117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5689 
AN ACT 
To improve the provision of Federal resources to help build 
capacity and fund risk-reducing, cost-effective mitigation 
projects for eligible State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
governments and certain private nonprofit organizations, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Resilient Assistance 
for Mitigation for Environmentally Resilient Infrastruc-
ture and Construction by Americans Act’’ or the ‘‘Resil-
ient AMERICA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 
Section 203(i) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is 
amended by striking ‘‘equal to 6 percent’’ and inserting 
‘‘equal to not more than 15 percent’’. 
SEC. 3. NONPROFIT FACILITIES. 
Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘and local gov-
ernments’’ and inserting ‘‘, local governments, and 
private nonprofit facilities’’; 
(2) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘or local gov-
ernment’’ in each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, 
local government, or private nonprofit facility’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘local 
governments’’ and inserting ‘‘local governments 
and private nonprofit facilities’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)—
(i) by striking ‘‘local governments’’ in 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘local 
governments or private nonprofit facili-
ties’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B) by striking 
‘‘local government’’ and inserting ‘‘local 
government or private nonprofit facility’’; 
and 
(C) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘or pri-
vate nonprofit facilities’’ after ‘‘any local gov-
ernments of the State’’. 
(4) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘and 
local governments’’ and inserting ‘‘, local gov-
ernments, and private nonprofit facilities’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘or local 
government’’ in each place it appears and in-
serting ‘‘, local government, or private nonprofit 
facility’’; 
(5) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or pri-
vate nonprofit facilities located in the State’’ 
after ‘‘local governments of the State’’; and
(B) in paragraph (3)(A) by inserting ‘‘or 
private nonprofit facilities located in the State’’ 
after ‘‘local governments of a State’’; and 
(6) in subsection (g) by striking ‘‘or local gov-
ernment’’ in each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, 
local government, or private nonprofit facility’’. 
SEC. 4. BUILDING CODE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCE-
MENT SET ASIDE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(f) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5133(m)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) BUILDING
CODE
IMPLEMENTATION
AND 
ENFORCEMENT SET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts made 
available under this section for any given year, the 
Administrator may use not less than 10 percent to 
carry out eligible activities that further the imple-
mentation and enforcement of the latest published 
editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifica-
tions, and standards, including any amendments 
made by State, local, Tribal, or territorial govern-
ments to such codes, specifications, and standards,
that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs 
and establish minimum acceptable criteria for the 
design, construction, and maintenance of facilities 
and residential structures that may be eligible for 
assistance under this Act. In any fiscal year in 
which requests for assistance for such activities do 
not total at least 10 percent of assistance under this 
section, any remaining funds may be used as addi-
tional assistance for the purposes of paragraph 
(1).’’. 
(b) LATEST PUBLISHED EDITIONS.—Section 203(m) 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(m)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘, (f)(3),’’ after ‘‘subsections (e)(1)(B)(iv)’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1234 of the 
Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. 5133 
note) is amended by striking subsection (d). 
SEC. 5. RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE. 
(a) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (g) of section 
404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(g)) (as redesig-
nated by section 2) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (12)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, wildfire, and ice storm’’ 
after ‘‘windstorm’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘including replacing’’ and 
inserting the following: ‘‘including— 
‘‘(A) replacing’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (A) (as so des-
ignated)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘, wildfire,’’ after ‘‘ex-
treme wind’’; and 
(ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon at the end; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) the installation of fire-resistant wires 
and infrastructure and the undergrounding of 
wires;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (13) by striking ‘‘and’’; and 
(3) by striking paragraph (14) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(14) replacing water systems that have been 
burned, caused contamination, or are at risk from 
wildfire impacts with resilient, non-combustible ma-
terials; 
‘‘(15) repairing, replacing, or retrofitting infra-
structure damaged by ice storms to be resilient to 
the impacts of such storms; 
‘‘(16) retrofitting or hardening electric grid in-
frastructure to comply with the latest published
strength standards or industry best practices for re-
siliency, including standards and practices relating 
to the strength of utility poles in high wind areas, 
regardless of height; and 
‘‘(17) implementing technologies to improve in-
frastructure monitoring and distribution for the pur-
pose of reducing risk and avoiding future disaster 
impacts and, notwithstanding other requirements re-
lated to cost-effectiveness, to avoid any unintended 
consequences under this section and section 203.’’. 
(b) USE OF ASSISTANCE FOR EARTHQUAKE HAZ-
ARDS.—Subsection (h) of section 404 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170c(h)) (as redesignated by section 2) is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘and tsunami’’ after ‘‘earth-
quake’’ each place it appears (including in the sub-
section heading); 
(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(3) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) planning, design, or construction of 
vertical evacuation structures in designated and 
mapped tsunami danger areas or hazard zones.’’. 
SEC. 6. RESIDENTIAL RETROFIT AND RESILIENCE PILOT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall carry out 
a residential resilience pilot program through the program 
established under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5133) to make available assistance to State and local gov-
ernments for the purpose of providing grants to individ-
uals for residential resilience retrofits. 
(b) AMOUNT OF FUNDS.—The Administrator may 
use not more than 10 percent of the assistance made avail-
able to applicants on an annual basis under section 203 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) to provide assistance 
under this section. 
(c) TIMELINE.—The Administrator shall establish 
the demonstration program under this section not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 
the program shall terminate on September 30, 2025. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 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 Sen-
ate a report that includes— 
(1) a summary of the grant awards and 
projects carried out under this section; 
(2) a detailed compilation of results achieved by 
the grant awards and projects carried out under this 
section, including the number of homes receiving ret-
rofits, the types and average costs of retrofits, demo-
graphic information for participants in the program, 
and estimate avoidance in disaster impacts and Fed-
eral disaster payments as a result of the grant in-
vestments; and 
(3) any identified implementation challenges 
and recommendations for improvements to the pilot 
program. 
(e) 
RESIDENTIAL
RESILIENT
RETROFITS
DE-
FINED.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In this section, the term 
‘‘residential resilient retrofits’’ means a project 
that— 
(A) is designed to increase the resilience of 
an existing home or residence using mitigation 
measures which the administrator determines
reduce damage and impacts from natural dis-
aster hazards and risks that are most likely to 
occur in the area where the home is located; 
and 
(B) to the extent applicable, are consistent 
with the 2 most recently published editions of 
relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, 
and standards, including any amendments made 
by State, local, tribal, or territorial governments 
to such codes, specifications, and standards 
that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant de-
signs and establish criteria for the design, con-
struction, and maintenance of residential struc-
tures and facilities that may be eligible for as-
sistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for the purpose of pro-
tecting the health, safety, and general welfare 
of the buildings’ users against disasters. 
(2) INCLUSION.—In this section, the term ‘‘res-
idential resilient retrofits’’ includes— 
(A) elevations of homes and elevations of 
utilities within and around structures to miti-
gate damages; 
(B) floodproofing measures;
(C) the construction of tornado safe rooms; 
(D) seismic retrofits; 
(E) wildfire retrofit and mitigation meas-
ures; 
(F) wind retrofits, including roof replace-
ments, hurricane straps, and tie-downs; and 
(G) any other measures that meet the re-
quirements of paragraph (1), as determined by 
the Administrator. 
SEC. 7. BUY AMERICA FOR NONEMERGENCY PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this rule-
making, to ensure that the United States has the produc-
tive capability to respond quickly to emergencies and nat-
ural disasters with a strong domestic industrial base being 
in the public interest, the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall require, as a condi-
tion of any financial assistance provided by the Agency 
on a nonemergency basis after promulgation of regulations 
pursuant to subsection (c) for a construction project with 
a cost of at least $1,000,000, that the steel and iron used 
in the project be produced in the United States. 
(b) WAIVER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may pro-
vide a waiver of the requirements in subsection (a) 
if the Administrator finds—
(A) that the application of such subsection 
would be inconsistent with the public interest, 
including causing unreasonable project delays; 
(B) that such steel and iron are not pro-
duced in the United States in sufficient and 
reasonably available quantities and of a satis-
factory quality; or 
(C) that inclusion of domestic material will 
increase the cost of the overall project contract 
by more than 25 percent. 
(2) PUBLIC INPUT.—If the Administrator re-
ceives a request for a waiver under this subsection, 
the Administrator shall make available to the public, 
on an informal basis, a copy of the request and in-
formation available to the Administrator concerning 
the request, and shall allow for informal public input 
on the request for at least 15 days prior to making 
a finding based on the request. 
(3) PUBLICATION OF REQUEST.—The Adminis-
trator shall make the request and accompanying in-
formation available by electronic means, including on 
the official public website of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency. 
(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the President, acting
through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, shall conduct and complete a rule-
making to establish what considerations shall be used by 
the Administrator to assess whether a waiver request 
made pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) is in the public in-
terest. Such criteria shall include both a calculation con-
sidering domestically produced steel and iron and a cal-
culation with non-domestically produced steel and iron for 
construction projects which require a Benefit-Cost Anal-
ysis in order to qualify for financial assistance. 
(d) ADJUSTMENT.—The amount in subsection (a) 
shall be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Con-
sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 
the Department of Labor. 
SEC. 8. REIMBURSEMENT OF INTEREST PAYMENTS RE-
LATED TO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 431. REIMBURSEMENT OF INTEREST PAYMENTS RE-
LATED TO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of assistance under 
this title, the President shall provide financial assistance 
at the applicable Federal share to a State or local govern-
ment, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization as re-
imbursement for qualifying interest. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) QUALIFYING INTEREST.—The term ‘quali-
fying interest’ means, with respect to a qualifying 
loan, the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) the actual interest paid to a lender 
for such qualifying loan; and 
‘‘(B) the interest that would have been 
paid to a lender if such qualifying loan had an 
interest rate equal to the prime rate most re-
cently published on the Federal Reserve Statis-
tical Release on selected interest rates. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFYING LOAN.—The term ‘qualifying 
loan’ means a loan— 
‘‘(A) obtained by a State or local govern-
ment, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organi-
zation; and 
‘‘(B) of which not less than 90 percent of 
the proceeds are used to fund activities for 
which such State or local government, electric 
cooperative, or nonprofit organization receives 
assistance under this Act after the date on 
which such loan is disbursed.’’.
(b) RULE OF APPLICABILITY.—Any qualifying inter-
est (as such term is defined in section 431 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act, as added by this section) incurred by a State or local 
government, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization 
in the 5 years preceding the date of enactment of this Act 
shall be treated as eligible for financial assistance for pur-
poses of such section 431. 
SEC. 9. FUNDING OF A FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED WATER 
RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. 
Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) FUNDING
OF
A
FEDERALLY
AUTHORIZED 
WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) and its 
implementing regulations, assistance provided under 
this section may be used to fund activities author-
ized for construction within the scope of a federally 
authorized water resources development project of 
the Army Corps of Engineers if such activities are 
also eligible activities under this section.
‘‘(2) FEDERAL FUNDING.—All Federal funding 
provided pursuant to this section shall be applied to-
ward the Federal share of a federally authorized 
water resources development project described in 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL
MATCH.—All non-Federal 
matching funds required pursuant to this section 
shall be applied toward the non-Federal share of a 
federally authorized water resources development 
project described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) TOTAL FEDERAL SHARE.—Funding pro-
vided pursuant to this section may not exceed the 
total Federal share for a federally authorized water 
resources development project described in para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection may be construed to affect— 
‘‘(A) the cost-share requirement of a haz-
ard mitigation measure under this section; 
‘‘(B) the eligibility criteria for a hazard 
mitigation measure under this section; 
‘‘(C) the cost share requirements of a fed-
erally authorized water resources development 
project described in paragraph (1); and
‘‘(D) the responsibilities of a non-Federal 
interest with respect to such project, including 
those related to the provision of lands, ease-
ments, rights-of-way, dredge material disposal 
areas, and necessary relocations. 
‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—If a federally authorized 
water resources development project of the Army 
Corps of Engineers is constructed with funding pro-
vided under this subsection, no further Federal 
funding shall be provided for construction of such a 
project.’’. 
SEC. 10. GAO REPORT TO CONGRESS ON CHALLENGES 
UNDER PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ALTERNATIVE 
PROCEDURES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study on the challenges to 
States and Territories of the United States in obtaining 
assistance under section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5189f). 
(b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study described 
in subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall study the 
challenges for assistance described in subsection (a) faced 
by the following:
(1) Rural areas, as such term is defined in sec-
tion 423 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a). 
(2) Small impoverished communities, as such 
term is defined in section 203 of such Act. 
(3) Other communities, areas, or individuals 
that the Comptroller General determines pertinent. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
results of the study required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY. 
The amendments made by sections 2, 4(a), 8, and 
9, and the provisions under section 6, shall only apply to 
amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives April 5, 2022. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5689 
AN ACT 
To improve the provision of Federal resources to 
help build capacity and fund risk-reducing, cost- 
effective mitigation projects for eligible State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial governments and 
certain private nonprofit organizations, and for 
other purposes.