Wildfire Smoke Relief Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1997 To authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals who live in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals who live in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires, 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 ‘‘Wildfire Smoke Relief 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 7 (1) INDIVIDUAL AT RISK OF WILDFIRE SMOKE 8 RELATED ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘individual at risk of 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1997 IS wildfire smoke related illness’’ means an individual, 1 living in an area where the air quality index is deter- 2 mined to be unhealthy for not less than 3 consecu- 3 tive days as a result of a wildfire, who is— 4 (A) a low-income individual; 5 (B) a parent or guardian with a child who 6 has not attained 19 years of age; 7 (C) a pregnant woman; 8 (D) an individual who is 65 years of age 9 or older; 10 (E) an individual with chronic respiratory 11 or cardiovascular illness; or 12 (F) an individual with a chronic disease 13 that is exacerbated by smoke inhalation. 14 (2) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low- 15 income individual’’ means an individual from a fam- 16 ily whose taxable income (as defined in section 63 of 17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the pre- 18 ceding year did not exceed 200 percent of an 19 amount equal to the poverty level, as determined by 20 using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau 21 of Census. 22 (3) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 23 entity’’ means— 24 (A) a State or unit of local government; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1997 IS (B) a local public health authority; and 1 (C) a coordinated care organization. 2 (b) TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE PRO- 3 GRAM.—In carrying out the Transitional Sheltering As- 4 sistance Program of the Federal Emergency Management 5 Agency under section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis- 6 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 7 5170b), the President shall— 8 (1) provide assistance to a qualified entity to 9 purchase and provide, to an individual at risk of 10 wildfire smoke related illness, smoke-inhalation pre- 11 vention equipment, including— 12 (A) a portable air filtration unit; 13 (B) an air filter; 14 (C) a face mask or respirator, such as— 15 (i) a N95 respirator; 16 (ii) a P100 respirator; or 17 (iii) other equipment certified by the 18 National Institute for Occupational Safety 19 and Health to protect from airborne par- 20 ticle exposure; 21 (D) low-cost equipment to keep smoke out 22 of a house, such as: 23 (i) a weather strip; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1997 IS (ii) not more than 1 portable air-con- 1 ditioning unit per household; 2 (iii) ventilation equipment; 3 (iv) a screening and shading device; or 4 (v) a window covering; or 5 (E) other similarly effective devices; and 6 (2) in any case in which smoke-inhalation pre- 7 vention equipment is not sufficient to mitigate the 8 risk of illness, provide cost-efficient transitional shel- 9 ter assistance to an individual at risk of wildfire 10 smoke related illness. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS