regulations to define appropriate costs to be included
in management costs under this section.’’.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 322 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(as added by subsection (a)) shall apply as follows:
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a), (b), and (d)
of section 322 of that Act shall apply to each major
disaster declared under that Act on or after the date
of enactment of this Act. Until the date on which
the President establishes the management cost rates
under that subsection, section 406(f) of that Act (42
U.S.C. 5172(f)) shall be used for establishing the
rates.
(2) 
REVIEW; 
OTHER
EXPENSES.—Section
322(c) of that Act shall apply to each major disaster
declared under that Act on or after the date on
which the President establishes the management
cost rates under that section.
SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR, RESTORE, RECON-
STRUCT, OR REPLACE DAMAGED FACILITIES.
(a) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406(b) (42
U.S.C. 5172(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this
subsection, the Federal share of assistance under this sec-
tion shall be not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost
of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement car-
ried out under this section.
‘‘(2) The President shall publish rules to reduce the
Federal share of assistance under this section for the re-
pair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of any eli-
gible public or private nonprofit facility that has previously
received significant disaster assistance under this Act on
multiple occasions.’’.
(b) CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEDERAL SHARE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 406 (42 U.S.C.
5172) is amended by striking subsection (e) and in-
serting new subsection (e) to read as follows:
‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COST.—
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of
this section, the President shall estimate the eli-
gible cost of repairing, restoring, recon-
structing, or replacing a public facility or pri-
vate nonprofit facility—
‘‘(i) on the basis of the design of the
facility as the facility existed immediately
before the major disaster; and
‘‘(ii) in conformity with current appli-
cable codes, specifications, and standards
(including floodplain management and haz-
ard mitigation criteria required by the
President or under the Coastal Barrier Re-
sources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)).
‘‘(B) COST
ESTIMATION
PROCEDURES.—
Subject to paragraph (2), the President shall
use the cost estimation procedures developed
under paragraph (3) to make the estimate
under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE COST.—If the
actual cost of repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or
replacing a facility under this section is more than
120 percent or less than 80 percent of the cost esti-
mated under paragraph (1), the President may de-
termine that the eligible cost shall be the actual cost
of the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace-
ment.
‘‘(3) EXPERT
PANEL.—Not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this para-
graph, the President, acting through the Director of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall
establish an expert panel, which shall include rep-
resentatives from the construction industry, to de-
velop procedures for estimating the cost of repairing,
restoring, reconstructing, or replacing a facility con-
sistent with industry practices.
‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—In any case in which the
facility being repaired, restored, reconstructed, or re-
placed under this section was under construction on
the date of the major disaster, the cost of repairing,
restoring, reconstructing, or replacing the facility
shall include, for the purposes of this section, only
those costs that, under the contract for the construc-
tion, are the owner’s responsibility and not the con-
tractor’s responsibility.’’.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of en-
actment of this Act, except that paragraph (1) of
section 406(e) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as amended
by paragraph (1)) shall take effect on the date on
which the procedures developed under paragraph (3)
of that section take effect.
SEC. 204. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408 (42 U.S.C. 5174) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 408. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS.
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this
section, the President, in consultation and coordination
with the Governor of an affected State, may provide finan-
cial assistance, and, if necessary, direct services, to dis-
aster victims who—
‘‘(1) as a direct result of a major disaster have
necessary expenses and serious needs; and
‘‘(2) are unable to meet the necessary expenses
and serious needs through other means, including
insurance proceeds or loan or other financial assist-
ance from the Small Business Administration or an-
other Federal agency. Inability to meet necessary ex-
penses and serious needs through loan or other fi-
nancial assistance from the Small Business Adminis-
tration or another Federal agency shall not apply to
temporary housing or rental assistance under sub-
section (c)(2) or to permanent housing construction
under subsection (c)(4) of this section.
‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The President may provide
financial or other assistance under this section to
households to respond to the disaster-related hous-
ing needs of households that are displaced from their
predisaster primary residences or whose predisaster
primary residences are rendered uninhabitable as a
result of damage caused by a major disaster.
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE.—The President shall determine ap-
propriate types of housing assistance to be provided
to disaster victims under this section based on con-
siderations of cost-effectiveness, convenience to dis-
aster victims, and such other factors as the Presi-
dent considers to be appropriate. One or more types
of housing assistance may be made available, based
on the suitability and availability of the types of as-
sistance, to meet the needs of disaster victims in a
particular disaster situation.
‘‘(c) TYPES OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) PERIOD OF ASSISTANCE.—Federal assist-
ance under this subsection shall continue no longer
than 18 months after the date of the major disaster
declaration by the President, unless the President
determines that it is in the public interest to extend
such 18-month period.
‘‘(2) TEMPORARY HOUSING.—
‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The President
may provide financial assistance under this
section to households to rent alternative
housing accommodations, existing rental
units, manufactured housing, recreational
vehicles, or other readily fabricated dwell-
ings.
‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of as-
sistance under clause (i) shall be based on
the sum of—
‘‘(I) the fair market rent for the
accommodation being provided; and
‘‘(II) the cost of any transpor-
tation, utility hookups, or unit instal-
lation not being directly provided by
the President.
‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The President
may directly provide under this section
housing units, acquired by purchase or
lease, to households who, because of a lack
of available housing resources, would be
unable to make use of the assistance pro-
vided under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(ii) 
COLLECTION
OF
RENTAL
CHARGES.—After the expiration of the 18-
month period referred to in subsection
(c)(1), the President may charge fair mar-
ket rent for the accommodation being fur-
nished.
‘‘(3) REPAIRS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may
provide financial assistance for the repair of
owner-occupied primary residences, utilities,
and residential infrastructure (such as private
access routes) damaged by a major disaster to
a habitable or functioning condition.
‘‘(B) EMERGENCY REPAIRS.—To be eligi-
ble to receive assistance under subparagraph
(A), a recipient shall not be required to dem-
onstrate that the recipient is unable to meet the
need for the assistance through other means,
except insurance proceeds, if the assistance—
‘‘(i) is used for emergency repairs to
make a private primary residence habit-
able; and
‘‘(ii) does not exceed $5,000, as ad-
justed annually to reflect changes in the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Con-
sumers as reported by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the Department of
Labor.
‘‘(4) PERMANENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION.—
The President may provide financial assistance or
direct assistance under this section to households to
construct permanent housing in insular areas out-
side the continental United States and in other re-
mote locations in cases in which—
‘‘(A) no alternative housing resources are
available; and
‘‘(B) the types of temporary housing as-
sistance described in subsection (c)(1) are un-
available, infeasible, or not cost-effective.
‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO HOUS-
ING ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) SITES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any readily fabricated
dwelling provided under this section shall,
whenever practicable, be located on a site
that—
‘‘(i) is provided by the State or local
government; and
‘‘(ii) is complete with utilities provided
by the State or local government, by the
owner of the site, or by the occupant who
was displaced by the major disaster.
‘‘(B) SITES
PROVIDED
BY
THE
PRESI-
DENT.—Readily fabricated dwellings may be lo-
cated on sites provided by the President if the
President determines that the sites would be
more economical or accessible.
‘‘(2) DISPOSAL OF UNITS.—
‘‘(A) SALE TO OCCUPANTS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, a temporary
housing unit purchased under this section
by the President for the purpose of hous-
ing disaster victims may be sold directly to
the household who is occupying the unit if
the household needs permanent housing.
‘‘(ii) SALES
PRICE.—Sales of tem-
porary housing units under this clause
shall be accomplished at prices that are
fair and equitable.
‘‘(iii) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law,
the proceeds of a sale under clause (i) shall
be deposited into the appropriate Disaster
Relief Fund account.
‘‘(iv) USE
OF
GSA
SERVICES.—The
President may use the services of the Gen-
eral Services Administration to accomplish
a sale under clause (i).
‘‘(B) OTHER METHODS OF DISPOSAL.—
‘‘(i) SALE.—If not disposed of under
subparagraph (A), a temporary housing
unit purchased by the President for the
purpose of housing disaster victims may be
resold.
‘‘(ii) DISPOSAL
TO
GOVERNMENTS
AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS.—A tem-
porary housing unit described in clause (i)
may be sold, transferred, donated, or oth-
erwise made available directly to a State or
other governmental entity or to a voluntary
organization for the sole purpose of pro-
viding temporary housing to disaster vic-
tims in major disasters and emergencies if,
as a condition of the sale, transfer, dona-
tion, or other making available, the State,
other governmental agency, or voluntary
organization agrees—
‘‘(I) to comply with the non-
discrimination provisions of section
308; and
‘‘(II) to obtain and maintain haz-
ard and flood insurance on the hous-
ing unit.
‘‘(e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS OTHER
NEEDS.—
‘‘(1) MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND
FUNERAL
EX-
PENSES.—The President, in consultation and coordi-
nation with the Governor of the affected State, may
provide financial assistance under this section to a
household adversely affected by a major disaster to
meet disaster-related medical, dental, and funeral
expenses.
‘‘(2) PERSONAL PROPERTY, TRANSPORTATION,
AND
OTHER
EXPENSES.—The President, in con-
sultation and coordination with the Governor of the
affected State, may provide financial assistance
under this section to a household described in para-
graph (1) to address personal property, transpor-
tation, and other necessary expenses or serious
needs resulting from the major disaster.
‘‘(f) STATE ROLE.—The President shall provide for
the substantial and ongoing involvement of the affected
State in administering assistance under this section.
‘‘(g) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The max-
imum amount of financial assistance that a household may
receive under this section with respect to a single major
disaster shall be $25,000, as adjusted annually to reflect
changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Con-
sumers published by the Department of Labor.
‘‘(h) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The President
shall issue rules and regulations to carry out the program
established by this section, including criteria, standards,
and procedures for determining eligibility for assistance.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 502(a)(6)
(42 U.S.C. 5192(a)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘tem-
porary housing’’.
(c) REPEAL OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY GRANT
PROGRAMS.—Section 411 (42 U.S.C. 5178) is repealed.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section take effect 18 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 205. REPEALS.
(a) ASSOCIATED EXPENSES.—Subject to the provi-
sions of section 202(b)(2) of this Act, section 406(f) (42
U.S.C. 5172(f)) is repealed.
(b) COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS.—Section 417 (42
U.S.C. 5184) is repealed.
(c) SIMPLIFIED
PROCEDURE.—Section 422 (42
U.S.C. 5189) is repealed.
Æ