FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4627 To modify the Federal cost share of certain emergency assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to modify the activities eligible for assistance under the emergency declaration issued by the President on March 13, 2020, relating to COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To modify the Federal cost share of certain emergency assist- ance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to modify the ac- tivities eligible for assistance under the emergency dec- laration issued by the President on March 13, 2020, relating to COVID–19, 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 ‘‘FEMA Assistance Re- 4 lief Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4627.IS S4627 2 •S 4627 IS SEC. 2. COST SHARE. 1 (a) TEMPORARY FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith- 2 standing sections 403(b), 403(c)(4), 404(a), 406(b), 3 408(d), 408(g)(2), 428(e)(2)(B), and 503(a) of the Robert 4 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 5 (42 U.S.C. 5170b(b), 5170(c)(4), 5170c(a), 5172(b), 6 5174(d), 5174(g)(2), 5189f(e)(2)(B), 5193(a)), for any 7 emergency or major disaster declared by the President 8 under such Act during the period beginning on January 9 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, the Federal 10 share of assistance provided under such sections shall be 11 not less than 90 percent of the eligible cost of such assist- 12 ance. 13 (b) COST SHARE UNDER COVID EMERGENCY DEC- 14 LARATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), assistance 15 provided under the emergency declaration issued by the 16 President on March 13, 2020, pursuant to section 501(b) 17 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 18 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)), and under any subse- 19 quent major disaster declaration under section 401 of such 20 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes such emergency 21 declaration, shall be at a 100 percent Federal cost share. 22 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSISTANCE. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the emergency declared on 24 March 13, 2020, by the President under section 501 of 25 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4627.IS S4627 3 •S 4627 IS sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), the President may provide 1 assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of States or 2 local governments or the owners or operators of eligible 3 private nonprofits, including— 4 (1) activities eligible for assistance under sec- 5 tions 301, 415, 416, and 426 of the Robert T. Staf- 6 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 7 (42 U.S.C. 5141, 5182, 5183, 5189d); 8 (2) backfill costs for first responders and other 9 essential employees who are ill or quarantined; 10 (3) increased operating costs for essential gov- 11 ernment services due to such emergency, including 12 costs for implementing continuity plans, and shel- 13 tering or housing for first responders, emergency 14 managers, health providers and other essential em- 15 ployees; 16 (4) costs of providing guidance and information 17 to the public and for call centers to disseminate such 18 guidance and information; 19 (5) costs associated with establishing and oper- 20 ating virtual services; 21 (6) costs for establishing and operating remote 22 test sites; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4627.IS S4627 4 •S 4627 IS (7) training provided specifically in anticipation 1 of or in response to the event on which such emer- 2 gency declaration is predicated; 3 (8) personal protective equipment and other 4 critical supplies and services for first responders and 5 other essential employees, including individuals 6 working in public schools, courthouses, and public 7 transit systems; 8 (9) medical equipment, regardless of whether 9 such equipment is used for emergency or inpatient 10 care; 11 (10) public health costs, including provision and 12 distribution of medicine and medical supplies; 13 (11) costs associated with maintaining alternate 14 care facilities or related facilities currently inactive 15 but related to future needs tied to the ongoing pan- 16 demic event; and 17 (12) costs of procuring and distributing food to 18 individuals affected by the pandemic through net- 19 works established by State, local, or Tribal govern- 20 ments, or other organizations, including restaurants 21 and farms, and for the purchase of food directly 22 from food producers and farmers. 23 (b) MAJOR DISASTER.—The activities described in 24 subsection (a) may also be eligible for assistance under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4627.IS S4627 5 •S 4627 IS any major disaster declared by the President under section 1 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 2 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes 3 the emergency declaration described in such subsection. 4 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 5 tion shall be construed to make ineligible any assistance 6 that would otherwise be eligible under section 403 or 502 7 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 8 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5192). 9 (d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 10 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given the term in section 102 11 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 12 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4627.IS S4627