[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.