I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1790
To provide for the equitable treatment of rural communities in the distribution 
of Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 11, 2003
Mrs. CUBIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To provide for the equitable treatment of rural communities 
in the distribution of Federal disaster assistance, 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 ‘‘Rural Disaster Assist-
ance Fairness Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF RURAL ADVOCACY. 
Section 320 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5163) is 
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 
320. 
EQUITABLE 
TREATMENT 
OF 
GEOGRAPHIC 
AREAS. 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON USE OF SLIDING SCALES.—No 
geographic area shall be precluded from receiving assist-
ance under this Act solely by virtue of an arithmetic for-
mula or sliding scale based on income or population. 
‘‘(b) OFFICE OF RURAL ADVOCACY.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall es-
tablish in the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency an Office of Rural Advocacy. 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Office shall be headed by 
a Director, who shall report to the Director of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office shall 
be an advocate for the fair treatment of rural com-
munities in the provision of assistance under this 
Act. In carrying out the Director’s responsibilities, 
the Director shall—
‘‘(A) participate in the disaster declaration 
process under section 401, and the emergency 
declaration process under section 501, to ensure 
that the needs of rural communities are being 
addressed; 
‘‘(B) assist small population States in the 
preparation of requests for major disaster or 
emergency declarations;
‘‘(C) review all rules and regulations relat-
ing to the provision of assistance under this Act 
to ensure that rural communities receive fair 
and equitable treatment; and 
‘‘(D) conduct such other activities as the 
Director of the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency considers appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 3. RULEMAKING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall promulgate a rule 
to ensure that the factors used to review a Governor’s re-
quest for a major disaster declaration under section 401 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), or an emergency dec-
laration under section 501 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), 
adequately address the needs of States with a population 
of less than 1,000,000 individuals and the rural commu-
nities in those States. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating a rule under 
this section, the Director shall ensure that the following 
factors are considered in determining whether an event 
constitutes a major disaster or emergency: 
(1) Loss of access to critical services in a com-
munity and proximity to similar services.
(2) Availability of medical and veterinary serv-
ices. 
(3) Percentage of damage to residential and 
commercial buildings. 
(c) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section may be construed to authorize major disaster or 
emergency assistance that is not authorized as of the date 
of enactment of this Act.
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