[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 157 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10615-H10618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FEMA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007

  Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from further 
consideration of the Senate bill (S. 2382) to require the Administrator 
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to quickly and fairly 
address the abundance of surplus manufactured housing units stored by 
the Federal Government around the country at taxpayer expense, and ask 
for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the Senate bill is as follows:

                                S. 2382

       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 Accountability Act of 
     2007''.

[[Page H10616]]

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) more than 19,000 mobile homes and travel trailers sit 
     unused at the storage site in Hope, Arkansas;
       (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency spends $25,000 
     each month to store the unused manufactured homes in Hope, 
     Arkansas;
       (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency spends in 
     excess of $3,000,000 each year to store unused manufactured 
     homes at 15 storage sites across the country;
       (4) these manufactured housing units were purchased to aid 
     disaster victims during the 2005 hurricane season;
       (5) it is anticipated that the number of unused mobile 
     homes and trailers could continue to increase as residents 
     find permanent housing;
       (6) many of these manufactured homes are now severely 
     damaged or may contain potentially harmful levels of 
     formaldehyde; and
       (7) the Federal Emergency Management Agency has had ample 
     time to assess the need for on-hand manufactured housing.

     SEC. 3. STORAGE, SALE, TRANSFER, AND DISPOSAL OF HOUSING 
                   UNITS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency (in this section referred to as 
     the ``Administrator'') shall complete an assessment of the 
     number of manufactured housing units it finds necessary to 
     stock to respond to disasters occurring after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Plan.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), not 
     later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     the Administrator shall establish a well developed plan for 
     permanently storing manufactured housing units necessary to 
     stock, selling or transferring usable surplus units, and 
     disposing of unusable units.
       (2) Exception.--
       (A) In general.--If the Administrator submits to Congress a 
     written certification that the Administrator is unable to 
     determine the safe level of exposure to formaldehyde for 
     purposes of travel trailers, the Administrator may exclude 
     from the plan under paragraph (1) any travel trailer that the 
     Administrator determines may contain formaldehyde.
       (B) Duration.--The authority to exclude travel trailers 
     under this paragraph shall terminate on the date on which the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
     promulgates regulations regarding exposure levels for 
     formaldehyde that are applicable to travel trailers.
       (c) Implementation.--Not later than 9 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall implement 
     the plan described in subsection (b).
       (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
     Congress a report on the status of the distribution, sale, 
     transfer, or disposal of unused manufactured housing units.

                    Amendment Offered by Mr. Rahall

  Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Rahall:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

     SECTION 1. STORAGE, SALE, TRANSFER, AND DISPOSAL OF HOUSING 
                   UNITS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section, the following 
     definitions apply:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of FEMA.
       (2) Emergency; major disaster.--The terms ``emergency'' and 
     ``major disaster'' have the meanings given such terms in 
     section 102 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
       (3) FEMA.--The term ``FEMA'' means the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency.
       (4) Hazard.--The term ``hazard'' has the meaning given such 
     term in section 602 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a).
       (5) Usable condition.--The term ``usable condition'' means, 
     with respect to a temporary housing unit, a temporary housing 
     unit that provides a safe and sanitary living condition.
       (6) Stafford act.--The term ``Stafford Act'' means the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
       (b) Needs Assessment; Establishment of Criteria.--Not later 
     than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Administrator shall--
       (1) complete an assessment to determine the number of 
     temporary housing units purchased by FEMA that FEMA needs to 
     maintain in stock to respond appropriately to emergencies or 
     major disasters occurring after the date of enactment of this 
     Act; and
       (2) establish criteria for determining whether the 
     individual temporary housing units stored by FEMA are in 
     usable condition.
       (c) Plan.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a 
     plan for--
       (A) storing the number of temporary housing units that the 
     Administrator has determined under subsection (b)(1) that 
     FEMA needs to maintain in stock;
       (B) selling, transferring, donating, or otherwise disposing 
     of the temporary housing units in the inventory of FEMA, as 
     of the date of enactment of this Act, that--
       (i) are in excess of the number of temporary housing units 
     that the Administrator has determined under subsection (b)(1) 
     that FEMA needs to maintain in stock; and
       (ii) are in usable condition, based on the criteria 
     established under subsection (b)(2); and
       (C) disposing of the temporary housing units in the 
     inventory of FEMA that the Administrator determines are not 
     in usable condition, based on the criteria established under 
     subsection (b)(2).
       (2) Implementation.--Not later than 9 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall implement 
     the plan established under paragraph (1).
       (d) Applicability of Disposal Requirements.--
       (1) In general.--Any sale, transfer, donation, or disposal 
     of a temporary housing unit under the plan established under 
     subsection (c)(1) shall be subject to the requirements of 
     section 408(d)(2) of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(d)(2)) 
     and other applicable provisions of law.
       (2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 
     Administrator may sell, transfer, donate, or otherwise make 
     available temporary housing units in usable condition in the 
     inventory of FEMA, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 
     to States, other governmental entities, and voluntary 
     organizations for the purpose of providing temporary housing 
     to victims of incidents caused by hazards that do not result 
     in a declaration of a major disaster or emergency by the 
     President, if the Governor of the affected State certifies 
     that there is an urgent need for the temporary housing units 
     and that the State is unable to provide the temporary housing 
     units in a timely manner.
       (3) Limitation on statutory construction.--Nothing in this 
     section shall be construed to affect section 689k of the 
     Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (120 
     Stat. 1456). For purposes of that section, a disposal of a 
     temporary housing unit under subsection (d)(2) shall be 
     treated as a disposal to house individuals or households 
     under section 408 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5174).
       (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
     of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Government Affairs of the Senate a report on the status of 
     the distribution, sale, transfer, donation, or other disposal 
     of the unused temporary housing units purchased by FEMA.

     SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULES FOR COVERED HURRICANE DAMAGES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section, the following 
     definitions apply:
       (1) Covered hurricane damages.--The term ``covered 
     hurricane damages'' means damages suffered in the States of 
     Louisiana and Mississippi as a result of Hurricanes Katrina 
     and Rita.
       (2) President.--The term ``President'' means the President 
     acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency.
       (3) Stafford act.--The term ``Stafford Act'' means the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
       (b) In Lieu Contributions.--In providing contributions 
     under section 406(c) of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(c)) 
     for covered hurricane damages, the President shall substitute 
     90 percent for the otherwise applicable percentage specified 
     in paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) of such section.
       (c) Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 423 of the 
     Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a) or any regulation, the 
     President is authorized and encouraged to use alternative 
     dispute resolution procedures for appeals of decisions made 
     under sections 403, 406, and 407 of the Stafford Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5179b, 5172, and 5173) regarding the award or denial 
     of assistance, or the amount of assistance, provided to a 
     State, local government, or owner or operator of a private 
     facility for covered hurricane damages.
       (2) Denials of requests.--
       (A) Written notice.--If a State, local government, or owner 
     or operator of a private facility requests the use of 
     alternative dispute resolution procedures for an appeal 
     pursuant to paragraph (1) and the President denies the 
     request, the President shall provide to the State, local 
     government, or owner or operator written notice of the 
     denial, including the reasons for the denial.
       (B) Quarterly reports.--The President 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, on at least a quarterly 
     basis, a report containing information on any denial 
     described in subparagraph (A) made by the President during 
     the period covered by the report, including the reasons for 
     the denial.
       (3) Applicability.--Paragraph (1) shall apply to an appeal 
     made by a State, local government, or owner or operator of a 
     private facility within 60 days after the date on which the 
     State, local government, or owner or operator is notified of 
     the decision that is the subject of the appeal.
       (4) Report to congress.--Not later than one year after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
     House of Representatives and the

[[Page H10617]]

     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate a report containing a description of how 
     alternative dispute resolution procedures are being used 
     pursuant to this subsection and recommendations on whether 
     the President should be given the authority to use such 
     procedures under the Stafford Act on a permanent basis.
       (d) Use of Simplified Procedures.--For covered hurricane 
     damages, the President may use, if requested by a State or 
     local government or the owner or operator of a private 
     nonprofit facility, section 422 of the Stafford Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5189) for a project for which the Federal estimate of 
     the cost is less than $100,000.
       (e) Status Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
     of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Government Affairs of the Senate a report regarding the 
     status of recovery for the States of Louisiana and 
     Mississippi from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

     SEC. 3. CASE MANAGEMENT.

       The President may provide services or assistance under 
     section 426 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
     Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189d) for victims of any 
     major disaster relating to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 
     Rita.

     SEC. 4. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE FACTORS.

       In order to provide more objective criteria for evaluating 
     the need for assistance to individuals and to speed a 
     declaration of a major disaster or emergency under the Robert 
     T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), not later than one year after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with 
     representatives of State and local emergency management 
     agencies, shall review, update, and revise through rulemaking 
     the factors considered under section 206.48 of title 44, Code 
     of Federal Regulations, to measure the severity, magnitude, 
     and impact of a disaster.

  Mr. RAHALL (during the reading). Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the 
passage of the House amendment to S. 2382, the FEMA Accountability Act 
of 2008.
  I want to thank Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for all of their hard work 
on this bill. I also want to thank Senator Mark Pryor, who introduced 
the Senate version of this bill and whom I have worked tirelessly with 
to ensure that this critical legislation becomes law.
  Last year, I introduced H.R. 4830, the House version of this 
legislation which would require FEMA to quickly and fairly address the 
abundance of surplus temporary housing units stored by the Federal 
Government across the Nation at taxpayer expense. My bill would require 
FEMA to devise a plan to distribute the excess temporary housing units 
being stored around the country that have been deemed safe and ready to 
be used.
  The legislation specifically gives the agency 3 months to determine 
the number of housing it needs on hand to shelter future disaster 
victims; 6 months to provide a plan to permanently store the units it 
plans to keep, sell usable surplus units and dispose the rest; 9 months 
to implement its plan, and one year to report the status to Congress.
  Families all over the Nation are in desperate need of housing. 
However, as many of you know many of the manufactured homes and travel 
trailers purchased by FEMA for use in Hurricane Katrina are still 
sitting unused in FEMA staging areas around the country. In my 
congressional district alone, FEMA is storing over 7,000 brand new, 
fully furnished, never before used manufactured homes in Hope, 
Arkansas.
  These manufactured homes were originally purchased for Hurricane 
Katrina victims, but never made it to them. Instead, they have been 
sitting idly by in Hope since 2005. Since that time, many other natural 
disasters have occurred where temporary housing units were desperately 
needed by those who lost their homes.
  However, it is my hope that the passage of this bill today will make 
FEMA recognize the continuing need to change this and deliver these 
homes to families all over the nation that desperately need them.
  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2382, the FEMA 
Accountability Act of 2008, which would enable the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) to better manage the thousands of excess 
trailers in its inventory since Hurricane Katrina.
  First, I would like to thank Chairman Oberstar and Subcommittee 
Chairwoman Norton for working with me in a bipartisan manner to make an 
important revision to this bill.
  I would also like to thank Congressman Mike Ross from Arkansas who 
has been working with me to cleanup FEMA's trailer mess for several 
years now.
  In 2006 and 2007, several neighborhoods in our districts were 
devastated by tornados, and numerous families were left homeless.
  After the Christmas Day 2006 tornados in my district it took almost 2 
months to receive a federal disaster declaration and authorization for 
housing assistance. In the meantime my constituents had no place to 
turn for help after the temporary shelters closed.
  At one point I had half a dozen of my congressional committee lawyers 
and FEMA lawyers on the telephone trying to figure out how FEMA could 
take a few of the hundreds of excess trailers it had stored near 
Orlando and use them to house these homeless tornado victims.
  Ultimately we received a federal disaster declaration and several 
trailers before FEMA could figure out how to make some of its excess 
trailers available without a federal disaster declaration.
  In Congressman Ross's case, his district was never declared a federal 
disaster area after several tornados struck his district, and it took 
months for FEMA to come up with a way to transfer excess trailers to 
the State and help his homeless tornado victims.
  The ridiculous part of this story is that FEMA had over 60,000 excess 
trailers at the time and it was spending over $3 million a year to 
store them in 17 storage areas across the country.
  In typical government fashion, the taxpayer spent almost a billion 
dollars on trailers after Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of them 
were never used. And FEMA was unable to provide them to states to house 
homeless tornado victims.
  In response to this mess, Congressman Ross and I introduced 
legislation to provide FEMA authority to transfer excess trailers to 
state and local governments and voluntary disaster relief organizations 
to house disaster victims even if a federal disaster has not been 
declared.
  These are trailers that FEMA does not need for its own purposes and 
that FEMA is spending millions of dollars a year to store and maintain.
  I am pleased we were able to include language addressing this problem 
in the bill we are approving today.
  Again let me thank Chairman Oberstar and Subcommittee Chairwoman 
Norton for working with me in a bipartisan manner, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2382, as 
amended, to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (``FEMA'') to quickly and fairly address the 
abundance of surplus manufactured housing units stored by the Federal 
Government around the country.
  S. 2382, as amended, addresses a number of critical disaster recovery 
issues related to FEMA. I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross), 
the sponsor of H.R. 4830, the House companion measure to S. 2382, for 
his critical support for this legislation.
  S. 2382 addresses an ongoing consequence of the response to 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As a result of stockpiling trailers in the 
aftermath of these devastating storms, FEMA owns a large number of 
trailers and other temporary housing units that the agency is not using 
and may never need. Some of these units have never been used.
  S. 2382 requires FEMA to assess the number of temporary housing units 
necessary to meet requirements for major disasters and emergencies 
under the Stafford Act. FEMA is also required to establish a plan for 
storing the units that the agency needs, and disposing of those 
trailers that it does not need. S. 2382 provides FEMA with the 
flexibility to provide these excess trailers to state and local 
governments to house victims of incidents caused by hazards that do not 
result in a Federally-declared major disaster or emergency, provided 
that the Governor of an affected State certifies that there is an 
urgent need for the housing.
  S. 2382, as amended, also includes some common-sense provisions from 
H.R. 3247, the ``Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Recovery Facilitation Act 
of 2007'', which passed by the House on October 29, 2007, and provides 
specific relief for problems associated with recovery efforts from 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The bill authorizes changes made to the 
public assistance program under the Stafford Act that only apply 
retroactively to the recovery efforts from those devastating storms. 
These provisions include an increase in the Federal contribution for 
alternate projects from the current level of 75 percent to 90 percent, 
thereby allowing communities to rebuild their facilities in the most 
efficient manner possible. The bill also allows state and local 
governments to use alternate dispute resolution to solve some of the 
most difficult and lingering issues in the recovery from these storms. 
To help expedite the recovery, S. 2382 also allows FEMA to use a 
simplified procedure

[[Page H10618]]

under which small projects are permitted to proceed based on estimates. 
The bill increases the ceiling for small projects to $100,000, an 
increase from the current level of $55,000. Finally, S. 2382 requires 
FEMA to expeditiously report back to Congress on the status of its 
recovery efforts from these storms.
  S. 2382, as amended, also includes a provision from H.R. 3247, as 
reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government 
Affairs, that authorizes FEMA to provide case management services to 
citizens impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is unfortunate 
that some citizens still require these services as they struggle to 
recover three years after these storms.
  The bill further requires FEMA to review, update, and revise, through 
rulemaking, the factors considered in making recommendations for the 
assistance to individuals and families under the Stafford Act as 
provided in 44 CFR 206.48. State and local governments have expressed 
concerns about the lack of clarity in these regulations, which they use 
to gauge when to seek assistance from the Federal Government.
  I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), Ranking Member of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for working with me on 
this bipartisan amendment to S. 2382, and I strongly support its 
passage.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________