295 
historic requirements under Federal law relating to 
disaster recovery projects. 
(2) A survey and analysis of categorical exclu-
sions used by other Federal agencies that may be 
applicable to any activity related to a Presidentially 
declared major disaster or emergency under such 
Act. 
(3) Recommendations on any further actions, 
including any legislative proposals, needed to expe-
dite and streamline the review process. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—After completing the review, 
survey, and analyses under subsection (a), but not later 
than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
after providing notice and opportunity for public comment, 
the Administrator shall issue regulations to implement any 
regulatory recommendations, including any categorical ex-
clusions identified under subsection (a), to the extent that 
the categorical exclusions meet the criteria for a categor-
ical exclusion under section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of 
Federal Regulations, and section II of DHS Instruction 
Manual 023–01–001–01. 
SEC. 620. CLOSEOUT INCENTIVES. 
(a) FACILITATING CLOSEOUT.—Section 705 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
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ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(d) FACILITATING CLOSEOUT.— 
‘‘(1) INCENTIVES.—The Administrator may de-
velop incentives and penalties that encourage State, 
Tribal, or local governments to close out expendi-
tures and activities on a timely basis related to dis-
aster or emergency assistance. 
‘‘(2) AGENCY
REQUIREMENTS.—The Agency 
shall, consistent with applicable regulations and re-
quired procedures, meet its responsibilities to im-
prove closeout practices and reduce the time to close 
disaster program awards.’’. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue 
regulations to implement this section. 
SEC. 621. PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES. 
Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency is authorized to appoint temporary 
personnel, after serving continuously for 3 years, to posi-
tions in the Agency in the same manner that competitive 
service employees with competitive status are considered 
for transfer, reassignment, or promotion to such positions. 
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An individual appointed under this subsection shall be-
come a career-conditional employee, unless the employee 
has already completed the service requirements for career 
tenure.’’. 
SEC. 622. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE IN-
FORMATION COLLECTION. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall— 
(1) in coordination with the Small Business Ad-
ministration, the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, and other appropriate agencies, con-
duct a study and develop a plan, consistent with law, 
under which the collection of information from dis-
aster assistance applicants and grantees will be 
modified, streamlined, expedited, efficient, flexible, 
consolidated, and simplified to be less burdensome, 
duplicative, and time consuming for applicants and 
grantees; 
(2) in coordination with the Small Business Ad-
ministration, the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, and other appropriate agencies, de-
velop a plan for the regular collection and reporting 
of information on Federal disaster assistance award-
ed, including the establishment and maintenance of 
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a website for presenting the information to the pub-
lic; and 
(3) submit the plans to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
SEC. 623. AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 430. AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
‘‘(a) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 5 days 
after an award of a public assistance grant is made under 
section 406 that is in excess of $1,000,000, the Adminis-
trator shall publish on the Agency’s website the specifics 
of each such grant award, including— 
‘‘(1) identifying the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency Region; 
‘‘(2) the disaster or emergency declaration 
number; 
‘‘(3) the State, county, and applicant name; 
‘‘(4) if the applicant is a private nonprofit orga-
nization; 
‘‘(5) the damage category code; 
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‘‘(6) the amount of the Federal share obligated; 
and 
‘‘(7) the date of the award. 
‘‘(b) MISSION ASSIGNMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 days after 
the issuance of a mission assignment or mission as-
signment task order, the Administrator shall publish 
on the Agency’s website any mission assignment or 
mission assignment task order to another Federal 
department or agency regarding a major disaster in 
excess of $1,000,000, including— 
‘‘(A) the name of the impacted State or 
Tribe; 
‘‘(B) the disaster declaration for such 
State or Tribe; 
‘‘(C) the assigned agency; 
‘‘(D) the assistance requested; 
‘‘(E) a description of the disaster; 
‘‘(F) the total cost estimate; 
‘‘(G) the amount obligated; 
‘‘(H) the State or Tribal cost share, if ap-
plicable; 
‘‘(I) the authority under which the mission 
assignment or mission assignment task order 
was directed; and 
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‘‘(J) if applicable, the date a State or 
Tribe requested the mission assignment. 
‘‘(2) RECORDING CHANGES.—Not later than 10 
days after the last day of each month until a mission 
assignment or mission assignment task order de-
scribed in paragraph (1) is completed and closed 
out, the Administrator shall update any changes to 
the total cost estimate and the amount obligated. 
‘‘(c) DISASTER RELIEF MONTHLY REPORT.—Not 
later than 10 days after the first day of each month, the 
Administrator shall publish on the Agency’s website re-
ports, including a specific description of the methodology 
and the source data used in developing such reports, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(1) an estimate of the amounts for the fiscal 
year covered by the President’s most recent budget 
pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United 
States Code, including— 
‘‘(A) the unobligated balance of funds to 
be carried over from the prior fiscal year to the 
budget year; 
‘‘(B) the unobligated balance of funds to 
be carried over from the budget year to the 
budget year plus 1; 
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‘‘(C) the amount of obligations for non-
catastrophic events for the budget year; 
‘‘(D) the amount of obligations for the 
budget year for catastrophic events delineated 
by event and by State; 
‘‘(E) the total amount that has been pre-
viously obligated or will be required for cata-
strophic events delineated by event and by State 
for all prior years, the current fiscal year, the 
budget year, and each fiscal year thereafter; 
‘‘(F) the amount of previously obligated 
funds that will be recovered for the budget 
year; 
‘‘(G) the amount that will be required for 
obligations for emergencies, as described in sec-
tion 102(1), major disasters, as described in 
section 102(2), fire management assistance 
grants, as described in section 420, surge ac-
tivities, and disaster readiness and support ac-
tivities; and 
‘‘(H) the amount required for activities not 
covered under section 251(b)(2)(D)(iii) of the 
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(D)(iii)); 
and 
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‘‘(2) an estimate or actual amounts, if available, 
of the following for the current fiscal year shall be 
submitted not later than the fifth day of each 
month, published by the Administrator on the Agen-
cy’s website not later than the fifth day of each 
month: 
‘‘(A) A summary of the amount of appro-
priations made available by source, the trans-
fers executed, the previously allocated funds re-
covered, and the commitments, allocations, and 
obligations made. 
‘‘(B) A table of disaster relief activity de-
lineated by month, including— 
‘‘(i) the beginning and ending bal-
ances; 
‘‘(ii) the total obligations to include 
amounts obligated for fire assistance, 
emergencies, surge, and disaster support 
activities; 
‘‘(iii) the obligations for catastrophic 
events delineated by event and by State; 
and 
‘‘(iv) the amount of previously obli-
gated funds that are recovered. 
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‘‘(C) A summary of allocations, obligations, 
and expenditures for catastrophic events delin-
eated by event. 
‘‘(D) The cost of the following categories 
of spending: 
‘‘(i) Public assistance. 
‘‘(ii) Individual assistance. 
‘‘(iii) Mitigation. 
‘‘(iv) Administrative. 
‘‘(v) Operations. 
‘‘(vi) Any other relevant category (in-
cluding emergency measures and disaster 
resources) delineated by disaster. 
‘‘(E) The date on which funds appro-
priated will be exhausted. 
‘‘(d) CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(1) INFORMATION.—Not later than 10 days 
after the first day of each month, the Administrator 
shall publish on the Agency’s website the specifics of 
each contract in excess of $1,000,000 that the Agen-
cy enters into, including— 
‘‘(A) the name of the party; 
‘‘(B) the date the contract was awarded; 
‘‘(C) the amount and scope of the contract; 
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‘‘(D) if the contract was awarded through 
competitive bidding process; 
‘‘(E) if no competitive bidding process was 
used, the reason why competitive bidding was 
not used; and 
‘‘(F) the authority used to bypass the com-
petitive bidding process. 
The information shall be delineated by disaster, if 
applicable, and specify the damage category code, if 
applicable. 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 10 days after 
the last day of the fiscal year, the Administrator 
shall provide a report to the appropriate committees 
of Congress summarizing the following information 
for the preceding fiscal year: 
‘‘(A) The number of contracts awarded 
without competitive bidding. 
‘‘(B) The reasons why a competitive bid-
ding process was not used. 
‘‘(C) The total amount of contracts award-
ed with no competitive bidding. 
‘‘(D) The damage category codes, if appli-
cable, for contracts awarded without competi-
tive bidding.’’. 
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SEC. 624. AUDIT OF CONTRACTS. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy shall not reimburse a State, Tribe, or local government 
or the owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility for 
any activities made pursuant to a contract entered into 
after August 1, 2017, that prohibits the Administrator or 
the Comptroller General of the United States from audit-
ing or otherwise reviewing all aspects relating to the con-
tract. 
