[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1393 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1393

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide for reimbursement of certain for-profit 
                               hospitals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2005

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide for reimbursement of certain for-profit 
                               hospitals.

    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 ``Hospital Emergency Assistance Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO FOR-PROFIT HOSPITALS.

    Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act is amended by inserting after section 408 (42 U.S.C. 
5174) the following:

``SEC. 409. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO FOR-PROFIT HOSPITALS.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
the President may provide, from any funds made available to carry out 
this Act, reimbursement to a for-profit hospital for damage to, or an 
expense incurred by, the hospital during a major disaster or emergency, 
as declared under this Act, in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--A for-profit hospital shall be eligible to 
receive reimbursement under subsection (a) if, as determined by the 
President, in consultation with the Governor of a State--
            ``(1) the damage to, or expense incurred by, the for-profit 
        hospital was a result of a declared major disaster;
            ``(2) during the declared major disaster, all public 
        hospitals and private nonprofit facilities located within 30 
        miles of the for-profit hospital met or exceeded the capacity 
        of the public hospitals and private nonprofit facilities; and
            ``(3) during the declared major disaster, the for-profit 
        hospital acted in accordance with any requirement that would 
        apply to a private nonprofit facility seeking, and eligible 
        for, reimbursement under this Act.
    ``(c) Limitation.--The amount of reimbursement provided to a for-
profit hospital under this section shall be not greater than the amount 
of reimbursement available under this Act for a public hospital or 
private nonprofit facility to reimburse the hospital or facility for 
similar damage or incurred expenses.''.
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