To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met.

IB Union Calendar No. 108 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 [Report No. 116–146] To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 19, 2019 Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana (for himself and Ms. PLASKETT) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure JULY 11, 2019 Additional sponsors: Mr. MEADOWS, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LAMALFA, and Mr. CRENSHAW JULY 11, 2019 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1311 RH A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1311 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. UNMET NEED ASSISTANCE. 3 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 4 Emergency Assistance Act is amended by adding at the 5 end the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 431. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the declaration of a major 8 disaster, the President may direct the Administrator of 9 the Emergency Management Agency to provide, subject to 10 amounts made available from appropriations, assistance 11 necessary for meeting unmet needs as a result of such dis- 12 aster. 13 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 14 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF FUNDING.—Subject to appro- 15 priations and not later than 30 days after a declara- 16 tion is made under section 401, the President acting 17 through the Administrator may allocate an amount 18 that equals up to 10 percent of the estimated aggre- 19 gate amount of the grants to be made pursuant to 20 sections 406 and 408 for the major disaster in order 21 to provide technical and financial assistance under 22 this section and such set aside shall be deemed to 23 be related to activities carried out pursuant to major 24 disasters under this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1311 RH ‘‘(2) ESTIMATED AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—Not 1 later than 180 days after each major disaster dec- 2 laration pursuant to this Act, the estimated aggre- 3 gate amount of grants for purposes of paragraph (1) 4 shall be determined by the President and such esti- 5 mated amount need not be reduced, increased, or 6 changed due to variations in estimates. 7 ‘‘(3) NO REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS.—The 8 amount set aside pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 9 not reduce the amounts otherwise made available for 10 sections 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 11 under this Act. 12 ‘‘(c) UNMET NEEDS.—Financial assistance provided 13 under this section may be used to provide assistance, in 14 addition to other amounts made available under this Act, 15 for the following unmet needs: 16 ‘‘(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuild- 17 ing assistance to families for permanent housing 18 purposes, including in conjunction with eligible ex- 19 penditures under section 408. 20 ‘‘(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families 21 who are unable to obtain adequate assistance from 22 other sources. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1311 RH ‘‘(3) Other services that alleviate human suf- 1 fering and promote the well-being of disaster vic- 2 tims. 3 ‘‘(4) Economic and business activities (includ- 4 ing food and agriculture) after a disaster to imple- 5 ment post-disaster economic recovery measures, in- 6 cluding planning and technical assistance for long- 7 term economic recovery plans, infrastructure im- 8 provements, business or infrastructure financing, 9 market or industry research, and other activities au- 10 thorized under a comprehensive economic develop- 11 ment strategy. 12 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTING AND FISCAL CONTROLS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 14 after receipt of funds and every 6 months thereafter 15 until all such funds are expended, a State shall sub- 16 mit a report to the Administrator that includes— 17 ‘‘(A) the criteria established for deter- 18 mining how the funds are spent; 19 ‘‘(B) the allocation of those funds; and 20 ‘‘(C) the process for public notice and com- 21 ment. 22 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—Any individual who re- 23 ceives assistance pursuant to this section shall com- 24 ply with section 312(b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1311 RH ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State that re- 1 ceives funds under this section may expend not more 2 than 5 percent of the amount of such funds for the 3 administrative costs of providing financial assistance 4 to individuals and households in the State.’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 6 Section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re- 7 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) is 8 amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)(i) by striking ‘‘to a 10 safe and sanitary living or functioning condition’’ 11 and inserting ‘‘to ensure that their home is habitable 12 during longer term recovery. Assistance allowed 13 under this section may be used in coordination with 14 other sources for the repair and rebuilding of an 15 owner-occupied residence.’’; and 16 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘in cases in 17 which’’ and all that follows through the end of the 18 paragraph and by inserting ‘‘if the President con- 19 siders it a cost effective alternative to other housing 20 solutions, including the costs associated with tem- 21 porary housing provided under this section, and 22 long-term rebuilding costs associated with section 23 431’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1311 RH SEC. 3. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 1 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 2 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 3 shall conduct a review on the fiscal controls by States that 4 receive funds under section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford 5 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and shall 6 make recommendations to the Committee on Homeland 7 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 8 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 9 House of Representatives. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 108 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 [Report No. 116–146] A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met. JULY 11, 2019 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jul 11, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1311.RH H1311 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS