[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2971 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2971
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen
An Act
To authorize the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System.
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 ``National Urban Search and Rescue
Response System Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 327. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``(2) Agency.--The term `Agency' means the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
``(3) Hazard.--The term `hazard' has the meaning given the term
in section 602.
``(4) Nonemployee system member.--The term `nonemployee System
member' means a System member not employed by a sponsoring agency
or participating agency.
``(5) Participating agency.--The term `participating agency'
means a State or local government, nonprofit organization, or
private organization that has executed an agreement with a
sponsoring agency to participate in the System.
``(6) Sponsoring agency.--The term `sponsoring agency' means a
State or local government that is the sponsor of a task force
designated by the Administrator to participate in the System.
``(7) System.--The term `System' means the National Urban
Search and Rescue Response System to be administered under this
section.
``(8) System member.--The term `System member' means an
individual who is not a full-time employee of the Federal
Government and who serves on a task force or on a System management
or other technical team.
``(9) Task force.--The term `task force' means an urban search
and rescue team designated by the Administrator to participate in
the System.
``(b) General Authority.--Subject to the requirements of this
section, the Administrator shall continue to administer the emergency
response system known as the National Urban Search and Rescue Response
System.
``(c) Functions.--In administering the System, the Administrator
shall provide for a national network of standardized search and rescue
resources to assist States and local governments in responding to
hazards.
``(d) Task Forces.--
``(1) Designation.--The Administrator shall designate task
forces to participate in the System. The Administration shall
determine the criteria for such participation.
``(2) Sponsoring agencies.--Each task force shall have a
sponsoring agency. The Administrator shall enter into an agreement
with the sponsoring agency with respect to the participation of
each task force in the System.
``(3) Composition.--
``(A) Participating agencies.--A task force may include, at
the discretion of the sponsoring agency, one or more
participating agencies. The sponsoring agency shall enter into
an agreement with each participating agency with respect to the
participation of the participating agency on the task force.
``(B) Other individuals.--A task force may also include, at
the discretion of the sponsoring agency, other individuals not
otherwise associated with the sponsoring agency or a
participating agency. The sponsoring agency of a task force may
enter into a separate agreement with each such individual with
respect to the participation of the individual on the task
force.
``(e) Management and Technical Teams.--The Administrator shall
maintain such management teams and other technical teams as the
Administrator determines are necessary to administer the System.
``(f) Appointment of System Members Into Federal Service.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator may appoint a System
member into Federal service for a period of service to provide for
the participation of the System member in exercises, preincident
staging, major disaster and emergency response activities, and
training events sponsored or sanctioned by the Administrator.
``(2) Nonapplicability of certain civil service laws.--The
Administrator may make appointments under paragraph (1) without
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service.
``(3) Relationship to other authorities.--The authority of the
Administrator to make appointments under this subsection shall not
affect any other authority of the Administrator under this Act.
``(4) Limitation.--A System member who is appointed into
Federal service under paragraph (1) shall not be considered an
employee of the United States for purposes other than those
specifically set forth in this section.
``(g) Compensation.--
``(1) Pay of system members.--Subject to such terms and
conditions as the Administrator may impose by regulation, the
Administrator shall make payments to the sponsoring agency of a
task force--
``(A) to reimburse each employer of a System member on the
task force for compensation paid by the employer to the System
member for any period during which the System member is
appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1); and
``(B) to make payments directly to a nonemployee System
member on the task force for any period during which the
nonemployee System member is appointed into Federal service
under subsection (f)(1).
``(2) Reimbursement for employees filling positions of system
members.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to such terms and conditions as
the Administrator may impose by regulation, the Administrator
shall make payments to the sponsoring agency of a task force to
be used to reimburse each employer of a System member on the
task force for compensation paid by the employer to an employee
filling a position normally filled by the System member for any
period during which the System member is appointed into Federal
service under subsection (f)(1).
``(B) Limitation.--Costs incurred by an employer shall be
eligible for reimbursement under subparagraph (A) only to the
extent that the costs are in excess of the costs that would
have been incurred by the employer had the System member not
been appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1).
``(3) Method of payment.--A System member shall not be entitled
to pay directly from the Agency for a period during which the
System member is appointed into Federal Service under subsection
(f)(1).
``(h) Personal Injury, Illness, Disability, or Death.--
``(1) In general.--A System member who is appointed into
Federal service under subsection (f)(1) and who suffers personal
injury, illness, disability, or death as a result of a personal
injury sustained while acting in the scope of such appointment,
shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5,
United States Code, be treated as though the member were an
employee (as defined by section 8101 of that title) who had
sustained the injury in the performance of duty.
``(2) Election of benefits.--
``(A) In general.--A System member (or, in the case of the
death of the System member, the System member's dependent) who
is entitled under paragraph (1) to receive benefits under
subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, by
reason of personal injury, illness, disability, or death, and
to receive benefits from a State or local government by reason
of the same personal injury, illness, disability or death shall
elect to--
``(i) receive benefits under such subchapter; or
``(ii) receive benefits from the State or local
government.
``(B) Deadline.--A System member or dependent shall make an
election of benefits under subparagraph (A) not later than 1
year after the date of the personal injury, illness,
disability, or death that is the reason for the benefits, or
until such later date as the Secretary of Labor may allow for
reasonable cause shown.
``(C) Effect of election.--An election of benefits made
under this paragraph is irrevocable unless otherwise provided
by law.
``(3) Reimbursement for state or local benefits.--Subject to
such terms and conditions as the Administrator may impose by
regulation, if a System member or dependent elects to receive
benefits from a State or local government under paragraph (2)(A),
the Administrator shall reimburse the State or local government for
the value of the benefits.
``(4) Public safety officer claims.--Nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to bar any claim by, or with respect to, any
System member who is a public safety officer, as defined in section
1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b), for any benefits authorized under part L
of title I of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.).
``(i) Liability.--A System member appointed into Federal service
under subsection (f)(1), while acting within the scope of the
appointment, shall be considered to be an employee of the Federal
Government under section 1346(b) of title 28, United States Code, and
chapter 171 of that title, relating to tort claims procedure.
``(j) Employment and Reemployment Rights.--With respect to a System
member who is not a regular full-time employee of a sponsoring agency
or participating agency, the following terms and conditions apply:
``(1) Service.--Service as a System member shall be considered
to be `service in the uniformed services' for purposes of chapter
43 of title 38, United States Code, relating to employment and
reemployment rights of individuals who have performed service in
the uniformed services (regardless of whether the individual
receives compensation for such participation). All rights and
obligations of such persons and procedures for assistance,
enforcement, and investigation shall be as provided for in such
chapter.
``(2) Preclusion.--Preclusion of giving notice of service by
necessity of appointment under this section shall be considered to
be preclusion by `military necessity' for purposes of section
4312(b) of title 38, United States Code, pertaining to giving
notice of absence from a position of employment. A determination of
such necessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall not be
subject to judicial review.
``(k) Licenses and Permits.--If a System member holds a valid
license, certificate, or other permit issued by any State or other
governmental jurisdiction evidencing the member's qualifications in any
professional, mechanical, or other skill or type of assistance required
by the System, the System member is deemed to be performing a Federal
activity when rendering aid involving such skill or assistance during a
period of appointment into Federal service under subsection (f)(1).
``(l) Preparedness Cooperative Agreements.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Administrator
shall enter into an annual preparedness cooperative agreement with each
sponsoring agency. Amounts made available to a sponsoring agency under
such a preparedness cooperative agreement shall be for the following
purposes:
``(1) Training and exercises, including training and exercises
with other Federal, State, and local government response entities.
``(2) Acquisition and maintenance of equipment, including
interoperable communications and personal protective equipment.
``(3) Medical monitoring required for responder safety and
health in anticipation of and following a major disaster,
emergency, or other hazard, as determined by the Administrator.
``(m) Response Cooperative Agreements.--The Administrator shall
enter into a response cooperative agreement with each sponsoring
agency, as appropriate, under which the Administrator agrees to
reimburse the sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring
agency in responding to a major disaster or emergency.
``(n) Obligations.--The Administrator may incur all necessary
obligations consistent with this section in order to ensure the
effectiveness of the System.
``(o) Equipment Maintenance and Replacement.--Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees (as defined in
section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a report
on the development of a plan, including implementation steps and
timeframes, to finance, maintain, and replace System equipment.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Applicability of title 5, united states code.--Section
8101(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by transferring subparagraph (F) to between
subparagraph (E) and the matter following subparagraph (E);
(C) in subparagraph (F)--
(i) by striking ``United States Code,''; and
(ii) by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
``(G) an individual who is a System member of the National
Urban Search and Rescue Response System during a period of
appointment into Federal service pursuant to section 327 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act;''.
(2) Inclusion as part of uniformed services for purposes of
userra.--Section 4303 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (13), by inserting ``, a period for which
a System member of the National Urban Search and Rescue
Response System is absent from a position of employment due to
an appointment into Federal service under section 327 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act'' before ``, and a period''; and
(B) in paragraph (16), by inserting ``System members of the
National Urban Search and Rescue Response System during a
period of appointment into Federal service under section 327 of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act,'' after ``Public Health Service,''.
(c) Technical Amendment.--Section 1086(d) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 is amended as follows (which
amendments shall take effect as if enacted on January 2, 2013)--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(2)''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``filed or'' and
inserting ``filed (consistent with pre-existing effective
dates) or''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``amendments made by this
Act'' and inserting ``amendments made to section 1204 of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3796b) by this Act''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.