‘‘(C) CONSISTENCY
WITH
ACT.—In any
case in which an event results in a declaration
of a major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or
emergency under this Act, the Director shall
ensure that all reimbursements under this para-
graph are in accordance with this Act, including
the Federal share determined for the disaster
or emergency.
‘‘(5) TRAINING
AND
COORDINATION
WITH
STATE ENTITIES.—
‘‘(A) MINIMUM TRAINING.—The Governor
of a State receiving a discretionary grant under
subsection (c) of this section in a fiscal year
shall require the National Guard units in the
State to participate in such fiscal year with
other appropriate State and local entities in an-
nual training and other exercises designed to
enhance the readiness of the National Guard
and such other entities to respond to major dis-
asters, catastrophic disasters, and emergencies.
‘‘(B) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—The Direc-
tor and the Chief of the National Guard Bu-
reau shall establish minimum standards for
training and other exercises in which National
Guard units are to participate under this para-
graph.
‘‘(f) ROLE OF FIRE SERVICES.—The Director, in
consultation with national, regional, and State fire service
organizations, shall review the role of fire services in re-
sponding to major disasters, catastrophic disasters, and
emergencies for the purpose of determining—
‘‘(1) how fire services can better prepare for
and respond to major disasters, catastrophic disas-
ters, and emergencies; and
‘‘(2) how fire services should be integrated into
the Presidential Response Plan, State disaster pre-
paredness plans, and Federal regional operational
plans.
‘‘(g) VOLUNTEERS.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director
shall—
‘‘(1) establish a system that is coordinated with
systems of private relief agencies to manage and uti-
lize spontaneous disaster volunteers to carry out pri-
ority disaster and emergency response services; and
‘‘(2) report to Congress and the States on the
system.
‘‘(h) DONATED GOODS.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director
shall—
‘‘(1) establish a system for the management of
goods donated to the Federal Government to support
victims of disasters and emergencies; and
‘‘(2) report to Congress on the system so estab-
lished.’’.
(b) REPEAL OF FORMER GRANT PROVISION.—Effec-
tive October 1, 1994, subsection (j) of section 201 of such
Act, as redesignated by subsection (a), is repealed.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) SECTION
404
RTSDREA.—Section 404 of
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is repealed.
(2) SECTION 5 OF EHRA.—Section 5(b)(2)(A)
of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977
(42 U.S.C. 7704(b)(2)(A)) is amended—
(A) by striking clause (iv); and
(B) by redesignating clauses (v) and (vi)
as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively.
SEC. 5. DAMAGE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
Section 303 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5144) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 303. DISASTER SUPPORT TEAMS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director
shall establish disaster support teams to be deployed to
an area where a major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or
emergency is likely to be declared or has been declared
and to assist the Federal coordinating officer in carrying
out his or her responsibilities under this Act.
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Director shall designate
experts and officials from appropriate Federal agencies
(including FEMA and the Department of Defense), State
and local governments, fire services, and private relief
agencies to serve on the disaster support teams.
‘‘(c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon
the request of the Director, the head of any Federal agen-
cy shall detail to temporary duty with a disaster support
team, on a nonreimbursable basis, such personnel within
the administrative jurisdiction of the head of the Federal
agency as the Director may need or believe to be useful
for carrying out the functions of the support team. Each
such detail shall be without loss of seniority, pay, or other
employee status.
‘‘(d) DAMAGE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After the onset of a poten-
tial or actual major disaster or catastrophic disaster
and, in any case in which the President declares a
major disaster or catastrophic disaster, not later
than 3 hours after the time of such declaration, the
Director shall deploy a disaster support team estab-
lished under subsection (a) to evaluate the extent of
the damage and the resulting needs for disaster re-
lief assistance.
‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—As soon as possible
after deployment, a disaster support team shall
make recommendations to the Director, the Presi-
dent, and the Governors of the affected States re-
garding the damage and the resources needed to
provide disaster relief to the affected areas.
‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL
OFFICIALS.—To the extent possible, the damage and
needs assessments under this subsection shall be
conducted in coordination with State and local offi-
cials of the affected area.’’.
SEC. 6. STANDARDS AND REVIEWS.
