[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9750 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9750
To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and
Indian Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 23, 2024
Mr. Rouzer (for himself and Mr. Graves of Louisiana) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and
Indian Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Natural Disaster
Recovery Program Act of 2024''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Natural Disaster Recovery Program.
Sec. 3. Unmet needs assistance.
Sec. 4. Further considerations for disaster declarations.
Sec. 5. Repair and rebuilding.
Sec. 6. FEMA Emergency Home Repair Program.
Sec. 7. Appeals of individuals and households program benefits.
Sec. 8. Report to Congress on major disaster declarations.
Sec. 9. Review by Comptroller General.
Sec. 10. Use of excess funds for management costs.
Sec. 11. GAO study on timing of closing out disaster recovery.
SEC. 2. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end of title IV the following:
``SEC. 431. NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.
``(a) Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund.--
``(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States an account to be known as the Natural
Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as
the `Fund').
``(2) Amounts.--The Fund shall consist of--
``(A) any amounts appropriated, and deposited in
the Fund, for a specific major disaster declared under
section 401; and
``(B) amounts deposited into the Fund pursuant to
paragraph (4).
``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts in the Fund shall be
available, pursuant to a declaration of a major disaster--
``(A) to States and Indian tribal governments for
unmet need related to a major disaster is declared
under section 401; and
``(B) with respect to grantees that have been
allocated assistance for such unmet need, for technical
assistance and capacity building under subsection
(c)(2) to facilitate planning and increase capacity to
administer assistance under this section.
``(4) Unused amounts.--If any amounts made available for
assistance under this section to grantees remain unexpended on
the earlier of--
``(A) the date that the grantee of such amounts
notifies the President that the grantee has completed
all activities; or
``(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), the
expiration of the 6-year period beginning when the
President obligates such amounts to the grantee, the
President shall transfer such unexpended amounts to the
Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Fund,
except that the President may permit the grantee to
retain amounts needed to close out the grant.
``(5) Extension of period for use of funds.--The period
under paragraph (4)(B) may be extended by not more than 4 years
if, before the expiration of such 6-year period, the President
waives this requirement and submits a written justification for
such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate that specifies the period of
such extension.
``(b) Assessment of Unmet Need.--
``(1) In general.--To assess unmet need with respect to a
major disaster under section, not later than 90 days after the
declaration of such a disaster, the President shall coordinate
with other Federal agencies, as determined appropriate and
including the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, to obtain data on all recovery needs and the
amount of such recovery needs that are unmet, including--
``(A) all data on damage caused by the disaster;
``(B) information on how any Federal assistance
provided in connection with the disaster has been
expended;
``(C) information on the effect of the disaster on
education, transportation capabilities and dependence,
housing needs, health care capacity, and displacement
of persons; and
``(D) the extent of the unmet need remaining in
relation to such disaster.
``(2) Public availability.--The President shall make
publicly available the data described in paragraph (1) for any
major disaster for which assistance is provided from the Fund
under this section.
``(3) Protection of personally identifiable information.--
In carrying out this subsection, the President and any
recipient of funds under this section shall take such actions
as may be necessary to ensure that personally identifiable
information regarding recipients of assistance provided under
this section is not made publicly available by any agency with
which information is shared pursuant to this subsection.
``(c) Administrative Costs.--
``(1) In general.--A State or Indian tribal government
receiving a grant under this section may use not more than 13
percent of the amount of grant funds received, or within such
other percentage as may be established pursuant to subparagraph
(B), for administrative costs, including costs related to
audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations.
``(2) Discretion to establish sliding scale.--The President
may establish a series of percentage limitations on the amount
of grant funds received that may be used by a grantee for
administrative costs, but only if--
``(A) such percentage limitations are based on the
amount of grant funds received by a grantee; and
``(B) such series provides that the percentage that
may be used is lower for grantees receiving a greater
amount of grant funds and such percentage that may be
used is higher for grantees receiving a lesser amount
of grant funds.
``(3) Technical assistance; capacity building.--From funds
made available for use under this section, the President may
provide--
``(A) necessary technical assistance to grantees to
ensure grantees are compliant with Federal law; and
``(B) capacity building assistance, including
assistance regarding contracting and procurement
processes, including providing solicitation and
contractual templates that conform to Federal
requirements for use by grantees.
``(d) Allocation, Process, and Procedures; Coordination.--
``(1) Allocation.--
``(A) In general.--The President shall allocate
funds under this section proportionally to grantees
based on their level of unmet need as determined under
subsection (b).
``(B) Grantee use of funds.--Each grantee--
``(i) shall be solely responsible for
determining how funds provided under this
section are prioritized and expended; and
``(ii) shall not be required to provide an
action or spending plan to the President before
or after funds are allocated.
``(C) Limitation.--Notwithstanding section 312, a
loan shall not--
``(i) be considered a duplication of
benefits with funds provided by a Federal
agency; or
``(ii) limit or otherwise impact the
ability of a recipient to receive any other
Federal assistance.
``(2) Procedure for provision of funds.--An entity awarded
a grant under this section shall be provided an initial amount
that equals 50 percent of total grant amount allocated under
paragraph (1). To be eligible for the remaining 50 percent of
the allocation, a grantee shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House
of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Inspector General
of the United States a report containing--
``(A) a detailed description of how such amount was
spent; and
``(B) a certification from an auditor of the State
or Indian tribal government that none of the funds were
wasted or used inappropriately.
``(3) Requirements.--Each State and Indian tribal
government that receives funds under this section shall
establish or adhere to existing guidelines for procurement
processes and procedures and require that subgrantees--
``(A) provide for full and open competition and
require cost or price analysis;
``(B) specify methods of procurement and their
applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-percentage-of
cost or percentage-of-construction-cost methods of
procurement;
``(C) include standards of conduct governing
employees engaged in the award or administration of
contracts; and
``(D) ensure that all purchase orders and contracts
include any clauses required by Federal statute,
Executive order, or implementing regulation.
``(e) Funding.--Any funds provided under this section--
``(1) shall supplement and not supplant any other
assistance provided by the President or any other Federal
agency in response to a major disaster; and
``(2) may not be considered a duplication of assistance.
``(f) Environmental Review.--Any Federal agency or recipient of
funds received under this section that fund or use funds to supplement
funds provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428,
or 502 may adopt, without review or public comment, any environmental
review, approval, or permit performed by a Federal agency.
``(g) Best Practices.--The President shall identify best practices
for grantees on issues including developing action plans, establishing
financial controls, building grantee technical and administrative
capacity, procurement, and use of grant funds as local match for other
sources of Federal funding. Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the President shall publish a compilation of
such identified best practices and share with all relevant grantees to
facilitate a more efficient and effective disaster recovery process.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) State auditor.--The term `State auditor' means the
individual selected by the Governor or head of an Indian tribal
government to submit a certification in accordance with
subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii).
``(2) Unmet need.--The term `unmet need'--
``(A) means any necessary expenses for activities
related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term
recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing,
mitigation, and economic revitalization related to a
major disaster declared by the President under section
401; and
``(B) may include--
``(i) any unresourced item, support, or
assistance that has been assessed and verified
as necessary for a survivor to recover from a
major disaster, including food, clothing,
shelter, first aid, emotional and spiritual
care, household items, home repair, or
rebuilding; and
``(ii) cleaning and removing debris from
rivers, creeks, streams, and ditches''.
(b) Limitation.--No amounts made available by an appropriations Act
that provide funding for any activity not authorized by law for the
program established under section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as added by this Act) may
be expended.
SEC. 3. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 432. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE.
``(a) In General.--In any major disaster, the Governor or the Chief
Executive of the Indian tribal government may request a grant from the
President to provide assistance to meet unmet needs resulting from a
major disaster.
``(b) Funding.--
``(1) Amount of funding.--The President may set aside from
the Disaster Relief Fund, with respect to each major disaster,
an amount equal to 10 percent of the estimated aggregate amount
of the grants to be made pursuant to sections 406 and 408 of
the major disaster in order to provide technical and financial
assistance under this section and such amounts shall be deemed
to be related to activities carried out pursuant to major
disasters under this Act.
``(2) Estimated aggregate amount.--Not later than 180 days
after each major disaster declared pursuant to this Act, the
estimated aggregate amount of grants for purposes of paragraph
(1) shall be determined by the President and such estimated
amount need not be reduced, increased, or changed due to
variations in estimates.
``(3) No reduction in amounts.--The amount set aside
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not reduce the amounts
otherwise made available for sections 403, 406, 407, 408, 410,
416, and 428 under this Act.
``(c) Unmet Needs.--A State or Indian tribal government may use
unmet needs grants to provide assistance, in addition to other
assistance made available under this Act, for the following unmet needs
resulting from a major disaster:
``(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding financial
assistance to families for permanent housing purposes,
including in conjunction with eligible expenditures under
section 408.
``(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families who are
unable to obtain adequate assistance from other sources.
``(3) Other disaster-related services that alleviate human
suffering and promote the well-being of disaster victims.
``(4) Economic and business activities (including food and
agriculture) after a disaster to implement post-disaster
economic recovery measures, including planning and technical
assistance for long-term economic recovery plans,
infrastructure improvements, business or infrastructure
financing, market or industry research, and other activities
authorized under a comprehensive economic development strategy.
``(d) Accounting and Fiscal Controls.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after receipt of
funds and every 6 months thereafter until all such funds are
expended, each State or Indian tribal government receiving such
funds shall submit to the Administrator a report that
includes--
``(A) the criteria established for determining how
the funds are spent;
``(B) the allocation of such funds; and
``(C) the process for public notice and comment.
``(2) Administrative costs.--A State or Indian tribal
government that receives funds under this section may expend
not more than 5 percent of the amount of such funds for the
administrative costs of providing financial assistance to
individuals and households in the State.''.
(b) Applicability.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall apply to funds appropriated on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS.
(a) In General.--In making recommendations to the President
regarding the declaration of a major disaster or emergency pursuant to
section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 5191) or the proposed non-
Federal share of the cost of carrying out activities with assistance
provided under such Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall give greater weight and consideration to severe
local impact resulting from such disaster or emergency and, in the 5-
year period preceding such disaster or emergency, whether multiple
other disasters or emergencies have occurred in the affected area.
(b) Revisions to Guidance, Policies, and Regulations.--The
Administrator shall take such actions as are necessary to revise any
policies, guidance, or regulations of the Agency to implement
subsection (a).
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this section, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate a report on the implementation of this section and shall include
in such report a description of--
(1) changes made to guidance, policies, or regulations
pursuant to subsection (b); and
(2) the number of major disasters and emergencies that have
been declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act based on