H. R. 7776—1009 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (2); 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: 
‘‘(3) assist States in the collection and presentation of mate-
rial in the disaster or emergency declaration request relevant 
to demonstrate severe localized impacts within the State for 
a specific incident, including— 
‘‘(A) the per capita personal income by local area, as 
calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; 
‘‘(B) the disaster impacted population profile, as 
reported by the Bureau of the Census, including— 
‘‘(i) the percentage of the population for whom 
poverty status is determined; 
‘‘(ii) the percentage of the population already 
receiving Government assistance such as Supplemental 
Security Income and Supplemental Nutrition Assist-
ance Program benefits; 
‘‘(iii) the pre-disaster unemployment rate; 
‘‘(iv) the percentage of the population that is 65 
years old and older; 
‘‘(v) the percentage of the population 18 years old 
and younger; 
‘‘(vi) the percentage of the population with a dis-
ability; 
‘‘(vii) the percentage of the population who speak 
a language other than English and speak English less 
than ‘very well’; and 
‘‘(viii) any unique considerations regarding Amer-
ican Indian and Alaskan Native Tribal populations 
raised in the State’s request for a major disaster dec-
laration that may not be reflected in the data points 
referenced in this subparagraph; 
‘‘(C) 
the 
impact 
to 
community 
infrastructure, 
including— 
‘‘(i) disruptions to community life-saving and life- 
sustaining services; 
‘‘(ii) disruptions or increased demand for essential 
community services; and 
‘‘(iii) disruptions to transportation, infrastructure, 
and utilities; and 
‘‘(D) any other information relevant to demonstrate 
severe local impacts; and’’. 
(b) GAO REVIEW OF A FINAL RULE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a review of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency’s implementation of its final rule, pub-
lished on March 21, 2019, amending section 206.48(b) of title 
44, Code of Federal Regulations (regarding factors considered 
when evaluating a Governor’s request for a major disaster 
declaration), which revised the factors that the Agency con-
siders when evaluating a Governor’s request for a major dis-
aster declaration authorizing individual assistance under the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq). 
(2) SCOPE.—The review required under paragraph (1) shall 
include the following:
H. R. 7776—1010 
(A) An assessment of the criteria used by the Agency 
to assess individual assistance requests following a major 
disaster declaration authorizing individual assistance. 
(B) An assessment of the consistency with which the 
Agency uses the updated Individual Assistance Declaration 
Factors when assessing the impact of individual commu-
nities after a major disaster declaration. 
(C) An assessment of the impact, if any, of using the 
updated Individual Assistance Declaration Factors has had 
on equity in disaster recovery outcomes. 
(D) Recommendations to improve the use of the Indi-
vidual Assistance Declaration Factors to increase equity 
in disaster recovery outcomes. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on 
the review required under this section. 
SEC. 5602. FLEXIBILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1216(a) of the Disaster Recovery 
Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. 5174a(a)) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (2)(A) to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), shall— 
‘‘(i) waive a debt owed to the United States related 
to covered assistance provided to an individual or 
household if the covered assistance was distributed 
based on an error by the Agency and such debt shall 
be construed as a hardship; and 
‘‘(ii) waive a debt owed to the United States related 
to covered assistance provided to an individual or 
household if such assistance is subject to a claim or 
legal action, including in accordance with section of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5160); and’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Removal of’’ and inserting ‘‘Report 
on’’; and 
(B) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘the authority of the 
Administrator to waive debt under paragraph (2) shall 
no longer be effective’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administrator 
shall report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate actions that the Administrator will take 
to reduce the error rate’’. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall submit to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate a report containing a description of the internal 
processes used to make decisions regarding the distribution of cov-
ered assistance under section 1216 of the Disaster Recovery and 
Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. a) and any changes made to such 
processes.
H. R. 7776—1011 
SEC. 5603. PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Preliminary damage assessments play a critical role 
in assessing and validating the impact and magnitude of a 
disaster. 
(2) Through the preliminary damage assessment process, 
representatives from the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency validate information gathered by State and local offi-
cials that serves as the basis for disaster assistance requests. 
(3) Various factors can impact the duration of a preliminary 
damage assessment and the corresponding submission of a 
major disaster request, however, the average time between 
when a disaster occurs, and the submission of a corresponding 
disaster request has been found to be approximately twenty 
days longer for flooding disasters. 
(4) With communities across the country facing increased 
instances of catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather 
events, accurate and efficient preliminary damage assessments 
have become critically important to the relief process for 
impacted States and municipalities. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall submit to Congress a 
report describing the preliminary damage assessment process, 
as supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
in the 5 years before the date of enactment of this Act. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report described in paragraph (1) shall 
contain the following: 
(A) The process of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency for deploying personnel to support preliminary 
damage assessments. 
(B) The number of Agency staff participating on dis-
aster assessment teams. 
(C) The training and experience of such staff described 
in subparagraph (B). 
(D) A calculation of the average amount of time dis-
aster assessment teams described in subparagraph (A) are 
deployed to a disaster area. 
(E) The efforts of the Agency to maintain a consistent 
liaison between the Agency and State, local, tribal, and 
territorial officials within a disaster area. 
(c) PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall convene an advisory 
panel consisting of emergency management personnel employed 
by State, local, territorial, or tribal authorities, and the rep-
resentative organizations of such personnel to assist the Agency 
in improving critical components of the preliminary damage 
assessment process. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—This advisory panel shall consist of 
at least 2 representatives from national emergency manage-
ment organizations and at least 1 representative from each 
of the 10 regions of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, selected from emergency management personnel
H. R. 7776—1012 
employed by State, local, territorial, or tribal authorities 
within each region. 
(B) INCLUSION ON PANEL.—To the furthest extent prac-
ticable, representation on the advisory panel shall include 
emergency management personnel from both rural and 
urban jurisdictions. 
(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The advisory panel convened under 
paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) consider— 
(i) establishing a training regime to ensure prelimi-
nary damage assessments are conducted and reviewed 
under consistent guidelines; 
(ii) utilizing a common technological platform to 
integrate data collected by State and local governments 
with data collected by the Agency; and 
(iii) assessing instruction materials provided by 
the Agency for omissions of pertinent information or 
language that conflicts with other statutory require-
ments; and 
(B) identify opportunities for streamlining the consider-
ation of preliminary damage assessments by the Agency, 
including eliminating duplicative paperwork requirements 
and ensuring consistent communication and decision 
making among Agency staff. 
(4) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
to Congress a report regarding the findings of the advisory 
panel, steps that will be undertaken by the Agency to imple-
ment the findings of the advisory panel, and additional legisla-
tion that may be necessary to implement the findings of the 
advisory panel. 
(5) RULEMAKING AND FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to implement 
the recommendations of the advisory panel and submit to Con-
gress a report discussing— 
(A) the implementation of recommendations from the 
advisory panel; 
(B) the identification of any additional challenges to 
the preliminary damage assessment process, including 
whether specific disasters result in longer preliminary dam-
age assessments; and 
(C) any additional legislative recommendations nec-
essary to improve the preliminary damage assessment 
process. 
SEC. 5604. LETTER OF DEVIATION AUTHORITY. 
A flight instructor, registered owner, lessor, or lessee of an 
aircraft shall not be required to obtain a letter of deviation authority 
from the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
to allow, conduct or receive flight training, checking, and testing 
in an experimental aircraft if— 
(1) the flight instructor is not providing both the training 
and the aircraft; 
(2) no person advertises or broadly offers the aircraft as 
available for flight training, checking, or testing; and