I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8525 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a Disaster Equity 
and Justice Subcommittee, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2022 
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. GIMENEZ, and Mr. NEGUSE) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 
a Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee, 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 ‘‘Delivering Equity and 
Justice for Disaster Survivors Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. DISASTER EQUITY AND JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE. 
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 318) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) 
DISASTER
EQUITY
AND
JUSTICE
SUB-
COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of the Delivering 
Equity and Justice for Disaster Survivors Act of 
2022, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall establish, as a sub-
committee of the National Advisory Council, the 
Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Dis-
aster Equity and Justice Subcommittee shall be ap-
pointed by the Administrator, in consultation with 
members of the National Advisory Council and the 
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Coun-
cil (or any relevant successor organization focused 
on environmental justice), and shall be composed of 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Individuals that have the requisite 
technical knowledge and expertise to address 
disaster equity and justice issues, including— 
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‘‘(i) 
emergency 
management 
and 
emergency response providers, including 
those with direct experience serving under-
represented and underserved communities; 
and 
‘‘(ii) State, local, and Tribal govern-
ment officials, particularly officials from 
communities that are underrepresented 
and underserved, communities of color, 
and communities that have been disadvan-
taged by inequitable Federal disaster as-
sistance in the past. 
‘‘(B) Individuals who have the requisite 
technical or experiential knowledge and exper-
tise to serve on the Disaster Equity and Justice 
Subcommittee, including— 
‘‘(i) at least 1 academic expert who 
has studied equity implications of disaster 
response and recovery efforts; and 
‘‘(ii) at least 1 representative from 
each of the following: 
‘‘(I) A civil rights organization. 
‘‘(II) A fair or affordable housing 
organization. 
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‘‘(III) A Tribal and Indigenous 
community rights organization. 
‘‘(IV) An environmental justice 
organization. 
‘‘(V) A community-based and 
faith-based organization that aids in 
disaster recovery and response. 
‘‘(VI) An equity, justice, bias, 
and non-discrimination training pro-
vider. 
‘‘(C) Representatives of other stakeholders 
and interested and affected parties as the Chair 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(3) CHAIR.—The Chair of the subcommittee 
shall be the Administrator. 
‘‘(4) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 
the Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee shall 
take place not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the Delivering Equity and Justice for 
Disaster Survivors Act of 2022. 
‘‘(5) CONSULTATION WITH NONMEMBERS.—The 
Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee shall 
consult with other relevant agencies and groups 
which are not represented on the Disaster Equity 
and Justice Subcommittee to consider new and de-
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veloping practices and methods that may be bene-
ficial to ensure the equitable and just delivery of 
programs and aid through the preparedness, re-
sponse, and recovery cycles to communities and indi-
viduals across the United States. 
‘‘(6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Disaster Eq-
uity and Justice Subcommittee shall develop rec-
ommendations, as appropriate, for improving equi-
table and just policy and program delivery before, 
during, and after disasters, including recommenda-
tions relating to the following topics: 
‘‘(A) The accessibility, utilization, and re-
ceipt of Agency grants and assistance by under-
served, under-resourced, and underrepresented 
populations and communities including— 
‘‘(i) subpopulations and communities 
of color; 
‘‘(ii) rural and remote communities; 
‘‘(iii) small communities; 
‘‘(iv) low-capacity communities; 
‘‘(v) Tribal and Indigenous commu-
nities; and 
‘‘(vi) environmental justice commu-
nities. 
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‘‘(B) Strategies and policy recommenda-
tions to address the inequitable delivery of dis-
aster assistance, grant programs, technical as-
sistance, and training. 
‘‘(C) Effective strategies to prioritize and 
direct additional preparedness and mitigation 
funding to improve planning, preparedness, 
mitigation, and recovery outcomes as well as 
overall resilience in culturally, economically, and 
socially vulnerable communities. 
‘‘(D) The capability and capacity of the 
workforce of the Agency to deliver equitable and 
culturally competent assistance to underrep-
resented communities and the most effective 
training solutions to increase cultural and eq-
uity competencies. 
‘‘(E) The capacity and effectiveness of con-
sultation from Tribal and Indigenous commu-
nities to the Agency and liaison roles in commu-
nicating and addressing needs of all Tribal and 
Indigenous communities and solutions to ad-
dress existing deficiencies, including regionally 
specific recommendations. 
‘‘(F) Any gaps in current State emergency 
management resources and program delivery re-
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sulting in inequitable access to Agency re-
sources across different States. 
‘‘(G) Opportunities and strategies to en-
sure a portion of Federal contracting and sub-
contracting agreements are awarded equitably 
to minority-owned businesses. 
‘‘(H) Identification of opportunities to up-
date and further integrate the National Risk 
Index into equity considerations across the 
Agency. 
‘‘(I) Strategies to address any disparate 
impacts climate change will have on culturally, 
socially, economically vulnerable communities, 
with particular consideration given to hazard 
mitigation, preparedness, and planning resource 
delivery. 
‘‘(J) The implementation of the Justice40 
initiative across relevant Agency programs, as 
well as recommendations on the data utilized in 
the identification of eligible recipients of re-
sources from such initiative. 
‘‘(7) REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of the Deliv-
ering Equity and Justice for Disaster Survivors 
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Act of 2022, the Disaster Equity and Justice 
Subcommittee shall submit a report to the Na-
tional Advisory Council that— 
‘‘(i) includes the recommendations de-
veloped under paragraph (6); 
‘‘(ii) specifies the time frames for im-
plementing any such recommendations that 
do not require congressional action; and 
‘‘(iii) identifies any such recommenda-
tions that do require congressional action. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days 
after receiving the report under subparagraph 
(A), the National Advisory Council shall begin 
a review of such report. The National Advisory 
Council may ask for additional clarification, 
changes, or other information from the Disaster 
Equity and Justice Subcommittee to assist in 
the approval of such report. 
‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATION.—Upon approval 
of the report of the Disaster Equity and Justice 
Subcommittee under subparagraph (B), the Na-
tional Advisory Council shall submit such report 
to— 
‘‘(i) the Administrator; 
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‘‘(ii) the heads of other Federal agen-
cies with a role in disaster response and 
recovery, including the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, Department 
of Transportation, Department of Health 
and Human Services, Department of the 
Interior, Department of Agriculture, Small 
Business Administration, Economic Devel-
opment Administration, United States 
Coast Guard, National Guard, and Depart-
ment of Homeland Security; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity, the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, and the Committee on 
Financial Services of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
‘‘(8) INTERIM
UPDATES
AND
OVERSIGHT.— 
After the submission of the report by the National 
Advisory Council under paragraph (7), the Adminis-
trator shall— 
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‘‘(A) provide annual updates to the con-
gressional committees referred to in clauses (ii) 
and (iii) of paragraph (7)(C) regarding the sta-
tus of the implementation of the recommenda-
tions contained in such report; and 
‘‘(B) coordinate the implementation of 
such recommendations, as appropriate. 
‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) INDIAN
TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian 
Tribe’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(B) TRIBAL
AND
INDIGENOUS
COMMU-
NITY.—The term ‘Tribal and Indigenous com-
munity’ means a population of people who are 
members of— 
‘‘(i) a federally recognized Indian 
Tribe; 
‘‘(ii) a State-recognized Indian Tribe; 
‘‘(iii) an Alaska Native or Native Ha-
waiian community or organization; or 
‘‘(iv) any other community of Indige-
nous people located in a State. 
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‘‘(C) TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘Tribal government’ means the governing body 
of an Indian Tribe.’’. 
Æ 
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