(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 
Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 
employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 
57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 
their homes or regular places of business in the per-
formance of services for the Board. 
(3) STAFF.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 
Board may, without regard to the civil service 
laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an 
executive director and such other additional 
personnel as may be necessary to enable the 
Board to perform its duties. The employment of 
an executive director shall be subject to con-
firmation by the Board. 
(B) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of 
the Board may fix the compensation of the ex-
ecutive director and other personnel without re-
gard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap-
ter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 
to classification of positions and General Sched-
ule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for 
the executive director and other personnel may 
not exceed the rate payable for level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such 
title. 
(C) PERSONNEL
AS
FEDERAL
EMPLOY-
EES.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The executive di-
rector and any personnel of the Board who 
are employees shall be employees under 
section 2105 of title 5, United States 
Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 
84, 85, 87, 89, 89A, 89B, and 90 of that 
title. 
(ii) MEMBERS OF BOARD.—Paragraph 
(1) shall not be construed to apply to 
members of the Board. 
(4) DETAIL
OF
GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES.— 
Any Federal Government employee may be detailed 
to the Board without reimbursement, and such de-
tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil serv-
ice status or privilege. 
(5) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER-
MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Board 
may procure temporary and intermittent services 
under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, 
at rates for individuals which do not exceed the daily 
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed
for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 
5316 of such title. 
(g) TERMINATION.—The Board shall terminate upon 
the expiration of this Act. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary 
to the Board to carry out this section. 
SEC. 111. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out this title. 
SEC. 112. EXPIRATION. 
Unless otherwise extended by Congress, this Act and 
the CESTAP shall automatically expire upon completion 
of he fifth annual hearings to review the progress of the 
CESTAP to be completed after the Administrator’s fifth 
annual report to Congress. 
TITLE II—BUILDING 
HABITABILITY 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Habitability of Resi-
dential Homes, Schools, and Commercial Buildings Af-
fected by Hurricane Katrina Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) Hurricane Katrina—
(A) caused significant loss of life, dis-
rupted the supply of power, natural gas, and 
water, and affected sewage treatment and road 
safety; 
(B) destroyed hundreds of thousands of 
residential homes, commercial buildings, and 
schools in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 
and Alabama; 
(C) caused an estimated 80 percent of resi-
dential structures in the city of New Orleans to 
sustain flood damage; 
(D) presented serious environmental health 
issues and threatened the public health through 
contamination by toxic chemicals, sewage, solid 
waste, debris, and gasoline; and 
(E) continues to contribute to the growth 
of mold in residential homes and other build-
ings in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and 
Alabama through excess moisture and standing 
water; 
(2) many residential homes, commercial build-
ings, and schools in those States contain mold, and 
have otherwise been exposed to environmental con-
tamination due to flooding, leaving the structures— 
(A) in a state of disrepair; and
(B) inhabitable and dangerous to the pub-
lic health; 
(3) molds have the potential to cause health 
problems by producing allergens, irritants, and in 
some cases, potentially toxic substances (myco-
toxins); 
(4) inhaling or touching mold or mold spores 
may cause immediate or delayed allergic reactions in 
sensitive individuals, including hay fever-type symp-
toms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and 
skin rash; 
(5) molds can also cause asthma attacks in peo-
ple with asthma who are allergic to mold, and irri-
tate the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs of mold- 
allergic and nonallergic people; 
(6) some people, such as people with serious al-
lergies to molds, may have more severe reactions to 
mold, and people with chronic lung illnesses, such as 
obstructive lung disease, may develop mold infec-
tions in their lungs; and 
(7) the Federal Government should take a lead-
ership role in— 
(A) evaluating and inspecting residential 
homes, commercial buildings, and schools in the 
States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama