What This Bill Does
This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance to help people living in areas with unhealthy air quality from wildfires. The bill specifically allows for purchasing smoke-prevention equipment and providing temporary shelter when equipment is not enough to protect people's health.
Who It Affects
The bill affects individuals at risk of wildfire smoke-related illness, including low-income people, parents or guardians of children under 19, pregnant women, people 65 or older, people with chronic respiratory or heart disease, and people with chronic diseases made worse by smoke. State governments, local governments, local public health authorities, and coordinated care organizations (networks of healthcare providers working together) would also be affected.
Key Provisions
• The President must provide assistance to qualified entities to purchase and distribute smoke-prevention equipment, including portable air filtration units, air filters, respirators like N95 or P100 masks, weather strips, portable air conditioning units (limited to one per household), ventilation equipment, window coverings, and other similar devices (Sec. 2(b)(1))
• When smoke-prevention equipment is not enough to protect people's health, the President must provide cost-efficient temporary shelter assistance to individuals at risk of wildfire smoke-related illness (Sec. 2(b)(2))
What Changes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency gains authority to use its Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program to help people exposed to unhealthy air quality from wildfires, which was not previously specified in the bill text.
Important Definitions
• Low-income individual: someone whose family's taxable income for the previous year did not exceed 200 percent of the poverty level, as determined by the Bureau of Census (Sec. 2(a)(2))
• Individual at risk of wildfire smoke-related illness: someone living in an area with unhealthy air quality for at least 3 consecutive days from a wildfire who is low-income, a parent or guardian of a child under 19, pregnant, 65 or older, has chronic respiratory or cardiovascular illness, or has a chronic disease made worse by smoke (Sec. 2(a)(1))
• Qualified entity: a state, local government, local public health authority, or coordinated care organization (Sec. 2(a)(3))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 481
To authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals who live in
areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 24, 2023
Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Ms. MAT-
SUI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure
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-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Smoke Relief
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Act’’.
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SEC. 2. TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE.
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(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
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(1) INDIVIDUAL AT RISK OF WILDFIRE SMOKE
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RELATED ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘individual at risk of
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•HR 481 IH
wildfire smoke related illness’’ means an individual,
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living in an area where the air quality index is deter-
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mined to be unhealthy for not less than 3 consecu-
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tive days as a result of a wildfire, who is—
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(A) a low-income individual;
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(B) a parent or guardian with a child who
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has not attained 19 years of age;
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(C) a pregnant woman;
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(D) an individual who is 65 years of age
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or older;
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(E) an individual with chronic respiratory
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or cardiovascular illness; or
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(F) an individual with a chronic disease
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that is exacerbated by smoke inhalation.
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(2) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low-
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income individual’’ means an individual from a fam-
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ily whose taxable income (as defined in section 63 of
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the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the pre-
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ceding year did not exceed 200 percent of an
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amount equal to the poverty level, as determined by
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using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau
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of Census.
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(3) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified
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entity’’ means—
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(A) a State or unit of local government;
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•HR 481 IH
(B) a local public health authority; and
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(C) a coordinated care organization.
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(b) TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE PRO-
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GRAM.—In carrying out the Transitional Sheltering As-
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sistance Program of the Federal Emergency Management
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Agency under section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
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aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
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5170b), the President shall—
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(1) provide assistance to a qualified entity to
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purchase and provide, to an individual at risk of
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wildfire smoke related illness, smoke-inhalation pre-
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vention equipment, including—
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(A) a portable air filtration unit;
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(B) an air filter;
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(C) a face mask or respirator, such as—
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(i) an N95 respirator;
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(ii) a P100 respirator; or
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(iii) other equipment certified by the
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National Institute for Occupational Safety
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and Health to protect from airborne par-
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ticle exposure;
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(D) low-cost equipment to keep smoke out
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of a house, such as:
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(i) a weather strip;
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•HR 481 IH
(ii) not more than 1 portable air-con-
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ditioning unit per household;
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(iii) ventilation equipment;
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(iv) a screening and shading device; or
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(v) a window covering; or
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(E) other similarly effective devices; and
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(2) in any case in which smoke-inhalation pre-
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vention equipment is not sufficient to mitigate the
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risk of illness, provide cost-efficient transitional shel-
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ter assistance to an individual at risk of wildfire
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smoke related illness.
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Æ
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