[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2779

   To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
  direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Disaster 
            Recovery and Resilience, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2023

  Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
  direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Disaster 
            Recovery and Resilience, 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 ``Office of Disaster Recovery and 
Resilience Act''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF DISASTER RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE.

    (a) In General.--Title V of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 508. OFFICE OF DISASTER RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an Office of 
Disaster Recovery and Resilience--
            ``(1) to direct and implement the post-disaster economic 
        recovery responsibilities of the Economic Development 
        Administration pursuant to subsections (c)(2) and (e) of 
        section 209;
            ``(2) to direct and implement economic recovery support 
        function activities as directed under the National Disaster 
        Recovery Framework; and
            ``(3) to administer disaster appropriations made available 
        to carry out activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
    ``(b) Appointment and Compensation Authorities.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--The Secretary is authorized to appoint 
        such temporary personnel as may be necessary to carry out the 
        responsibilities of the Office of Disaster Recovery and 
        Resilience, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of 
        chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing 
        appointments in the competitive service and compensation of 
        personnel.
            ``(2) Conversion of employees.--Notwithstanding chapter 33 
        of title 5, United States Code, or any other provision of law 
        relating to the examination, certification, and appointment of 
        individuals in the competitive service, the Secretary is 
        authorized to convert a temporary employee appointed under this 
        subsection to a permanent appointment in the competitive 
        service in the Economic Development Administration under merit 
        promotion procedures if--
                    ``(A) the employee has served continuously for at 
                least 2 years under one or more appointments under this 
                subsection; and
                    ``(B) the employee's performance has been at an 
                acceptable level of performance throughout the period 
                or periods referred to in subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Compensation.--An individual converted under this 
        subsection shall become a career-conditional employee, unless 
        the employee has already completed the service requirements for 
        career tenure.
    ``(c) Disaster Team.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--As soon as practicable after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
        disaster team (referred to in this section as the `disaster 
        team') for the deployment of individuals to carry out 
        responsibilities of the Office of Disaster Recovery and 
        Resilience after a major disaster or emergency has been 
        declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and the 
        Department has been activated by the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency.
            ``(2) Membership.--
                    ``(A) Designation of staff.--As soon as practicable 
                after the date of enactment of this section, the 
                Secretary shall designate to serve on the disaster 
                team--
                            ``(i) employees of the Office of Disaster 
                        Recovery and Resilience;
                            ``(ii) employees of the Department who are 
                        not employees of the Economic Development 
                        Administration; and
                            ``(iii) in consultation with the heads of 
                        other Federal agencies, employees of those 
                        agencies, as appropriate.
                    ``(B) Capabilities.--In designating individuals 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ensure that 
                the disaster team includes a sufficient quantity of--
                            ``(i) individuals who are capable of 
                        deploying rapidly and efficiently to respond to 
                        major disasters and emergencies; and
                            ``(ii) highly trained full-time employees 
                        who will lead and manage the disaster team.
            ``(3) Training.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
        appropriate and ongoing training is provided to members of the 
        disaster team to ensure that the members are adequately trained 
        regarding the programs and policies of the Economic Development 
        Administration relating to post-disaster economic recovery 
        efforts.
            ``(4) Expenses.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary may--
                    ``(A) use, with or without reimbursement, any 
                service, equipment, personnel, or facility of any 
                Federal agency with the explicit support of that 
                agency, to the extent such use does not impair or 
                conflict with the authority of the President or the 
                Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
                Agency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
                Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to 
                direct Federal agencies in any major disaster or 
                emergency declared under that Act; and
                    ``(B) provide members of the disaster team with 
                travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
                subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee of an 
                agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 
                United States Code, while away from the home or regular 
                place of business of the member in the performance of 
                services for, or relating to, the disaster team.''.
    (b) Cost-Share.--Section 204(c) of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
            ``(4) Disaster recovery.--In the case of a grant provided 
        under section 209 for a project for economic recovery in 
        response to a major disaster or emergency declared under the 
        Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), the Federal share of the cost of the 
        project shall be 100 percent.''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations for Disaster Economic Recovery 
Activities.--Section 703 of the Public Works and Economic Development 
Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3233) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 703. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR POST-DISASTER ECONOMIC 
              RECOVERY ACTIVITIES.

    ``In addition to amounts made available under section 701, there 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry 
out subsections (c)(2) and (e) of section 209 and for other activities 
of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience established under 
section 508(a), to remain available until expended.''.
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