Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 169 (Friday, December 28, 2012)

[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 169 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8467-S8497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT--Continued

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be up
to 8 minutes of debate equally divided prior to the votes in relation
to amendments Nos. 3382 and 3383 offered by the Senator from Oklahoma,
Mr. Coburn.

Amendment No. 3382

Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, amendment No. 3382 would require the use
of competition for all Federal contracts awarded after the date of the
enactment of this act for disaster assistance. It would also require
the Federal agencies to review and recompete no-bid contracts that had
been awarded prior to it. There is no penalty if it is a no-bid
contract, but as that goes forward, additional payments on that would
have to come in to review. All this is, is about good government and
getting value for the dollars we are going to spend.
I reserve the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time in opposition?
The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment. I
guess I have 2 minutes for that since it is 4 minutes equally divided
between the amendments. I know my colleague from Maryland will debate
the other amendment.
I urge a strong ``no'' vote on this amendment. This would require a
huge amount of time and bureaucratic redtape at a time of emergency
between disaster victims and the Federal assistance they deserve.
Competitive bidding is generally a good thing. It can save on costs
as well as provide transparency and fraud prevention. It is important
that Federal disaster assistance not be used as a slush fund for crony
contracts.
Folks, we are dealing with an emergency. In most States, it takes 90
days or more. It can take 3 to 6 months. We have people who desperately
need help, and we would slow the process down to a fare-thee-well if we
had to invoke the same competitive bidding practice we invoke for other
contracts that are not under emergency.
In fact, this is sort of catch-22. Many of our Republican colleagues
say the money is spent out too slowly, and then they want to put more
levels of redtape and bureaucracy slowdown. What if the contract is
challenged in court? Businesses would lay fallow, homes will not be
built, and it would leave shorelines unprotected and naked.
Generally, I have been a supporter of competitive bidding, but as the
Scripture says: There is a time and a place for everything. When we are
dealing with many aspects of an emergency, that should not happen.
My colleague on the other side, for whom I have great respect, is a
true gentleman. He does what he believes and says what he believes. He
votes against interests that might affect his own State when he does
it. In this case, he has not made any exceptions, and that makes no
sense. This will hurt people and hurt them badly. In many instances,
this will end up costing us more.
Many competitively bid contracts--we have all been through this--end
up in court and take years. Years during an emergency? I don't believe
we should start that as a new precedent. I

[[Page S8468]]

would be happy to work with my colleague and refine the competitive
bidding law to where it could be used appropriately, but this is a
broad brush.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, there is no reason to take additional
time. The fact is right now with FEMA, they have prebid contracts. In
New Jersey, they didn't take the lowest competitive bid contract on the
debris removal. We are going to spend about 20 percent, 25 percent more
because the Federal Government is paying for it.
The vast majority of the money in this bill is not going to be
contracted out initially. As a matter of fact, only $9 billion is going
to go out right way and that is in terms of flood insurance. The rest
of it is coming from the FEMA funds and the DRF funds. None of those
are competitive bid contracts, and it will not have any impact on
housing, home flood insurance or any of those other areas. Doing it
right and getting value for our money is important, especially now that
we face the difficult fiscal times that are in front of us.
I urge a ``yes'' vote and yield back the remainder of my time.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to move to the next amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, let's go with the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays are ordered on amendment No. 3382.

Amendment No. 3383

Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I understand that amendment No. 3383 is
now in order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 2
minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. COBURN. There is a lot of work in this bill for the Corps of
Engineers, and they are going to have a lot of work to do in the
remediation and mitigation that is associated with Hurricane Sandy.
However, in this bill is a provision which says that whatever the Corps
decides to approve, they give a blanket authorization. This means if,
in fact, the Corps doesn't do what is in the best interests for New
Jersey or New York, they get to make the decision. The appropriators
and authorizing committee don't get to decide; the Corps makes the
decision.
The one organization that has a problem with priorities in this
country today is the Corps of Engineers. For us to blanket whatever
they say as a priority versus having government, committee, and
appropriator oversight by giving this blanket waiver is to take away
our powers to correct them. All this does is say it is not
automatically authorized and we will have plenty of time. All these are
mitigation projects. They should all be authorized and approved by the
committee of jurisdiction as they go forward. Rather than a blanket
approval, all they have to do is come to Congress and say: Give us
approval.
We are setting a terrible precedent. What this says is, in the
future, we are going to let the Corps decide what is important rather
than the Governors, the State legislators or the Congress.