Section 313 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5154) is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘The’’ the first place it appears;
(2) by inserting before the period at the end of
the first sentence the following: ‘‘, including per-
formance standards for assessing the level of State
preparedness for major disasters, catastrophic disas-
ters, and emergencies’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) REVIEW
OF
STATE
DISASTER
PREPARED-
NESS.—The Director shall conduct an annual review of
each State’s disaster preparedness to determine the extent
to which the State meets the performance standards is-
sued, by regulation, under this section. The Director shall
submit to Congress an annual report on the results of such
reviews.
‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—Not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this subsection,
the Director shall issue performance standards which will
ensure that a State is prepared to respond to major disas-
ters, catastrophic disasters, and emergencies. The per-
formance standards shall, at a minimum, require that a
State, when developing or revising its disaster prepared-
ness plan, will take into account the particular types of
major disasters, catastrophic disasters, or emergencies
that are likely to occur in the State.
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION.—The Director shall notify a
State that is not making reasonable progress toward meet-
ing the performance standards issued under subsection (c)
within 60 days after the date on which the Director com-
pletes the review of the State’s disaster preparedness
under subsection (b). The notice shall include the Direc-
tor’s recommendations of the steps that must be taken for
the State to meet such standards.’’.
SEC. 7. DISASTER RESOURCE INVENTORY.
Section 315 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5158) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 315. DISASTER RESOURCE INVENTORY.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director shall
complete regional inventories of resources that are avail-
able to the Federal Government, including medical assets
and foreign language communications assets, through
public or private entities, for use or deployment, or both,
following a major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or emer-
gency. Each item in the inventory shall include the infor-
mation necessary for prompt access to the source.
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A regional inventory under
this section may be amended to include, at the re-
quest of the Governor of an affected State, a survey
of construction materials needed in an area affected
by a major disaster or catastrophic disaster on an
emergency basis for housing repairs, replacement
housing, wastewater treatment, transportation, and
other public facilities repairs and replacement, farm-
ing operations, and business enterprises and to take
appropriate action to assure the availability and fair
distribution of needed materials. Any allocation pro-
gram shall be implemented by the Director to the
extent possible, by working with and through those
companies which traditionally supply construction
materials in the affected area.
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS
DEFINED.—
For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘con-
struction materials’ includes building materials and
materials required for repairing housing, replacing
housing, and repairing and replacing wastewater
treatment, transportation, and other public facilities
and for normal farm and business operations.
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY TO GOVERNORS.—The Director
shall ensure that a regional inventory under this section
is made available to the Governor of each State in the
region for the purposes of formulating a request for the
declaration of a major disaster, catastrophic disaster, or
emergency.
‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE.—The Director shall ensure that
information contained in each inventory under this section
is current and accurate.
‘‘(e) STATE PARTICIPATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days
after the completion of a regional inventory under
this section, the Director shall request the Governor
of each State in the region to identify the State co-
ordinating officer and fire service or other public
safety officials who are responsible for coordinating
or overseeing State and local response to disasters
and emergencies in the State.
‘‘(2) ACCESS.—A fire service or public safety
official designated under paragraph (1) shall have
direct and immediate access to the information con-
tained in the inventory to expedite State and local
responses to disasters and emergencies.’’.
SEC. 8. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE SLIDING SCALE LIMITATION.
Section 320 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5162) is
repealed.
SEC. 9. PREDECLARATION AUTHORITY.
Section 401 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘All requests’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘information’’ in the fourth sen-
tence and inserting ‘‘such information as the Direc-
tor shall require’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) PREDECLARATION AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) PREPARATION.—When, in the determina-
tion of the Director, events indicate that an emer-
gency, major disaster, or catastrophic disaster is
likely to be declared, a Federal agency, with the ap-
proval of the Director, may take such actions as the
agency considers necessary to prepare to provide
Federal assistance to State and local governments
and to disaster victims.
‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Federal agency
shall be reimbursed from the disaster relief fund for
the cost of actions taken in accordance with this
subsection.’’.
