Title: Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020
This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct assistance to individuals who have been impacted by a pandemic and appropriates funds to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor for unemployment compensation and disaster relief.
Specifically, at the discretion of a governor or the President, individuals impacted by a pandemic will be eligible to apply directly to federal agencies for various forms of assistance, including (1) assistance under the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program; (2) assistance under the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program; and (3) other needs assistance through FEMA's Individual Assistance program, including medical, funeral, and child care assistance.
With respect to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, the bill creates a national floor for benefits at 1.5 times the national weekly average and provides a waiver to the requirement to exhaust state unemployment insurance options.
With respect to the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, the Department of Agriculture must provide options other than an in-person interview.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6687 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6687

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a 
                   pandemic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2020

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to 
the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a 
                   pandemic, 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 ``Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR PANDEMICS.

    The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 102(1) (42 U.S.C. 5122(1)), by inserting 
        ``or pandemic'' after ``catastrophe'';
            (2) in section 301 (42 U.S.C. 5141), by inserting ``or an 
        emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' each 
        place the term appears;
            (3) in section 408(e) (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)), by inserting 
        ``or an emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' 
        each place the term appears;
            (4) in section 410 (42 U.S.C. 5177)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or an 
                emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' 
                each place the term appears; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Assistance During a Pandemic.--In the case of an emergency 
due to a pandemic--
            ``(1) assistance authorized under this section shall be 
        made available to an individual regardless of whether the 
        individual is entitled to any other unemployment compensation 
        (as that term is defined in section 85(b) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986); and
            ``(2) the minimum weekly benefit shall be 1.5 times the 
        national average State unemployment compensation weekly benefit 
        for the previous year.'';
            (5) in section 412 (42 U.S.C. 5179)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or an emergency due to a 
                pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' each place the term 
                appears;
                    (B) in subsection (a) by inserting ``without regard 
                to regular allotments'' after the reference to the Food 
                and Nutrition Act; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Assistance During a Pandemic.--In the case of an emergency 
due to a pandemic, for purposes of providing benefits under this 
section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall remove or delay the 
requirement of an in-person interview and if an interview occurs, 
provide an alternative to the in-person interview requirement for all 
applicants. Assistance shall be provided based on need and not lost 
provisions.''; and
            (6) in section 502(a) (42 U.S.C. 5192(a))--
                    (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) provide unemployment assistance in accordance with 
        section 410; and
            ``(10) provide assistance in accordance with section 
        412.''.

SEC. 3. FUNDING.

    Provided that there are hereby appropriated to the Secretary of 
Agriculture and Secretary of Labor such amounts as are necessary to 
carry out section 2(5) and section 2(4), respectively. Provided, that 
such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency 
requirement pursuant to Section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget 
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
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