Emergency Management Agency shall give greater weight 
and consideration to severe local impact resulting from 
such disaster or emergency and, in the 5-year period pre-
ceding such disaster or emergency, whether multiple other 
disasters or emergencies have occurred in the affected 
area. 
(b) REVISIONS TO GUIDANCE, POLICIES, AND REGU-
LATIONS.—The Administrator shall take such actions as 
are necessary to revise any policies, guidance, or regula-
tions of the Agency to implement subsection (a). 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report on the implementation of this section and 
shall include in such report a description of— 
(1) changes made to guidance, policies, or regu-
lations pursuant to subsection (b); and 
(2) the number of major disasters and emer-
gencies that have been declared pursuant to section 
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act based on the criteria de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
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SEC. 5. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(c) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(2) REPAIRS.— 
‘‘(A) FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE
FOR
RE-
PAIRS.—The President may provide financial 
assistance for the repair of owner-occupied pri-
vate residences, utilities, and residential infra-
structure (such as a private access route) dam-
aged by a major disaster, or with respect to in-
dividuals with disabilities, rendered inaccessible 
by a major disaster. 
‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE FOR REPAIRS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The President 
may provide direct assistance to individuals 
and households who are unable to make 
use of financial assistance under subpara-
graph (A) and when there is a lack of 
available resources, for— 
‘‘(I) the repair of owner-occupied 
private residences, utilities, and resi-
dential infrastructure (such as a pri-
vate access route) damaged by a 
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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)) is amended by striking ‘‘18-month period’’ 
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 431 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. USE OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT COSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5165b) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2)— 
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(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 
adjusting the margins accordingly; and 
(B) in the matter preceding clause (i), as 
so redesignated, by striking ‘‘provide the fol-
lowing percentage rates’’ and inserting ‘‘pro-
vide— 
‘‘(A) excess funds for management costs as 
described in subsection (c); and 
‘‘(B) the following percentage rates’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) USE OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT 
COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘excess funds for management costs’ means the dif-
ference between— 
‘‘(A) the amount of the applicable specific 
management costs authorized under subsection 
(b)(1) and subsection (b)(2)(B); and 
‘‘(B) as of the date on which the grant 
award is closed, the amount of funding for 
management costs activities expended by the 
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grantee or subgrantee receiving the financial as-
sistance for costs described in subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY
OF
EXCESS
FUNDS
FOR 
MANAGEMENT
COSTS.—The President may make 
available to a grantee or subgrantee receiving finan-
cial assistance under section 403, 404, 406, 407, or 
502 any excess funds for management costs. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Excess funds for man-
agement costs made available to a grantee or sub-
grantee under paragraph (2) may be used for— 
‘‘(A) activities associated with building ca-
pacity to prepare for, recover from, or mitigate 
the impacts of a major disaster or emergency 
declared under section 401 or 501, respectively; 
and 
‘‘(B) management costs associated with 
any— 
‘‘(i) major disaster; 
‘‘(ii) emergency; 
‘‘(iii) disaster preparedness measure; 
or 
‘‘(iv) mitigation activity or measure 
authorized under section 203, 204, 205, or 
404. 
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‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Excess funds for manage-
ment costs made available to a grantee or sub-
grantee under paragraph (2) shall remain available 
to the grantee or subgrantee until the date that is 
5 years after the date on which the excess funds for 
management costs are made available under para-
graph (2).’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to any grant award 
in relation to a major disaster or emergency declared 
under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191)— 
(1) the declaration of which is made on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(2) that is funded with amounts appropriated 
on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives a report— 
(1) on the actual management costs described 
in section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
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