SEC. 625. INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT OF FEMA CON-
TRACTS FOR TARPS AND PLASTIC SHEETING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the inspector general of the 
Department of Homeland Security shall initiate an audit 
of the contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency (in this section referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) 
for tarps and plastic sheeting for the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in re-
sponse to Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the audit 
under subsection (a), the inspector general shall review— 
(1) the contracting process used by FEMA to 
evaluate offerors and award the relevant contracts to 
contractors; 
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(2) FEMA’s assessment of the past perform-
ance of the contractors, including any historical in-
formation showing that the contractors had sup-
ported large-scale delivery quantities in the past; 
(3) FEMA’s assessment of the capacity of the 
contractors to carry out the relevant contracts, in-
cluding with respect to inventory, production, and fi-
nancial capabilities; 
(4) how FEMA ensured that the contractors 
met the terms of the relevant contracts; and 
(5) whether the failure of the contractors to 
meet the terms of the relevant contracts and 
FEMA’s subsequent cancellation of the relevant con-
tracts affected the provision of tarps and plastic 
sheeting to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 
the United States Virgin Islands. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of initiation of the audit under subsection (a), the inspec-
tor general shall submit to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate a report on the results of 
the audit, including findings and recommendations. 
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SEC. 626. RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS. 
Section 309 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5152) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and other re-
lief or’’ and inserting ‘‘long-term recovery groups, 
domestic hunger relief, and other relief, or’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and other re-
lief or’’ and inserting ‘‘long-term recovery groups, 
domestic hunger relief, and other relief, or’’. 
SEC. 627. GUIDANCE ON INUNDATED AND SUBMERGED 
ROADS. 
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency, in coordination with the Administrator 
of the Federal Highway Administration, shall develop and 
issue guidance for State, local, and Tribal governments 
regarding repair, restoration, and replacement of inun-
dated and submerged roads damaged or destroyed by a 
major disaster, and for associated expenses incurred by 
the Government, with respect to roads eligible for assist-
ance under section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172). 
SEC. 628. AUTHORITIES. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the non- 
federally funded actions of private parties and State, local, 
or Tribal governments, on State, local, Tribal, and private 
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land, and the effects of those actions, shall not be attrib-
uted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ac-
tions under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), the Flood Disaster Protection Act 
of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4002 et seq.), the Biggert-Waters 
Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (subtitle A of title 
II of division F of Public Law 112–141; 126 Stat. 916), 
and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 
2014 (Public Law 113–89; 128 Stat. 1020) for the pur-
poses of section 7 (16 U.S.C. 1536) and section 9 (16 
U.S.C. 1538) of the Endangered Species Act. Actions 
taken under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 
the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, the Biggert- 
Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, and the 
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, 
that may influence private actions do not create a Federal 
nexus for the purpose of applying the requirements of sec-
tion 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1536). 
SEC. 629. RECOUPMENT OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE PROHIB-
ITED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 3716(e) 
of title 31, United States Code, and unless there is evi-
dence of civil or criminal fraud, the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency may not take any action to recoup 
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covered assistance from the recipient of such assistance 
if the receipt of such assistance occurred on a date that 
is more than 3 years before the date on which the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency first provides to the re-
cipient written notification of an intent to recoup. 
(b) COVERED ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘covered assistance’’ means assistance pro-
vided— 
(1) under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5174); and 
(2) in relation to a major disaster or emergency 
declared by the President under section 401 or 501 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 U.S.C. 5191) on 
or after January 1, 2012. 
SEC. 630. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting 
‘‘Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, 
United States Code, and except’’; and 
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(B) by striking ‘‘report for the disaster or 
emergency’’ and inserting ‘‘report for project 
completion as certified by the grantee’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘report 
for the disaster or emergency’’ and inserting 
‘‘report for project completion as certified by 
the grantee’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘for 
project completion as certified by the grantee’’ 
after ‘‘final expenditure report’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to disaster or 
emergency assistance provided to a State or local 
government on or after January 1, 2004— 
(A) no administrative action may be taken 
to recover a payment of such assistance after 
the date of enactment of this Act if the action 
is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5205(a)(1)), 
as amended by subsection (a); and 
(B) any administrative action to recover a 
payment of such assistance that is pending on 
such date of enactment shall be terminated if 
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the action is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) 
of that Act, as amended by subsection (a). 
(2) LIMITATION.—This section, including the 
amendments made by this section, may not be con-
strued to invalidate or otherwise affect any adminis-
tration action completed before the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 631. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RECOMMENDA-
TIONS. 
(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide 
technical assistance to a common interest community that 
provides essential services of a governmental nature on ac-
tions that a common interest community may take in 
order to be eligible to receive reimbursement from a grant-
ee that receives funds from the Agency for certain activi-
ties performed after an event that results in a disaster 
declaration. 
