[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4438 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4438

To establish special rules with respect to certain disaster assistance 
           provided for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2005

    Mr. Shuster (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. 
  Oberstar, Mr. Jindal, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Fortuno, Mr. Cummings, Mr. 
 Baker, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Boustany, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. 
Bachus, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Dent, Mr. Melancon, Mr. Pickering, 
Mr. Honda, Mr. Poe, Mr. Holden, and Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish special rules with respect to certain disaster assistance 
           provided for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ALLOWABLE COSTS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the requirements of this section, and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may provide 
assistance under sections 402 and 403 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a; 5170b) 
to an eligible State or local government to provide reimbursement for 
expenses incurred by the State or local government, in the period 
beginning January 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2006, for the base pay 
and overtime expenses of employees (including employees provided by 
contract or mutual aid agreements) who provide essential governmental 
services for response and recovery operations with respect to disaster 
declarations made for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita on or after 
August 29, 2005.
    (b) Eligibility.--A State or local government shall be eligible for 
assistance under subsection (a) if the State or local government 
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the President that--
            (1) the State or local government has suffered, with 
        respect to the disaster declarations referred to in subsection 
        (a), a loss in the operating revenues of the State or local 
        government; and
            (2) the amount of that loss equals or exceeds 25 percent of 
        the annual operating revenue of the State or local government 
        in its most recent fiscal year ending before the date of the 
        disaster declaration.
    (c) Essential Governmental Services Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``essential governmental services'' means fire, law enforcement, 
emergency medical, public works, emergency management, planning, and 
building codes services.
    (d) Building Code Services.--For purposes of subsections (a) and 
(c), employees assisting in the permitting and inspection process 
relating to implementation and enforcement of a building code shall be 
considered to provide building code services.
    (e) Amount of Reimbursement.--The amount of reimbursement to be 
provided to a State or local government under this section shall be 75 
percent of the expenses incurred by the State or local government that 
are eligible for reimbursement under subsection (a).
    (f) Eligibility Determinations.--The President shall complete all 
eligibility determinations under subsection (b) on or before June 30, 
2006.

SEC. 3. DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM.

    Section 2(a) of the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 (Public Law 
109-88) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ``: Provided further, That notwithstanding section 417(b) of 
the Stafford Act such a loan may not exceed 50 percent of the operating 
budget of the local government to which the loan is made for the fiscal 
year in which the disaster occurs''.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL SHARE FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) there is ambiguity concerning the Federal share of the 
        cost of debris removal activities carried out under the Robert 
        T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in 
        connection with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita; and
            (2) this ambiguity creates disincentives for local 
        governments to utilize pre-existing, cost-effective contracts 
        to carry out such debris removal activities.
    (b) Federal Share.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Federal share of assistance provided for debris removal under sections 
403 and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5106b; 5173) with respect to disaster 
declarations made for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita on or after 
August 29, 2005, shall be 100 percent.

SEC. 5. HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Federal Share.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
President shall contribute not less than 75 percent of the cost of 
hazard mitigation measures that are approved in the 1-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act under section 404(a) of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5170c(a)) with respect to disaster declarations made for 
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita on or after August 29, 2005. To 
the greatest extent practicable, the President shall assist State and 
local governments in expediting the planning for, identification and 
development of, application for, and approval of such projects.
    (b) Total Contributions.--
            (1) Percentage.--The last sentence of section 404(a) of the 
        Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is amended by striking ``7.5'' and 
        inserting ``15''.
            (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to major disaster declarations made on 
        or after August 29, 2005.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of an 
individual eligible to receive unemployment assistance under section 
410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5177(a)) as a result of a disaster 
declaration made for Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita on or after 
August 29, 2005--
            (1) the President shall make such assistance available for 
        52 weeks after the date of the disaster declaration; and
            (2) beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        amount of such assistance for a week of unemployment shall be 
        not less than 50 percent of the national average weekly 
        unemployment benefit provided to an individual as of the date 
        of the disaster declaration.

SEC. 7. EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE.

    Subtitle B of title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5197-5197h) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 630. EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) Grants.--The Director shall carry out a program to make 
grants to States and local governments--
            ``(1) to purchase or improve commercially available 
        interoperable communications equipment that--
                    ``(A) complies with, where applicable, national 
                voluntary consensus standards;
                    ``(B) facilitates interoperability, coordination, 
                and integration between and among emergency 
                communications systems (including satellite phone and 
                satellite communications equipment); and
                    ``(C) ensures that first responders, government 
                officials, and emergency personnel are able to 
                adequately and effectively communicate with each other 
                in the event of a major disaster or other emergency;
            ``(2) to purchase mobile equipment to generate emergency 
        power; and
            ``(3) to train first responders and emergency personnel on 
        how best to use effectively such equipment.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program shall be to improve the 
response capabilities of States and local governments in the event of a 
major disaster or other emergency.
    ``(c) Applications.--A State or local government seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Director at such 
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Director may require.
    ``(d) Technical Assistance.--The Director shall provide to States 
and local governments technical assistance with respect to the 
procurement, installation, and use of equipment under subsection 
(a)(1).
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2006, 2007, and 2008.''.
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