[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8266 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8266
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2020
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To modify the Federal cost share of certain emergency assistance
provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, to modify the activities eligible for assistance under
the emergency declaration issued by the President on March 13, 2020,
relating to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
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 ``FEMA Assistance Relief Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. COST SHARE.
(a) Temporary Federal Share.--Notwithstanding sections 403(b),
403(c)(4), 404(a), 406(b), 408(d), 408(g)(2), 428(e)(2)(B), and 503(a)
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), for any emergency or major disaster declared
by the President under such Act during the period beginning on January
1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020, the Federal share of
assistance provided under such sections shall be not less than 90
percent of the eligible cost of such assistance.
(b) Cost Share Under COVID Emergency Declaration.--Notwithstanding
subsection (a), assistance provided under the emergency declaration
issued by the President on March 13, 2020, pursuant to section 501(b)
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5191(b)), and under any subsequent major disaster
declaration under section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that
supersedes such emergency declaration, shall be at a 100 percent
Federal cost share.
(c) Applicability.--This section shall apply to funds appropriated
on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--For the emergency declared on March 13, 2020 by
the President under section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191), the President may
provide assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of States,
Indian tribal governments, or local governments, including--
(1) activities eligible for assistance under sections 301,
415, 416, and 426 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141, 5182, 5183, 5189d);
(2) backfill costs for first responders and other essential
employees who are ill or quarantined;
(3) increased operating costs for essential government
services due to such emergency, including costs for
implementing continuity plans, and sheltering or housing for
first responders, emergency managers, health providers and
other essential employees;
(4) costs of providing guidance and information to the
public and for call centers to disseminate such guidance and
information, including private nonprofit organizations;
(5) costs associated with establishing and operating
virtual services;
(6) costs for establishing and operating remote test sites,
including comprehensive community based testing;
(7) training provided specifically in anticipation of or in
response to the event on which such emergency declaration is
predicated;
(8) personal protective equipment and other critical
supplies and services for first responders and other essential
employees, including individuals working in public schools,
courthouses, law enforcement, and public transit systems;
(9) medical equipment, regardless of whether such equipment
is used for emergency or inpatient care;
(10) public health costs, including provision and
distribution of medicine and medical supplies;
(11) costs associated with maintaining alternate care
facilities or related facilities currently inactive but related
to future needs tied to the ongoing pandemic event;
(12) costs of establishing and operating shelters and
providing services, including transportation, that help
alleviate the need of individuals for shelter; and
(13) costs, including costs incurred by private nonprofit
organizations, of procuring and distributing food to
individuals affected by the pandemic through networks
established by State, local, or Tribal governments, or other
organizations, including restaurants and farms, and for the
purchase of food directly from food producers and farmers.
(b) Application to Subsequent Major Disaster.--The activities
described in subsection (a) may also be eligible for assistance under
any major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes the emergency declaration
described in such subsection.
(c) Financial Assistance for Funeral Expenses.--For any emergency
or major disaster described in subsection (a) or (b) and subject to the
availability of appropriations, the President shall provide financial
assistance to an individual or household to meet disaster-related
funeral expenses under section 408(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
5174(e)).
(d) Advanced Assistance.--
(1) In General.--In order to facilitate activities under this
section, the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, may provide assistance in advance to an
eligible applicant if a failure to do so would prevent the applicant
from carrying out such activities.
(2) Annual Report.--The Administrator shall submit to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs a
report on assistance provided in advance pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) Audit by Department of Homeland Security Inspector General.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct
a follow-up review of assistance provided in advance pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(4) Review.--The audit under paragraph (2) shall include, at a
minimum--
(A) a review of the assumptions and methodologies used to
determine eligibility for advanced assistance; and
(B) a determination of whether the advanced assistance was
used appropriately.
(5) Report to Congress.--The Inspector General shall submit to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate a report on the results of the review carried out
under this subsection.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to make ineligible any assistance that would otherwise be
eligible under section 403, 408, or 502 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b,
5192).
(f) State; Indian Tribal Government; Local Government Defined.--In
this section, the terms ``State'', ``Indian tribal government'', and
``local government'' have the meanings given such terms in section 102
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5122).
(g) Applicability.--This section shall apply to funds appropriated
on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON STAFFORD ACT RESPONSE CAPABILITIES.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall seek to
enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to
convene a committee of experts to conduct a comprehensive study on the
use of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to respond to an emergency which does not
cause physical damages, such as the emergency declaration issued by the
President on March 13, 2020, including--
(1) how non-physical damages can be quantified;
(2) consideration of any factors that allow for an
adjustment of cost shares;
(3) recommendations to Congress on thresholds or criteria
to be met to trigger a future declaration; and
(4) other items that the Administrator determines necessary
to increase future preparedness to such events.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND HOUSEHOLDS.
Section 408(f)(3)(J)(iii) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5174(f)(3)(J)(iii)) is amended by striking ``2 years'' and inserting
``3 years''.
Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 2020.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.