Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020

I 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 with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a pandemic, 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 ‘‘Pandemic Disaster As- 4 sistance Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 May 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6687.IH H6687 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6687 IH SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR PANDEMICS. 1 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 2 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amend- 3 ed— 4 (1) in section 102(1) (42 U.S.C. 5122(1)), by 5 inserting ‘‘or pandemic’’ after ‘‘catastrophe’’; 6 (2) in section 301 (42 U.S.C. 5141), by insert- 7 ing ‘‘or an emergency due to a pandemic’’ after 8 ‘‘major disaster’’ each place the term appears; 9 (3) in section 408(e) (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)), by 10 inserting ‘‘or an emergency due to a pandemic’’ 11 after ‘‘major disaster’’ each place the term appears; 12 (4) in section 410 (42 U.S.C. 5177)— 13 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or an 14 emergency due to a pandemic’’ after ‘‘major 15 disaster’’ each place the term appears; and 16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE DURING A PANDEMIC.—In the case 18 of an emergency due to a pandemic— 19 ‘‘(1) assistance authorized under this section 20 shall be made available to an individual regardless of 21 whether the individual is entitled to any other unem- 22 ployment compensation (as that term is defined in 23 section 85(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 24 1986); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 May 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6687.IH H6687 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6687 IH ‘‘(2) the minimum weekly benefit shall be 1.5 1 times the national average State unemployment com- 2 pensation weekly benefit for the previous year.’’; 3 (5) in section 412 (42 U.S.C. 5179)— 4 (A) by inserting ‘‘or an emergency due to 5 a pandemic’’ after ‘‘major disaster’’ each place 6 the term appears; 7 (B) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘without 8 regard to regular allotments’’ after the ref- 9 erence to the Food and Nutrition Act; and 10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE DURING A PANDEMIC.—In the case 12 of an emergency due to a pandemic, for purposes of pro- 13 viding benefits under this section, the Secretary of Agri- 14 culture shall remove or delay the requirement of an in- 15 person interview and if an interview occurs, provide an al- 16 ternative to the in-person interview requirement for all ap- 17 plicants. Assistance shall be provided based on need and 18 not lost provisions.’’; and 19 (6) in section 502(a) (42 U.S.C. 5192(a))— 20 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 21 the end; 22 (B) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking the 23 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 May 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6687.IH H6687 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6687 IH (C) by adding at the end the following: 1 ‘‘(9) provide unemployment assistance in ac- 2 cordance with section 410; and 3 ‘‘(10) provide assistance in accordance with sec- 4 tion 412.’’. 5 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 6 Provided that there are hereby appropriated to the 7 Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor such 8 amounts as are necessary to carry out section 2(5) and 9 section 2(4), respectively. Provided, that such amount is 10 designated by the Congress as being for an emergency re- 11 quirement pursuant to Section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal- 12 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:20 May 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6687.IH H6687 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS