[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2971 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2971

   To authorize the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 23, 2016

 Mr. Portman (for himself, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Carper) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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, 1 
                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. 3769b), 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.
    ``(p) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the System and the provisions of this section 
such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 
2019.''.
    (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,''.
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