SEC. 10. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 403 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Federal agen-
cies may’’ and all that follows through the period at
the end of paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
‘‘FEMA or, at the request of the Director, other
Federal agencies may provide disaster assistance es-
sential to meeting threats to life or property in prep-
aration for, or resulting from, a major disaster, cat-
astrophic disaster, or emergency as follows:
‘‘(1) FEDERAL
RESOURCES.—Purchasing and
storing, utilizing, lending, or donating Federal disas-
ter response equipment, supplies, and other re-
sources, other than the extension of credit, for use
and deployment by State and local governments, fire
services, and private relief agencies in preparation
for or following a major disaster, catastrophic disas-
ter, or emergency. Utilizing, lending, or donating fa-
cilities and personnel for use in deployment by State
and local governments, fire services, and private re-
lief agencies in preparation for or following a major
disaster, catastrophic disaster, or emergency.’’;
(2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ‘‘During’’
and inserting ‘‘Immediately before or during’’; and
(3) by striking the last sentence of subsection
(c)(1).
SEC. 11. INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY GRANT PROGRAMS.
Section 411(a) of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5178(a))
is amended by striking ‘‘or through other means’’.
SEC. 12. CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS.
Title IV of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170–5189b)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 425. CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS.
‘‘(a) DECLARATION.—
‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATION BY DISASTER SUPPORT
TEAMS.—At the onset of an event in which the dis-
aster support teams established under section 303(a)
have been deployed, or immediately thereafter, the
disaster support teams shall make concurrent rec-
ommendations to the Director, the President, and
the Governors of the affected States as to whether
the event should be declared a catastrophic disaster.
‘‘(2) REQUEST
FOR
DECLARATION.—Requests
for a declaration by the President that a cata-
strophic disaster exists shall be made by the Gov-
ernors of the affected States. A request for a dec-
laration of a catastrophic disaster may accompany
the request for a declaration of a major disaster
under section 401.
‘‘(3) GENERAL
AUTHORITY.—The President
may declare that a catastrophic disaster, a major
disaster, or an emergency exists on the basis of a re-
quest under this subsection. If the President deter-
mines an immediate Federal response is required to
provide services necessary to sustain life, the Presi-
dent may declare a catastrophic disaster without re-
ceiving a request from the Governor of an affected
State.
‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION OF GOVERNOR.—The Presi-
dent shall inform the Governor of an affected State
that a catastrophic disaster declaration has been
made as soon after the declaration as practicable.
‘‘(b) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—
‘‘(1) DISASTER RESPONSE.—Upon the declara-
tion of a catastrophic disaster, the Director, after
consulting the Federal coordinating officer, shall de-
termine whether ancillary resources, such as the re-
sources of the Department of Defense, are required
to support any disaster response activities. Upon the
determination that ancillary resources are required,
the Director, after consulting the Federal coordinat-
ing officer, shall determine what resources of Fed-
eral agencies are necessary to respond to such disas-
ter and shall take such action as may be necessary
to ensure that such resources are made available.
‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Following the declara-
tion of a catastrophic disaster, the Secretary of
Defense shall, when requested by the Director
and with the concurrence of the Governor of the
affected State, provide to persons adversely af-
fected by the disaster, disaster response mate-
rials and services not otherwise available from
State, local, or volunteer agencies, including—
‘‘(i) food, water, and shelter;
‘‘(ii) communications;
‘‘(iii) debris removal;
‘‘(iv) medical assistance; and
‘‘(v) any other services necessary to
sustain human life or to promote recovery.
‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of
Defense shall be reimbursed from the disaster
relief fund for the provision of disaster response
materials and services described in subpara-
graph (A).
‘‘(C) DIRECTION
OF
ACTIVITIES.—The
provision of disaster response materials and
services under subparagraph (A) and the ad-
ministration of relief by consenting State, local,
and volunteer agencies shall be directed by the
Federal Coordinating Officer, in consultation
with the Director and in coordination with the
Governors of the affected States or a designee
of any such Governor. After a declaration of a
catastrophic disaster, specific requests by the
Governors for individual disaster response ma-
terials and services described in subparagraph
(A) shall not be necessary.
‘‘(D) TRAINING.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall undertake necessary training and ex-
ercises to ensure preparedness for carrying out
this paragraph.
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The assistance
provided in this subsection shall supplement and not
supplant the major disaster and emergency assist-
ance programs provided in this title and title V.’’.