(b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall provide to the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate a legislative proposal on how to provide eligi-
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bility for disaster assistance with respect to common areas 
of condominiums and housing cooperatives. 
SEC. 632. GUIDANCE ON HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue guid-
ance regarding the acquisition of property for open space 
as a mitigation measure under section 404 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170c) that includes— 
(1) a process by which the State hazard mitiga-
tion officer appointed for such an acquisition shall, 
not later than 60 days after the applicant for assist-
ance enters into an agreement with the Adminis-
trator regarding the acquisition, provide written no-
tification to each affected unit of local government 
for such acquisition that includes— 
(A) the location of the acquisition; 
(B) the State-local assistance agreement 
for the hazard mitigation grant program; 
(C) a description of the acquisition; and 
(D) a copy of the deed restriction; and 
(2) recommendations for entering into and im-
plementing a memorandum of understanding be-
tween units of local government and covered entities 
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that includes provisions to allow an affected unit of 
local government notified under paragraph (1) to— 
(A) use and maintain the open space cre-
ated by such a project, consistent with section 
404 (including related regulations, standards, 
and guidance) and consistent with all adjoining 
property, subject to the notification of the ad-
joining property, so long as the cost of the 
maintenance is borne by the local government; 
and 
(B) maintain the open space pursuant to 
standards exceeding any local government 
standards defined in the agreement with the 
Administrator described under paragraph (1). 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) AFFECTED
UNIT
OF
LOCAL
GOVERN-
MENT.—The term ‘‘affected unit of local govern-
ment’’ means any entity covered by the definition of 
local government in section 102 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), that has jurisdiction over the 
property subject to the acquisition described in sub-
section (a). 
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(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means— 
(A) the grantee or subgrantee receiving as-
sistance for an open space project described in 
subsection (a); 
(B) the State in which such project is lo-
cated; and 
(C) the applicable Regional Administrator 
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
SEC. 633. LOCAL IMPACT. 
In making recommendations to the President regard-
ing a major disaster declaration, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall give great-
er weight and consideration to severe local impact or re-
cent multiple disasters. Further, the Administrator shall 
make corresponding adjustments to the Agency’s policies 
and regulations regarding such consideration. Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 
the Administrator shall report to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs of the Senate on the changes made to 
regulations and policies and the number of declarations 
that have been declared based on the new criteria. 
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SEC. 634. ADDITIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION ACTIVITIES. 
Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) USE
OF ASSISTANCE.—Recipients of hazard 
mitigation assistance provided under this section and sec-
tion 203 may use the assistance to conduct activities to 
help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or 
suffering in any area affected by earthquake hazards, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(1) improvements to regional seismic networks 
in support of building a capability for earthquake 
early warning; 
‘‘(2) improvements to geodetic networks in sup-
port of building a capability for earthquake early 
warning; and 
‘‘(3) improvements to seismometers, Global Po-
sitioning System receivers, and associated infrastruc-
ture in support of building a capability for earth-
quake early warning.’’. 
SEC. 
635. 
NATIONAL 
PUBLIC 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 
(a) PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.—Section 
203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘Public Infra-
structure’’ after ‘‘the National’’; 
(2) in subsection (e)(1)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 
(ii); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
clause (iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iv) to establish and carry out en-
forcement activities to implement the latest 
published editions of relevant consensus- 
based codes, specifications, and standards 
that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant 
designs and establish minimum acceptable 
criteria for the design, construction, and 
maintenance of residential structures and 
facilities that may be eligible for assistance 
under this Act for the purpose of pro-
tecting the health, safety, and general wel-
fare of the buildings’ users against disas-
ters.’’; 
(3) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘for 
mitigation activities that are cost effective’’ 
after ‘‘competitive basis’’; and 
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(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) 
REDISTRIBUTION
OF
UNOBLIGATED 
AMOUNTS.—The President may— 
‘‘(A) withdraw amounts of financial assist-
ance made available to a State (including 
amounts made available to local governments of 
a State) under this subsection that remain un-
obligated by the end of the third fiscal year 
after the fiscal year for which the amounts were 
allocated; and 
‘‘(B) in the fiscal year following a fiscal 
year in which amounts were withdrawn under 
subparagraph (A), add the amounts to any 
other amounts available to be awarded on a 
competitive basis pursuant to paragraph (1).’’; 
(4) in subsection (g)— 
(A) in paragraph (9) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 
paragraph (12); and 
(C) by adding after paragraph (9) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(10) the extent to which the State or local 
government has facilitated the adoption and enforce-
ment of the latest published editions of relevant con-
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