Reforming Disaster Recovery Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1686 To establish a community disaster assistance fund for housing and community development and to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel- opment to provide, from the fund, assistance through a community devel- opment block grant disaster recovery program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. TESTER, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish a community disaster assistance fund for hous- ing and community development and to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide, from the fund, assistance through a community develop- ment block grant disaster recovery program, 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 ‘‘Reforming Disaster 4 Recovery Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1686 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) following a major disaster declared by the 3 President under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf- 4 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 5 (42 U.S.C. 5170), the subset of communities that 6 are most impacted and distressed as a result of the 7 disaster face critical social, economic, and environ- 8 mental obstacles to recovery, including insufficient 9 public and private resources to address disaster-re- 10 lated housing and community development needs for 11 lower income households and distressed commu- 12 nities; 13 (2) unmet disaster recovery needs, including 14 housing assistance needs, can be especially wide- 15 spread among persons with extremely low-, low-, and 16 moderate-incomes; 17 (3) economic, social, and housing hardships 18 that affect communities before disasters are exacer- 19 bated during crises and can delay and complicate 20 long-term recovery, especially after catastrophic 21 major disasters; 22 (4) States, units of local government, and In- 23 dian Tribes within the most impacted and distressed 24 areas resulting from major disasters benefit from 25 flexibility to design programs that meet local needs, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1686 IS but face inadequate financial, technical, and staffing 1 capacity to plan and carry out sustained recovery, 2 restoration, and mitigation activities; 3 (5) the speed and effectiveness considerations of 4 long-term recovery from catastrophic major disasters 5 is improved by predictable investments that support 6 disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of 7 housing and infrastructure, and economic revitaliza- 8 tion, primarily for the benefit of low- and moderate- 9 income persons; 10 (6) undertaking activities that mitigate the ef- 11 fects of future natural disasters and extreme weath- 12 er and increase the stock of affordable housing, in- 13 cluding affordable rental housing, as part of long- 14 term recovery can significantly reduce future fiscal 15 and social costs, especially within high-risk areas, 16 and can help to address outstanding housing and 17 community development needs by creating jobs and 18 providing other economic and social benefits within 19 communities that further promote recovery and resil- 20 ience; and 21 (7) the general welfare and security of the 22 United States and the health and living standards of 23 its people require targeted resources to support 24 State and local governments in carrying out their re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1686 IS sponsibilities in disaster recovery and mitigation 1 through interim and long-term housing and commu- 2 nity development activities that primarily benefit 3 low- and moderate-income persons. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 7 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 8 velopment. 9 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 10 Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund established 11 under section 5. 12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 13 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 14 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 15 URBAN DEVELOPMENT. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The offices and officers of the De- 17 partment shall be responsible for— 18 (1) leading and coordinating the disaster-re- 19 lated responsibilities of the Department under the 20 National Response Framework, the National Dis- 21 aster Recovery Framework, and the National Mitiga- 22 tion Framework; 23 (2) coordinating and administering programs, 24 policies, and activities of the Department related to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1686 IS disaster relief, long-term recovery, resiliency, and 1 mitigation, including disaster recovery assistance 2 under title I of the Housing and Community Devel- 3 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 4 (3) supporting disaster-impacted communities 5 as those communities specifically assess, plan for, 6 and address the housing stock and housing needs in 7 the transition from emergency shelters and interim 8 housing to permanent housing of those displaced, es- 9 pecially among vulnerable populations and extremely 10 low-, low-, and moderate-income households; 11 (4) collaborating with the Federal Emergency 12 Management Agency and the Small Business Ad- 13 ministration and across the Department to align dis- 14 aster-related regulations and policies, including in- 15 corporation of consensus-based codes and standards 16 and insurance purchase requirements, and ensuring 17 coordination and reducing duplication among other 18 Federal disaster recovery programs; 19 (5) promoting best practices in mitigation and 20 land use planning, including consideration of tradi- 21 tional, natural, and nature-based infrastructure al- 22 ternatives; 23 (6) coordinating technical assistance, including 24 mitigation, resiliency, and recovery training and in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1686 IS formation on all relevant legal and regulatory re- 1 quirements, to entities that receive disaster recovery 2 assistance under title I of the Housing and Commu- 3 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 4 seq.) that demonstrate capacity constraints; and 5 (7) supporting State, Tribal, and local govern- 6 ments in developing, coordinating, and maintaining 7 their capacity for disaster resilience and recovery 8 and developing pre-disaster recovery and hazard 9 mitigation plans, in coordination with the Federal 10 Emergency Management Agency and other Federal 11 agencies. 12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF DISASTER 13 MANAGEMENT AND RESILIENCY.—Section 4 of the De- 14 partment of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 15 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘(i) OFFICE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND RE- 18 SILIENCY.— 19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, 20 in the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Disaster 21 Management and Resiliency. 22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Office of Disaster Manage- 23 ment and Resiliency shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1686 IS ‘‘(A) be responsible for oversight and co- 1 ordination of all departmental disaster pre- 2 paredness and response responsibilities; and 3 ‘‘(B) coordinate with the Federal Emer- 4 gency Management Agency, the Small Business 5 Administration, and the Office of Community 6 Planning and Development and other offices of 7 the Department in supporting recovery and re- 8 silience activities to provide a comprehensive 9 approach in working with communities.’’. 10 SEC. 5. LONG-TERM DISASTER RECOVERY FUND. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 12 Treasury of the United States an account to be known 13 as the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund. 14 (b) DEPOSITS, TRANSFERS, AND CREDIT.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall consist of 16 amounts appropriated, transferred, and credited to 17 the Fund. 18 (2) TRANSFERS.—The following may be trans- 19 ferred to the Fund: 20 (A) Amounts made available through sec- 21 tion 106(c)(4) of the Housing and Community 22 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 23 5306(c)(4)) as a result of actions taken under 24 section 104(e), 111, or 123(j) of such Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1686 IS (B) Any unobligated balances available 1 until expended remaining or subsequently re- 2 captured from amounts appropriated for any 3 disaster and related purposes under the heading 4 ‘‘Community Development Fund’’ in any Act 5 prior to the establishment of the Fund. 6 (3) USE OF TRANSFERRED AMOUNTS.— 7 Amounts transferred to the Fund shall be used for 8 the eligible uses described in subsection (c). 9 (c) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUND.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund shall 11 be available— 12 (A) to provide assistance in the form of 13 grants under section 123 of the Housing and 14 Community Development Act of 1974, as added 15 by section 6; and 16 (B) for activities of the Department that 17 support the provision of such assistance, includ- 18 ing necessary salaries and expenses, informa- 19 tion technology, capacity building and technical 20 assistance (including assistance related to pre- 21 disaster planning), and readiness and other pre- 22 disaster planning activities that are not readily 23 attributable to a single major disaster. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1686 IS (2) SET ASIDE.—Of each amount appropriated 1 for or transferred to the Fund, 2 percent shall be 2 made available for activities described in paragraph 3 (1)(B), which shall be in addition to other amounts 4 made available for those activities. 5 (3) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 6 available for use in accordance with paragraph (2)— 7 (A) may be transferred to the account 8 under the heading for ‘‘Program Offices—Com- 9 munity Planning and Development’’, or any 10 successor account, for the Department to carry 11 out activities described in paragraph (1)(B); 12 and 13 (B) may be used for the activities de- 14 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) and for the admin- 15 istrative costs of administering any funds ap- 16 propriated to the Department under the head- 17 ing ‘‘Community Planning and Development— 18 Community Development Fund’’ for any major 19 disaster declared under section 401 of the Rob- 20 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 21 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) in any Act be- 22 fore the establishment of the Fund. 23 (d) INTERCHANGEABILITY OF PRIOR ADMINISTRA- 24 TIVE AMOUNTS.—Any amounts appropriated in any Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1686 IS prior to the establishment of the Fund and transferred 1 to the account under the heading ‘‘Program Offices Sala- 2 ries and Expenses—Community Planning and Develop- 3 ment’’, or any predecessor account, for the Department 4 for the costs of administering funds appropriated to the 5 Department under the heading ‘‘Community Planning and 6 Development—Community Development Fund’’ for any 7 major disaster declared under section 401 of the Robert 8 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 9 (42 U.S.C. 5170) shall be available for the costs of admin- 10 istering any such funds provided by any prior or future 11 Act, notwithstanding the purposes for which those 12 amounts were appropriated and in addition to any amount 13 provided for the same purposes in other appropriations 14 Acts. 15 (e) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro- 16 priated, transferred, and credited to the Fund shall re- 17 main available until expended. 18 (f) FORMULA ALLOCATION.—Use of amounts in the 19 Fund for grants shall be made by formula allocation in 20 accordance with the requirements of section 123(a) of the 21 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 22 added by section 6. 23 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1686 IS as may be necessary to respond to current or future major 1 disasters declared under section 401 of the Robert T. 2 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 3 (42 U.S.C. 5179) for grants under section 123 of the 4 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 5 added by section 6. 6 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF CDBG DISASTER RECOVERY 7 PROGRAM. 8 Title I of the Housing and Community Development 9 Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended— 10 (1) in section 102(a) (42 U.S.C. 5302(a))— 11 (A) in paragraph (20)— 12 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 13 as subparagraph (C); 14 (ii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes- 15 ignated, by inserting ‘‘or (B)’’ after ‘‘sub- 16 paragraph (A)’’; and 17 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 18 (A) the following: 19 ‘‘(B) The term ‘persons of extremely low in- 20 come’ means families and individuals whose income 21 levels do not exceed household income levels deter- 22 mined by the Secretary under section 3(b)(2) of the 23 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 24 1437a(b)(2)(C)), except that the Secretary may pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1686.IS S1686 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1686 IS vide alternative definitions for the Commonwealth of 1 Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 2 Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin 3 Islands, and American Samoa.’’; and 4 (B) by adding at [Text truncated for display. 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