I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4438 
To establish special rules with respect to certain disaster assistance provided 
for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2005 
Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. OBER-
STAR, Mr. JINDAL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. FORTUN˜O, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. 
BAKER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. BOUSTANY, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Flor-
ida, Mr. BACHUS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. DENT, Mr. 
MELANCON, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. HONDA, Mr. POE, Mr. HOLDEN, and 
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture 
A BILL 
To establish special rules with respect to certain disaster 
assistance provided for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane 
Rita. 
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 ‘‘Gulf Coast Recovery 
Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ALLOWABLE COSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of 
this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the President may provide assistance under sections 
402 and 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a; 5170b) 
to an eligible State or local government to provide reim-
bursement for expenses incurred by the State or local gov-
ernment, in the period beginning January 1, 2006, and 
ending June 30, 2006, for the base pay and overtime ex-
penses of employees (including employees provided by con-
tract or mutual aid agreements) who provide essential gov-
ernmental services for response and recovery operations 
with respect to disaster declarations made for Hurricane 
Katrina and Hurricane Rita on or after August 29, 2005. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or local government shall 
be eligible for assistance under subsection (a) if the State 
or local government demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 
President that— 
(1) the State or local government has suffered, 
with respect to the disaster declarations referred to 
in subsection (a), a loss in the operating revenues of 
the State or local government; and 
(2) the amount of that loss equals or exceeds 
25 percent of the annual operating revenue of the 
State or local government in its most recent fiscal
year ending before the date of the disaster declara-
tion. 
(c) ESSENTIAL
GOVERNMENTAL
SERVICES
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘essential governmental 
services’’ means fire, law enforcement, emergency medical, 
public works, emergency management, planning, and 
building codes services. 
(d) BUILDING CODE SERVICES.—For purposes of 
subsections (a) and (c), employees assisting in the permit-
ting and inspection process relating to implementation and 
enforcement of a building code shall be considered to pro-
vide building code services. 
(e) AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—The amount of 
reimbursement to be provided to a State or local govern-
ment under this section shall be 75 percent of the expenses 
incurred by the State or local government that are eligible 
for reimbursement under subsection (a). 
(f) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—The President 
shall complete all eligibility determinations under sub-
section (b) on or before June 30, 2006. 
SEC. 3. DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM. 
Section 2(a) of the Community Disaster Loan Act of 
2005 (Public Law 109–88) is amended by inserting before 
the period at the end the following: ‘‘: Provided further, 
That notwithstanding section 417(b) of the Stafford Act
such a loan may not exceed 50 percent of the operating 
budget of the local government to which the loan is made 
for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs’’. 
SEC. 4. FEDERAL SHARE FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) there is ambiguity concerning the Federal 
share of the cost of debris removal activities carried 
out under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act in connection with 
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita; and 
(2) this ambiguity creates disincentives for local 
governments to utilize pre-existing, cost-effective 
contracts to carry out such debris removal activities. 
(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Federal share of assistance provided 
for debris removal under sections 403 and 407 of the Rob-
ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106b; 5173) with respect to disaster dec-
larations made for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita 
on or after August 29, 2005, shall be 100 percent. 
SEC. 5. HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the President shall contribute not less 
than 75 percent of the cost of hazard mitigation measures 
that are approved in the 1-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act under section 404(a) of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) with respect to disaster 
declarations made for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane 
Rita on or after August 29, 2005. To the greatest extent 
practicable, the President shall assist State and local gov-
ernments in expediting the planning for, identification and 
development of, application for, and approval of such 
projects. 
(b) TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
(1) PERCENTAGE.—The last sentence of section 
404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘7.5’’ and inserting ‘‘15’’. 
(2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 
paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to major dis-
aster declarations made on or after August 29, 
2005. 
SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 
case of an individual eligible to receive unemployment as-
sistance under section 410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5177(a)) as a result of a disaster declaration made for
Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita on or after August 
29, 2005— 
(1) the President shall make such assistance 
available for 52 weeks after the date of the disaster 
declaration; and 
(2) beginning on the date of enactment of this 
Act, the amount of such assistance for a week of un-
employment shall be not less than 50 percent of the 
national average weekly unemployment benefit pro-
vided to an individual as of the date of the disaster 
declaration. 
SEC. 7. EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE. 
Subtitle B of title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5197–5197h) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 630. EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Director shall carry out a pro-
gram to make grants to States and local governments— 
‘‘(1) to purchase or improve commercially avail-
able interoperable communications equipment that— 
‘‘(A) complies with, where applicable, na-
tional voluntary consensus standards; 
‘‘(B) facilitates interoperability, coordina-
tion, and integration between and among emer-
gency communications systems (including sat-
ellite phone and satellite communications equip-
ment); and 
‘‘(C) ensures that first responders, govern-
ment officials, and emergency personnel are 
able to adequately and effectively communicate 
with each other in the event of a major disaster 
or other emergency; 
‘‘(2) to purchase mobile equipment to generate 
emergency power; and 
‘‘(3) to train first responders and emergency 
personnel on how best to use effectively such equip-
ment. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall 
be to improve the response capabilities of States and local 
governments in the event of a major disaster or other 
emergency. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—A State or local government 
seeking a grant under this section shall submit an applica-
tion to the Director at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Director may re-
quire. 
‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall 
provide to States and local governments technical assist-
ance with respect to the procurement, installation, and use 
of equipment under subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 
2008.’’. 
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