FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8266 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs AN ACT 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 8266 RFS 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 SEC. 2. COST SHARE. 6 (a) TEMPORARY FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwith- 7 standing sections 403(b), 403(c)(4), 404(a), 406(b), 8 408(d), 408(g)(2), 428(e)(2)(B), and 503(a) of the Robert 9 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 10 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), for any emergency or major dis- 11 aster declared by the President under such Act during the 12 period beginning on January 1, 2020 and ending on De- 13 cember 31, 2020, the Federal share of assistance provided 14 under such sections shall be not less than 90 percent of 15 the eligible cost of such assistance. 16 (b) COST SHARE UNDER COVID EMERGENCY DEC- 17 LARATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), assistance 18 provided under the emergency declaration issued by the 19 President on March 13, 2020, pursuant to section 501(b) 20 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 21 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)), and under any subse- 22 quent major disaster declaration under section 401 of such 23 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes such emergency 24 declaration, shall be at a 100 percent Federal cost share. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 8266 RFS (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to 1 funds appropriated on or after the date of enactment of 2 this Act. 3 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSISTANCE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the emergency declared on 5 March 13, 2020 by the President under section 501 of 6 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 7 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), the President may provide 8 assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of States, 9 Indian tribal governments, or local governments, includ- 10 ing— 11 (1) activities eligible for assistance under sec- 12 tions 301, 415, 416, and 426 of the Robert T. Staf- 13 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 14 (42 U.S.C. 5141, 5182, 5183, 5189d); 15 (2) backfill costs for first responders and other 16 essential employees who are ill or quarantined; 17 (3) increased operating costs for essential gov- 18 ernment services due to such emergency, including 19 costs for implementing continuity plans, and shel- 20 tering or housing for first responders, emergency 21 managers, health providers and other essential em- 22 ployees; 23 (4) costs of providing guidance and information 24 to the public and for call centers to disseminate such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 8266 RFS guidance and information, including private non- 1 profit organizations; 2 (5) costs associated with establishing and oper- 3 ating virtual services; 4 (6) costs for establishing and operating remote 5 test sites, including comprehensive community based 6 testing; 7 (7) training provided specifically in anticipation 8 of or in response to the event on which such emer- 9 gency declaration is predicated; 10 (8) personal protective equipment and other 11 critical supplies and services for first responders and 12 other essential employees, including individuals 13 working in public schools, courthouses, law enforce- 14 ment, and public transit systems; 15 (9) medical equipment, regardless of whether 16 such equipment is used for emergency or inpatient 17 care; 18 (10) public health costs, including provision and 19 distribution of medicine and medical supplies; 20 (11) costs associated with maintaining alternate 21 care facilities or related facilities currently inactive 22 but related to future needs tied to the ongoing pan- 23 demic event; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 8266 RFS (12) costs of establishing and operating shelters 1 and providing services, including transportation, that 2 help alleviate the need of individuals for shelter; and 3 (13) costs, including costs incurred by private 4 nonprofit organizations, of procuring and distrib- 5 uting food to individuals affected by the pandemic 6 through networks established by State, local, or 7 Tribal governments, or other organizations, includ- 8 ing restaurants and farms, and for the purchase of 9 food directly from food producers and farmers. 10 (b) APPLICATION TO SUBSEQUENT MAJOR DIS- 11 ASTER.—The activities described in subsection (a) may 12 also be eligible for assistance under any major disaster de- 13 clared by the President under section 401 of such Act (42 14 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes the emergency declaration 15 described in such subsection. 16 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FUNERAL EX- 17 PENSES.—For any emergency or major disaster described 18 in subsection (a) or (b) and subject to the availability of 19 appropriations, the President shall provide financial as- 20 sistance to an individual or household to meet disaster- 21 related funeral expenses under section 408(e)(1) of such 22 Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)). 23 (d) ADVANCED ASSISTANCE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 8266 RFS (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to facilitate activities 1 under this section, the President, acting through the Ad- 2 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen- 3 cy, may provide assistance in advance to an eligible appli- 4 cant if a failure to do so would prevent the applicant from 5 carrying out such activities. 6 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall sub- 7 mit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- 8 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 9 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs a report 10 on assistance provided in advance pursuant to paragraph 11 (1). 12 (3) AUDIT BY DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECU- 13 RITY INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 15 of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct a 16 follow-up review of assistance provided in advance pursu- 17 ant to paragraph (1). 18 (4) REVIEW.—The audit under paragraph (2) shall 19 include, at a minimum— 20 (A) a review of the assumptions and methodolo- 21 gies used to determine eligibility for advanced assist- 22 ance; and 23 (B) a determination of whether the advanced 24 assistance was used appropriately. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 8266 RFS (5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Inspector General 1 shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and In- 2 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com- 3 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 4 of the Senate a report on the results of the review carried 5 out under this subsection. 6 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 7 tion shall be construed to make ineligible any assistance 8 that would otherwise be eligible under section 403, 408, 9 or 502 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5192). 10 (f) STATE; INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT; LOCAL 11 GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—In this section, the terms 12 ‘‘State’’, ‘‘Indian tribal government’’, and ‘‘local govern- 13 ment’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 102 14 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 15 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 16 (g) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to 17 funds appropriated on or after the date of enactment of 18 this Act. 19 SEC. 4. REPORT ON STAFFORD ACT RESPONSE CAPABILI- 20 TIES. 21 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 22 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 23 Management Agency shall seek to enter into an agreement 24 with the National Academy of Sciences to convene a com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 8266 RFS mittee of experts to conduct a comprehensive study on the 1 use of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 2 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to respond 3 to an emergency which does not cause physical damages, 4 such as the emergency declaration issued by the President 5 on March 13, 2020, including— 6 (1) how non-physical damages can be quan- 7 tified; 8 (2) consideration of any factors that allow for 9 an adjustment of cost shares; 10 (3) recommendations to Congress on thresholds 11 or criteria to be met to trigger a future declaration; 12 and 13 (4) other items that the Administrator deter- 14 mines necessary to increase future preparedness to 15 such events. 16 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 17 HOUSEHOLDS. 18 Section 408(f)(3)(J)(iii) of the Robert T. Stafford 19 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 8266 RFS 5174(f)(3)(J)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 2 Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Nov 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8266.RFS H8266 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS