109 HR 3864 IH: Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Act of 2005 U.S. House of Representatives 2005-09-22 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3864 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 22, 2005 Mr. Boustany (for himself, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Jindal, and Mr. Marchant) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To provide vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Act of 2005.

2.

Reallotment of amounts under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

(a)

Reallotment of amounts

In realloting amounts to States under section 110(b)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 730(b)(2)) for fiscal year 2005, the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration shall give preference to affected States. (b)

Availability of amounts

For fiscal year 2005, the Commissioner shall make available amounts reallotted under section 110(b)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to any State not later than October 7, 2005, or seven days after the date of the enactment of this Act, whichever occurs later. (c)

Waiver of non-Federal share requirement

The Commissioner may waive the requirement contained in the second sentence of section 110(b)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (relating to non-Federal share requirement) with respect to amounts made available to an affected State for fiscal year 2005 if the affected State submits to the Commissioner an application requesting a waiver of such requirement.

3.

Use of amounts reallotted under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

An affected State that receives amounts reallotted under section 110(b)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 730(b)(2)) for fiscal year 2005 (as described in section 2) may use the amounts— (1)to pay for vocational rehabilitation services (which may include training, mentoring, or job shadowing opportunities) for individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina or individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Rita that contribute to the economic growth and development of communities; (2)to enable— (A)individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina to participate in reconstruction or other major disaster assistance activities in the areas in which the individuals resided on August 22, 2005; (B)individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Rita to participate in reconstruction or other major disaster assistance activities in the areas in which the individuals resided on the date that is seven days before the date on which the President has declared that a major disaster related to Hurricane Rita exists in such areas; or (3)to carry out other activities in accordance with title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.).

4.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Affected state

The term affected State means a State that contains an area, or that received a significant number of individuals who resided in an area, in which the President has declared that a major disaster exists. (2)

Commissioner

The term Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration. (3)

Individual with a disability

The term individual with a disability has the meaning given the term in section 7(20) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(20)). (4)

Individual with a disability affected by Hurricane Katrina

The term individual with a disability affected by Hurricane Katrina means an individual with a disability who— (A)resided on August 22, 2005, in an area in which the President has declared that a major disaster related to Hurricane Katrina exists in such area; (B)on August 22, 2005, was eligible under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.) for vocational rehabilitation services described in section 103 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 723) in the area described in subparagraph (A); and (C)resides in an area in which the President has declared that an emergency exists, in accordance with section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), related to Hurricane Katrina, or in which a major disaster related to Hurricane Katrina exists. (5)

Individual with a disability affected by Hurricane Rita

The term individual with a disability affected by Hurricane Rita means an individual with a disability who— (A)resided in an area on the date that is seven days before the date on which the President has declared that a major disaster related to Hurricane Rita exists in such area; (B)on the date described in subparagraph (A), was eligible under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.) for vocational rehabilitation services described in section 103 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 723) in the area described in subparagraph (A); and (C)resides in an area in which the President has declared that an emergency exists, in accordance with section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), related to Hurricane Rita, or in which a major disaster related to Hurricane Rita exists. (6)

Major disaster

The term major disaster means a major disaster declared by the President in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.