Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2809 | Sponsor: Rep. Rouzer, David (R-NC)
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the President to provide disaster assistance to states and Indian tribes for unmet need, including necessary expenses for activities related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization after a major disaster is declared.
The bill also establishes a Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund to facilitate planning and increase capacity to administer assistance.

To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and 
 Indian Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Natural Disaster Recovery Program 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.

    The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end of title IV 
the following:

``SEC. 431. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Authority; Use.--The President may provide assistance under 
this section to States and Indian Tribes for unmet need, including 
necessary expenses for activities related to disaster relief, 
resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and 
housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization after a major disaster 
is declared under section 401.
    ``(b) Coordination of Disaster Benefits and Data With Other Federal 
Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President shall coordinate with 
        other agencies to obtain data on recovery needs and unmet need, 
        including the Administrator of the Small Business 
        Administration and other agencies when necessary regarding 
        disaster benefits. Not later than 90 days after a major 
        disaster is declared, the President shall make publicly 
        available all data collected, possessed, or analyzed during the 
        course of a disaster recovery for which assistance is provided 
        under this section, including--
                    ``(A) all data on damage caused by the disaster;
                    ``(B) information on how any Federal assistance 
                provided in connection with the disaster is expended;
                    ``(C) information regarding the effect of the 
                disaster on education, transportation capabilities and 
                dependence, housing needs, health care capacity, and 
                displacement of persons; and
                    ``(D) the extent of the unmet need.
            ``(2) Protection of personally identifiable information.--
        In carrying out this subsection, the President and the grantee 
        shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that 
        personally identifiable information regarding recipients of 
        assistance provided under this section is not made publicly 
        available by any agency with which information is shared 
        pursuant to this subsection.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) Administrative costs.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State or Indian Tribe 
                receiving a grant under this section may use not more 
                than 13 percent of the amount of grant funds received, 
                or within such other percentage as may be established 
                pursuant to subparagraph (B), for administrative costs, 
                including costs related to audits, reviews, oversight, 
                evaluation, and investigations.
                    ``(B) Discretion to establish sliding scale.--The 
                President may establish a series of percentage 
                limitations on the amount of grant funds received that 
                may be used by a grantee for administrative costs, but 
                only if--
                            ``(i) such percentage limitations are based 
                        on the amount of grant funds received by a 
                        grantee; and
                            ``(ii) such series provides that the 
                        percentage that may be used is lower for 
                        grantees receiving a greater amount of grant 
                        funds and such percentage that may be used is 
                        higher for grantees receiving a lesser amount 
                        of grant funds.
            ``(2) Capacity building.--From funds made available for use 
        under this section, the President shall provide necessary 
        technical assistance to grantees to ensure grantees are 
        compliant with Federal law, and capacity building and technical 
        assistance, including assistance regarding contracting and 
        procurement processes, including providing solicitation and 
        contractual templates that conform to Federal requirements for 
        use by grantees.
    ``(d) Allocation, Process, and Procedures; Coordination.--
            ``(1) Allocation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The President shall allocate 
                funds under this section proportionally to grantees 
                based on their level of unmet need as determined 
                pursuant to subsection (b).
                    ``(B) Grantee use of funds.--Each grantee, not the 
                President, shall be responsible for determining how 
                funds provided under this section are prioritized and 
                spent and a grantee shall not be required to provide an 
                action or spending plan before or after funds are 
                allocated, except that the grantee shall use a portion 
                of these funds for cleaning and removing debris from 
                rivers, creeks, streams, and ditches.
                    ``(C) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 312, a 
                loan shall not be considered a duplication of benefits 
                or otherwise impact the level of unmet need under this 
                section.
            ``(2) Grantee processes and procedures.--
                    ``(A) Initial grant funds.--Initially, grantees 
                shall be awarded 50 percent of their total allocation 
                under paragraph (1). After expenditure of such amount, 
                a grantee shall submit a report, detailing how such 
                grant funds were spent, to the Committees on 
                Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
                Senate, the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the 
                Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
                of the Senate. Such report shall include a 
                certification from the State Auditor that none of the 
