(1) Preliminary damage assessments play a 
critical role in assessing and validating the impact 
and magnitude of a disaster. 
(2) Through the preliminary damage assess-
ment process, representatives from the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency work with State 
and local officials to gather information that serves 
as the basis for disaster assistance requests. 
(3) Various factors can impact the duration of 
a preliminary damage assessment and the cor-
responding submission of a major disaster request, 
however, the average time between when a disaster 
occurs, and the submission of a corresponding dis-
aster 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 criti-
cally important to the relief process for impacted 
states and municipalities. 
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) 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 
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Congress a report describing the preliminary damage as-
sessment process, as carried out by the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency in the 5 years before the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 
(a) shall contain the following: 
(1) The process of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency for deploying disaster assess-
ment teams to conduct preliminary damage assess-
ments. 
(2) The number of Agency staff participating 
on disaster assessment teams. 
(3) The training and experience of such staff 
described in paragraph (2). 
(4) A calculation of the average amount of time 
disaster assessment teams described in paragraph 
(1) are deployed to a disaster area. 
(5) The efforts of the Agency to maintain a 
consistent liaison between the Agency and commu-
nities within a disaster area. 
SEC. 4. PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish 
damage assessment teams under section 206.33(b) of title 
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44, Code of Federal Regulations, within the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency to conduct preliminary 
damage assessments with State and local governments and 
appropriate relief or disaster assistance organizations. 
(b) DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TEAMS.—Damage assess-
ment teams described under subsection (a) shall consist 
of full-time employees of the Agency with expertise in 
working with State and local governments and appropriate 
relief or disaster assistance organizations. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to Congress a report— 
(1) describing the establishment of disaster as-
sessment teams described under subsection (a); 
(2) assessing whether the duration of the de-
ployment of a disaster assessment team to conduct 
a preliminary damage assessment is longer based on 
specific disaster conditions; 
(3) assessing the practicality of forming specific 
disaster assessment teams for each specific disaster 
condition; and 
(4) legislative recommendations to improve the 
operation, deployment, and staffing of disaster as-
sessment teams. 
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(d) DEFINITION OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT.—For purposes of this Act, the terms ‘‘State’’ and 
‘‘local government’’ have the meanings given such terms 
in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 
Æ 
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