REAADI for Disasters Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3208 To ensure that older adults and individuals with disabilities are prepared for disasters, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2019 Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Ms. SHALALA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 ensure that older adults and individuals with disabilities are prepared for disasters, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Emergency Ac- 4 cess for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘REAADI for Disasters Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:23 Jun 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3208 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) In the United States, according to the Cen- 4 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 5 more than 61,000,000 adults who are individuals 6 with disabilities and, according to the Bureau of the 7 Census, there are more than 47,800,000 adults age 8 65 or older. 9 (2) There have been more than 80 hurricanes, 10 resulting in thousands of deaths, in the United 11 States since 2005. 12 (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 13 ministration estimates that— 14 (A) the cumulative damage from weather- 15 and climate-related disasters in 2017 cost the 16 United States over $300,000,000,000; and 17 (B) 17 of the disasters in 2017 cost over 18 $1,000,000,000 each. 19 (4) Individuals with disabilities and older adults 20 have been found to die at higher rates, compared to 21 the general population, during disasters. 22 (5) According to the Federal Emergency Man- 23 agement Administration— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3208 IH (A) more than 48,000,000 people were af- 1 fected by hurricanes and wildfires between Au- 2 gust and December of 2017; and 3 (B) more than 12,000,000, or one quarter, 4 of those peoples were adults who were individ- 5 uals with disabilities. 6 (6) An estimated 70 percent of the deaths at- 7 tributed to Hurricane Maria in 2017 were to people 8 age 70 or older. 9 (7) Failure to provide accessibility for, or plan 10 for accommodating, individuals with physical or sen- 11 sory disabilities, chronic illness, or mental disabilities 12 decreases the ability of those individuals to evacuate 13 prior to or during a disaster. 14 (8) Households of individuals with disabilities 15 are more likely to need assistance and are less likely 16 to be able to evacuate in advance of disasters. 17 (9) Less than a third of individuals with intel- 18 lectual disabilities and individuals needing personal 19 care attendants have planned with their personal 20 care providers what to do in a disaster. 21 (10) Evacuation information, including orders, 22 is not uniformly communicated in ways and via 23 media that are accessible to individuals with disabil- 24 ities, including being communicated in ways that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3208 IH lack use of American Sign Language, captions, and 1 plain language on websites, instructional materials, 2 and television and radio announcements. 3 (11) Displaced individuals with disabilities 4 served in general population shelters have better ac- 5 cess to information and material resources than indi- 6 viduals with disabilities in specially designed shel- 7 ters. 8 (12) Despite better access to information and 9 resources, personnel in general population shelters 10 often do not have the resources or training to ad- 11 dress the needs of individuals with disabilities and 12 older adults. 13 (13) Public shelters often do not have dis- 14 ability-related accommodations, often forcing individ- 15 uals with disabilities and older adults to be seg- 16 regated, sometimes apart from their families and 17 natural supports during disasters. 18 (14) Households with individuals with disabil- 19 ities sustain more costly property damage from dis- 20 asters than households without individuals with dis- 21 abilities. 22 (15) Historically, disaster-related recommenda- 23 tions for individuals with disabilities and older 24 adults have been typically aimed at caregivers and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3208 IH service providers, not individuals with disabilities 1 and older adults. 2 (16) Thousands of individuals with disabilities 3 have been denied their civil rights because they do 4 not receive accessible notice during disasters— 5 (A) of spoken instructions via phone or 6 video; or 7 (B) of instructions regarding evacuations, 8 sheltering, and other procedures during disas- 9 ters. 10 (17) Disaster shelters and services do not rou- 11 tinely have American Sign Language interpreters 12 nor procedures written or presented in plain lan- 13 guage. 14 (18) Individuals with disabilities and older 15 adults are more at risk for loss of life, loss of inde- 16 pendence, and violation of civil rights than the gen- 17 eral population during times of disasters, response, 18 and recovery. 19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 20 gress that— 21 (1) individuals with disabilities and older adults 22 should be supported during times of disasters, and 23 during disaster preparedness, response, recovery, 24 and mitigation in order to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3208 IH (A) ensure maintenance of and access to 1 services and supports; and 2 (B) enable those individuals and adults to 3 return to their communities in a timely manner 4 as compared with the general population; 5 (2) during the recovery and mitigation phases 6 of disaster response, all buildings and services 7 should be designed, and constructed or recon- 8 structed, according to principles of universal design 9 and to the standards established by the Architec- 10 tural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 11 Board in order to ensure access for individuals with 12 disabilities, older adults, and all individuals; 13 (3) individuals with disabilities and older adults 14 should have access to shelters and other services 15 during disasters in the same locations and settings 16 as the general population; 17 (4) individuals with disabilities and older adults 18 should receive information about preparation for, re- 19 sponse to, recovery from, and mitigation of disasters 20 in formats accessible to them, including in American 21 Sign Language, Braille, and plain language, as well 22 as captioned video messages; 23 (5) individuals with disabilities and older adults 24 must be included as key speakers, essential stake- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3208 IH holders, and decisionmakers in the preparation (in- 1 cluding planning), response, recovery, and mitigation 2 phases of disasters; 3 (6) local, State (including territorial), tribal, 4 and Federal disaster planning must include robust 5 representation of individuals with disabilities and 6 older adults; and 7 (7) individuals with disabilities and older adults 8 must be included in the evaluation of governmental, 9 VOAD, and other nongovernmental preparation (in- 10 cluding planning), response, recovery, and mitigation 11 of disasters. 12 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 13 The purposes of this Act are to— 14 (1) improve the inclusion of individuals with 15 disabilities and older adults in the preparation for, 16 response to, recovery from, and mitigation of disas- 17 ters; 18 (2) ensure the rights of individuals with disabil- 19 ities and older adults, to be free from discrimination 20 on the basis of disability or age in programs and ac- 21 tivities, are protected during all phases of disaster 22 preparation, response, recovery, and mitigation; 23 (3) ensure compliance with the Americans with 24 Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3208 IH 1973, and other disability laws during preparation 1 for, response to, recovery from, and mitigation of 2 disasters; 3 (4) improve coordination, among the commu- 4 nities of individuals with disabilities and older 5 adults, government agencies, VOADs, and other 6 nongovernmental entities, in preparing (including 7 planning) for, responding to, recovery from, and 8 mitigation of disasters; and 9 (5) improve outcomes for all individuals, includ- 10 ing individuals with disabilities and older adults, who 11 are affected by disasters, and increase community 12 resilience in responding to disasters. 13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act: 15 (1) ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS.—The 16 term ‘‘access and functional needs’’, used with re- 17 spect to an individual, means an individual with 18 needs such as— 19 (A) an individual with a disability; 20 (B) an older adult; 21 (C) an individual with limited English pro- 22 ficiency; 23 (D) an individual with limited access to 24 transportation that would enable the individual 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3208 IH to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and 1 mitigate a disaster; or 2 (E) an individual with limited access to the 3 financial resources that would enable the indi- 4 vidual to prepare for, respond to, recover from, 5 and mitigate a disaster. 6 (2) ALL HAZARDS APPROACH.—The term ‘‘all 7 hazards approach’’ means planning for natural, 8 technological, or human-caused incidents that war- 9 rant action to— 10 (A) protect life, property, the environment, 11 or the public health or safety; and 12 (B) minimize disruptions of school activi- 13 ties. 14 (3) CIVIL RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘civil rights’’, 15 used with respect to an individual, means the rights 16 of the individual to be free from discrimination on 17 the basis of disability or age in programs and activi- 18 ties. 19 (4) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 20 individual’’ means an individual with a disability, an 21 older adult, and an individual with access and func- 22 tional needs. 23 (5) DISABILITY INCLUSIVE EMERGENCY MAN- 24 AGEMENT EXPERIENCE.—The term ‘‘disability inclu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3208 IH sive emergency management experience’’, used with 1 respect to an individual or entity— 2 (A) means an individual or entity that 3 has— 4 (i) demonstrated disability leadership 5 experience, including working with non- 6 governmental entities; and 7 (ii) subject matter expertise in leading 8 disability inclusive preparedness, response, 9 recovery, and mitigation initiatives that 10 focus on meeting the rights of covered in- 11 dividuals who are affected by disasters, to 12 be free from discrimination on the basis of 13 disability or age in programs and activities; 14 and 15 (B) includes an individual or entity that 16 has demonstrated favorable outcomes that 17 measure the effective communication access, 18 physical access, program access, health, safety, 19 and independence of individuals affected by dis- 20 asters and their communities. 21 (6) DISASTER.—The term ‘‘disaster’’ means 22 any natural catastrophe (including a hurricane, tor- 23 nado, or storm, high water, winddriven water, and a 24 tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3208 IH landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, wildfire, or 1 drought), technological accident, or human-caused 2 event, that results in severe property damage, 3 deaths, or multiple injuries. 4 (7) DISASTER SERVICES.—The term ‘‘disaster 5 services’’ means the process of responding to a dis- 6 aster and providing humanitarian aid to individuals 7 and communities who are affected by a disaster. 8 (8) DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED.—The 9 term ‘‘disproportionately affected’’, used with re- 10 spect to a group, means a group of individuals with 11 protected status, such as individuals with disabilities 12 or older adults, who are excessively adversely af- 13 fected by disaster-related harms. 14 (9) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.— 15 (A) SINGLE.—The term ‘‘individual with a 16 disability’’ means an individual with a dis- 17 ability, as defined in section 3 of the Americans 18 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 19 12102). 20 (B) PLURAL.—The term ‘‘individuals with 21 disabilities’’ means more than one individual 22 with a disability, as defined in subparagraph 23 (A). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3208.IH H3208 jspears on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3208 IH (10) OLDER ADULT.—The term ‘‘older adult’’ 1 means a resident who is age 50 or older. 2 (11) RESIDENT.—The term ‘‘resident’’ means a 3 resident of a State. 4 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 5 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 6 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 7 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 8 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 9 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common- 10 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 11 (14) VISITABILITY STANDARDS.—The term 12 ‘‘visitability standards’’ means standards for Type C 13 (Visitable) Units under the Standards for Accessible 14 and Usable Buildings and Facilities (ICC A117.1– 15 2009), or any successor standards, of the American 16 National Standards Institute. 17 (15) VOAD.—The term ‘‘VOAD’’ means a non- 18 governmental organization assisting in disaster prep- [Text truncated for display. 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