I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1870 
To expedite payments of certain Federal emergency assistance authorized 
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act, and to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
exercise certain authority provided under such Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2005 
Mr. FOLEY (for himself, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. MACK, 
Ms. HARRIS, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. PAUL, Mr. JINDAL, and Mrs. KELLY) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To expedite payments of certain Federal emergency assist-
ance authorized pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to exercise certain 
authority provided under such Act. 
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 ‘‘Disaster Recovery Act 
of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED PAYMENTS OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE 
FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL AND EMERGENCY 
PROTECTIVE MEASURES. 
(a) EXPEDITED PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—Notwith-
standing the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or any 
regulation issued pursuant to such Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, acting through the Director of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall pay to an 
eligible applicant, in accordance with subsection (b), 50 
percent of the Federal share of assistance that the appli-
cant is eligible to receive under section 403(b), 407(d), 
or 503 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(b), 5173(d), 5193). 
(b) DATE OF PAYMENT.—A claim described in sub-
section (a) shall be paid not later than 60 days after the 
date on which such applicant files an eligible claim for as-
sistance. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 
applicant’’ means the following: 
(A) A State government. 
(B) A local government. 
(C) A private non-profit organization or in-
stitution that owns or operates any private non-
profit educational, utility, emergency, medical, 
or custodial care facility, including a facility for
the aged or disabled, or any other facility pro-
viding essential governmental services to the 
general public, and such facilities on Indian res-
ervations. 
(D) An Indian tribe or authorized tribal 
organization, or an Alaska Native village or or-
ganization, but not Alaska Native Corporations, 
the ownership of which is vested in a private in-
dividual. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
CLAIM
FOR
ASSISTANCE.—The 
term ‘‘eligible claim for assistance’’ means the fol-
lowing: 
(A) DEBRIS REMOVAL.—A claim for the 
clearance, removal, or disposal of debris such as 
trees, sand, gravel, building components, wreck-
age, vehicles, and personal property, if such de-
bris is the result of an emergency or major dis-
aster and such clearance, removal, or disposal is 
necessary for any of the following: 
(i) To eliminate an immediate threat, 
as determined by the Secretary of Home-
land Security, to human life, public health, 
or safety.
(ii) To eliminate an immediate threat, 
as determined by the Secretary, of signifi-
cant damage to public or private property. 
(iii) To ensure the economic recovery 
of the community affected by the emer-
gency or major disaster to the benefit of 
such community and any other community, 
as determined by the Secretary. 
(iv) To ensure the provision of tem-
porary public transportation service in the 
community affected by the emergency or 
major disaster pursuant to section 419 of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5186). 
(B) 
EMERGENCY
PROTECTIVE
MEAS-
URES.—An action taken by an applicant before, 
during, or after an emergency or major disaster 
that is necessary for any of the following: 
(i) To eliminate or reduce an imme-
diate threat, as determined by the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, to human 
life, public health, or safety. 
(ii) To eliminate or reduce an imme-
diate hazard, as determined by the Sec-
retary, that threatens significant damage 
to public or private property. 
(C) OTHER CLAIMS.—Any other claim that 
the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 
to be appropriate. 
(3) EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘emergency’’ has 
the meaning provided by section 102(1) of the Rob-
ert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(1)). 
(4) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis-
aster’’ has the meaning provided by section 102(2) 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)). 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO ENSURE DEBRIS CLEARANCE, 
REMOVAL, AND DISPOSAL FROM EMERGENCY 
ACCESS ROADS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Any reimbursement authorized 
under section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5173) for 
clearing and removing debris shall include reimbursement 
for clearing, removing, and disposing of debris from any 
emergency access road. 
(b) EMERGENCY ACCESS ROAD DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of subsection (a), the term ‘‘emergency access road’’ 
means a road that requires access by emergency per-
sonnel, including firefighters, police, emergency medical 
personnel, or any other entity identified by the Secretary 
of Homeland Security that provides an emergency service 
after a declaration of an emergency or major disaster (as 
defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)). 
SEC. 4. INCLUSION OF DEBRIS REMOVAL FROM PRIVATE 
LAND AS ELIGIBLE CLAIM FOR FEDERAL AS-
SISTANCE. 
Section 408(c)(2)(A) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5174(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) at the end of clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’; 
(2) at the end of clause (ii), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(iii) the removal, clearance, and dis-
posal of debris from private property that 
is the result of an emergency or major dis-
aster.’’. 
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