SEC. 13. DISASTER LOANS.
Title IV of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170–5189b)
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 426. DISASTER LOANS.
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE LOANS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director is authorized
to make such loans, either directly or in cooperation
with banks or other lending institutions through
agreements to participate on an immediate or de-
ferred (guaranteed basis), as the Director may de-
termine to be necessary to repair, rehabilitate, or re-
place residential property and associated personal
property damaged or destroyed by or as a result of
a major disaster or catastrophic disaster.
‘‘(2) INSURANCE
LIMITATION.—The Director
shall not make loans under this section to repair, re-
habilitate, or replace real or personal property to the
extent that insurance is available to compensate a
loan applicant for damages sustained from a major
disaster or catastrophic disaster.
‘‘(3) INCREASED
AMOUNT
FOR
PREVENTION
AND MITIGATION.—The Director may increase the
amount of a loan under this section by not to exceed
an additional 20 percent if the Director determines
that such increase is necessary to protect the dam-
aged or destroyed property from possible future dis-
asters by taking mitigating measures.
‘‘(b) REFINANCING OF MORTGAGE OR LIEN.—A loan
made by the Director under this section may be made for
the purpose of refinancing any mortgage or lien against
a totally destroyed or substantially damaged home; except
that no loan or guarantee shall be extended unless the Di-
rector finds that—
‘‘(1) the applicant is not able to obtain credit
elsewhere;
‘‘(2) such property is to be repaired, rehabili-
tated, relocated, or replaced;
‘‘(3) the amount refinanced will not exceed the
amount of physical loss sustained; and
‘‘(4) such amount will be reduced to the extent
that such mortgage or lien is satisfied by insurance.
‘‘(c) TERMS.—
‘‘(1) TIME PERIOD.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—No loan under this
section may be made for a period exceeding 30
years.
‘‘(B) SUSPENSION
OF
PAYMENTS.—The
Director may consent to a suspension in the
payment of principal and interest charges on,
and to an extension in the maturity of, the Fed-
eral share of any loan under this section for a
period not to exceed 10 years if—
‘‘(i) the borrower is a homeowner;
‘‘(ii) the loan was made to enable the
homeowner to repair or replace the home
which was damaged or destroyed as the re-
sult of the major disaster or catastrophic
disaster; and
‘‘(iii) the Director determines that the
suspension or extension is necessary to
avoid severe financial hardship and will aid
in the orderly liquidation of the loan.
‘‘(C) ASSUMPTION
OF
OBLIGATIONS.—
During any period in which principal and inter-
est charges are suspended on the Federal share
of any loan under subparagraph (B), the Direc-
tor shall, upon the request of any person, firm,
or corporation having a participation in such
loan, purchase such participation, or assume
the obligation of the borrower, for the balance
of such period, to make principal and interest
payments on the non-Federal share of such
loan; except that no such payments shall be
made by the Director on behalf of any borrower
unless—
‘‘(i) the Director determines that such
action is necessary in order to avoid a de-
fault; and
‘‘(ii) the borrower agrees to make pay-
ments to the Director in an aggregate
amount equal to the amount paid in its be-
half by the Director in such manner and at
such time (during or after the term of the
loan) as the Director shall determine hav-
ing due regard to the purposes sought to
be achieved by this paragraph.
‘‘(2) INTEREST RATE.—The rate of interest on
the Federal share of any loan made under this sec-
tion, as determined from the date the major disaster
or catastrophic disaster commenced, shall be—
‘‘(A) in the case of a homeowner unable to
secure credit elsewhere, the rate prescribed by
the Director but not more than 1⁄2 the rate de-
termined by the Secretary of the Treasury tak-
ing into consideration the current average mar-
ket yield on outstanding marketable obligations
of the United States with remaining periods to
maturity comparable to the average maturities
of such loan plus an additional charge of not to
exceed 1 percent per year as determined by the
Director, and adjusted to the nearest 1⁄8 of 1
percent, but not to exceed 4 percent per year;
and
‘‘(B) in the case of a homeowner able to
secure credit elsewhere, the rate prescribed by
the Director but not more than the rate deter-
mined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking
into consideration the current average market
yield on outstanding marketable obligations of