I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4163 
To expedite payments of certain Federal emergency assistance authorized 
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act, and to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
exercise certain authority provided under that Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 27, 2005 
Mr. JINDAL (for himself, Mr. MCCRERY, and Mr. MELANCON) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To expedite payments of certain Federal emergency assist-
ance authorized pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise certain 
authority provided under that Act. 
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 ‘‘Debris Removal Act 
of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED PAYMENTS. 
(a) EXPEDITED PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—Notwith-
standing the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) (in-
cluding any regulation promulgated pursuant to that Act), 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the 
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
shall pay to an eligible applicant, in accordance with sub-
section (b), 50 percent of the Federal share of assistance 
that the applicant is eligible to receive under section 407 
of that Act (42 U.S.C. 5173). 
(b) DATE OF PAYMENT.—A claim described in sub-
section (a) shall be paid not later than 60 days after the 
date on which the applicant files an eligible claim for as-
sistance. 
SEC. 3. DEBRIS CLEARANCE, REMOVAL, AND DISPOSAL 
FROM EMERGENCY ACCESS ROADS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY ACCESS ROAD.—In 
this section, the term ‘‘emergency access road’’ means a 
road that requires access by emergency personnel, includ-
ing firefighters, police, emergency medical personnel, or 
any other entity identified by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security that provides an emergency service after a dec-
laration of an emergency or major disaster (as defined in 
section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)).
(b) REIMBURSEMENT
AUTHORIZED.—Any reim-
bursement authorized under section 407 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5173) for clearing and removing debris may 
include reimbursement for clearing, removing, and dis-
posing of debris from any emergency access road. 
SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF DEBRIS REMOVAL AS ELIGIBLE 
CLAIM FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE. 
Section 408(c)(2)(A) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5174(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 
‘‘(iii) the removal of debris and wreck-
age resulting from a major disaster from 
owner occupied private residential prop-
erty, utilities, and residential infrastruc-
ture (such as a private access route) as 
necessary for a safe and sanitary living or 
functioning condition.’’. 
SEC. 5. COST SHARE. 
For a period of not less than 180 days after the date 
of declaration of an emergency or major disaster (as de-
fined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) 
during the period beginning on August 25, 2005 through 
December 31, 2005, the Federal share of assistance pro-
vided to eligible applicants for debris removal under sec-
tion 407 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 5173) shall be 100 per-
cent. 
SEC. 6. GUIDELINES FOR REIMBURSEMENT. 
In light of concerns regarding inconsistent policy 
memoranda and guidelines issued to counties and commu-
nities affected by the 2004 hurricane season, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Sec-
retary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, shall 
provide clear, concise, and uniform guidelines for the reim-
bursement to any county or government entity affected by 
a hurricane of the costs of hurricane debris removal. 
SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY; TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 
This Act and the authority provided by this Act (in-
cluding by any amendment made by this Act) shall— 
(1) apply to each major disaster declared in ac-
cordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5170) during calendar year 2005; and
(2) terminate on the date that is 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
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