                funds were wasted or used inappropriately.
                    ``(B) Congressional approval.--
                            ``(i) Approval.--Not later than 60 days 
                        after receipt of the report under subparagraph 
                        (A), Congress shall approve or disapprove the 
                        report. If the report is approved, or if 60 
                        days has lapsed and Congress has not commented 
                        on the report, the remaining 50 percent of the 
                        allocation under paragraph (1) shall be 
                        released to the grantee.
                            ``(ii) Disapproval.--If Congress 
                        disapproves the report, the grantee shall work 
                        with Congress to address any and all concerns 
                        regarding how the initial 50 percent of the 
                        grant money was expended. Once these concerns 
                        are resolved, the remaining funds shall be 
                        released to the grantee.
                            ``(iii) Fraud or abuse.--If Congress 
                        determines that a grantee committed fraud or 
                        abuse, Congress shall require the President to 
                        recover all funds provided to the grantee under 
                        this section. Any amount recovered under this 
                        clause shall be redistributed to other grantees 
                        with approved reports pursuant to clause (i).
            ``(3) Requirements.--Each State and Indian Tribe that 
        receives funds under this section shall establish or adhere to 
        existing guidelines for procurement processes and procedures 
        and require that subgrantees--
                    ``(A) provide for full and open competition and 
                require cost or price analysis;
                    ``(B) specify methods of procurement and their 
                applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-percentage-of 
                cost or percentage-of-construction-cost methods of 
                procurement;
                    ``(C) include standards of conduct governing 
                employees engaged in the award or administration of 
                contracts; and
                    ``(D) ensure that all purchase orders and contracts 
                include any clauses required by Federal statute, 
                Executive order, or implementing regulation.
    ``(e) Environmental Review.--Recipients of funds received under 
this section that use funds to supplement funds provided under section 
402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 may adopt, without 
review or public comment, any environmental review, approval, or permit 
performed by a Federal agency.
    ``(f) Best Practices.--The President shall identify best practices 
for grantees on issues including developing action plans, establishing 
financial controls, building grantee technical and administrative 
capacity, procurement, and use of grant funds as local match for other 
sources of Federal funding. Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the President shall publish a compilation of 
such identified best practices and share with all relevant grantees to 
facilitate a more efficient and effective disaster recovery process.
    ``(g) Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States an account to be known as the Natural 
        Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as 
        the `Fund').
            ``(2) Amounts.--The Fund shall consist of any amounts 
        appropriated to or deposited into the Fund, including amounts 
        deposited into the Fund pursuant to paragraph (4).
            ``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts in the Fund shall be 
        available, pursuant to a declaration of a major disaster, only 
        for providing technical assistance and capacity building in 
        connection with subsection (c)(4) for grantees that have been 
        allocated assistance under this section in connection with such 
        disaster to facilitate planning and increase capacity to 
        administer assistance under this section.
            ``(4) Unused amounts.--If any amounts made available for 
        assistance under this section to grantees remain unexpended on 
        the earlier of--
                    ``(A) the date that the grantee of such amounts 
                notifies the President that the grantee has completed 
                all activities; or
                    ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), the 
                expiration of the 6-year period beginning when the 
                President obligates such amounts to the grantee, the 
                President shall transfer such unexpended amounts to the 
                Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund, 
                except that the President may permit the grantee to 
                retain amounts needed to close out the grant.
            ``(5) Extension of period for use of funds.--The period 
        under paragraph (4)(B) may be extended by not more than 4 years 
        if, before the expiration of such 6-year period, the President 
        waives this requirement and submits a written justification for 
        such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate that specifies the period of 
        such extension.
    ``(h) Waiver Authority.--Until such time as the President issues 
regulations to implement this section, the President may--
            ``(1) waive notice and comment rulemaking, if the President 
        determines the waiver is necessary to expeditiously implement 
        the provisions of this section; and
            ``(2) carry out the grant program under this section as a 
        pilot program.
    ``(i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
terms shall apply:
            ``(1) State auditor.--The term `State auditor' means the 
        individual selected by each State or the Chief Executive to 
        submit information pursuant to subsection (c)(3) and a 
        certification in accordance with subsection (d)(2)(A).
            ``(2) Unmet need.--The term `unmet need' means any 
        unresourced item, support, or assistance that has been assessed 
        and verified as necessary for a survivor to recover from a 
        major disaster, including food, clothing, shelter, first aid, 
        emotional and spiritual care, household items, home repair, or 
        rebuilding.''.
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