I reserve the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I oppose Coburn amendment No. 3383
striking the provisions in the underlying bill.
We did a voice vote this morning on Feinstein amendment No. 4421 that
fixes the problem. I understand the concerns the Senator has.
I yield time to the Senator from California to explain how she fixed
the amendment and why we should defeat the Coburn amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, one of the things I have learned from
the Energy and Water Subcommittee, which is the committee that handles
appropriations for the Army Corps of Engineers, is how difficult it is
to get projects started, funded, and constructed. I am one--
particularly in view of storms, earthquakes, floods, and damages--who
believes we also need to do the mitigation, because if it happens once,
there is a heavy likelihood it could happen again. So I rise in
opposition to this amendment.
The provision the Senator from Oklahoma proposes would essentially
take a Corps project that has been authorized and a study is being
done. Once the study has concluded and it is cost-effective, the Corps
proceeds to construction. With respect to mitigation, what this
amendment does is--as I understand it--remove that authorization.
I can understand how the language before was overly broad. What
Senator Boxer and I did in an earlier amendment was narrow that
language, and we have addressed the shortcoming of the provision by
striking it with an earlier amendment. We took amendment No. 3421 and
replaced it with new text. This new text no longer authorizes an
undefined set of projects; rather, it directs funding to be utilized to
construct projects in areas that suffered direct inundation impact from
Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac. It provides a defined scope for the work
the Corps can construct with the funds provided. It requires the
projects to be undertaken must be cost-effective, technically feasible,
and environmentally acceptable.
I hope my friend would agree that should be the goal of all Corps
projects we fund. Voting for his amendment, as I understand it, would
undo the defined requirements and scope for the projects we previously
voted for.
I urge my colleagues to vote against the amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

Amendment No. 3383 Withdrawn

Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I think the Senator from California has a
great solution to the problem. I was not aware of that being accepted.
I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Vote on Amendment No. 3382

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
3382.
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), and the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) and the Senator from South Carolina (Mr.
DeMint).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 48, nays 47, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 242 Leg.]

YEAS--48

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Bennet
Boozman
Brown (MA)
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Lee
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Moran
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Vitter
Webb
Wicker

NAYS--47

Akaka
Begich
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Hoeven
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Udall (NM)
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--5

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes
for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is rejected.
The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, this will give Senators an idea about
the

[[Page S8469]]

order for the next hour or so. I ask unanimous consent that the debate
time on the Rand Paul, John McCain, and Lee amendments occur between
now and 3:30 p.m.; that at 4 p.m., the Senate resume votes in relation
to the amendments as listed in the previous order; that there be 2
minutes equally divided prior to each vote; and all other provisions of
the previous order remain in effect.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, with this agreement, we will be ready to
resume our stacked series of votes on this bill at 4 p.m. I just want
to alert my colleagues, with the concurrence on the other side of the
aisle, there will only be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote,
so Senators need to remain in and around the Chamber so we can complete
action on this legislation.
If we can keep the amendments to the time agreement that is usual and
customary, we will be able to conclude--our time this evening could be
spent because the votes go on too long--so if we can follow regular
order, the way we have been doing, I think we will be able to move all
our amendments.
I want to thank Senators Paul, McCain, and Lee, who are ready to
offer their amendments now.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we wish to thank the distinguished
manager of the bill for her courtesies and for her skill in managing
this bill, and her sensitivity to the need for improvements in
sustaining the disaster assistance capabilities of our great country.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

Amendments Nos. 3376 and 3410 En Bloc to Amendment No. 3395

Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up
amendments Nos. 3376 and 3410 en bloc.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the clerk will report the
amendments en bloc.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul] proposes amendments
numbered 3376 and 3410 en bloc to amendment No. 3395.

The amendments en bloc are as follows:

amendment no. 3376

(Purpose: To provide for the nonapplication of the Davis-Bacon Act in
the case of projects funded under this Act)

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. NONAPPLICATION OF DAVIS-BACON.

None of the funds made available under this Act (or an
amendment made by this Act) may be used to administer or
enforce the wage-rate requirements of subchapter IV of
chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of title 40, United
States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'')
with respect to any project or program funded, in whole or in
part, under this Act (or amendment).

amendment no. 3410

(Purpose: To offset the cost of the bll and to put the spending on
budget as regular spending and not emergency)

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. BUDGET OFFSET.

(a) In General.--
(1) Finding.--Congress finds that the Congressional Budget
Office estimates that--
(A) this Act, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013,
will spend only 15 percent of the budget authority provided
in this Act in fiscal year 2013; and
(B) total outlays flowing from this Act will equal
$8,974,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.
(2) Budget authority limit.--The total amount provided to
chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of this Act shall
be provided based on the Congressional Budget Office's cost
estimate findings, such that--
(A) total budget authority for the Act shall not exceed
$8,974,000,000;
(B) total budget authority provided for Chapter 1 shall not
exceed $81,000,000;
(C) total budget authority provided for Chapter 2 shall not
exceed $192,000,000;
(D) total budget authority provided for Chapter 3 shall not
exceed $42,000,000;
(E) total budget authority provided for Chapter 4 shall not
exceed $673,000,000;
(F) total budget authority provided for Chapter 5 shall not
exceed $437,000,000;
(G) total budget authority provided for Chapter 6 shall not
exceed $6,681,000,000;
(H) total budget authority provided for Chapter 7 shall not
exceed $147,000,000;
(I) total budget authority provided for Chapter 8 shall not
exceed $85,000,000;
(J) total budget authority provided for Chapter 9 shall not
exceed $23,000,000; and
(K) total budget authority provided for Chapter 10 shall
not exceed $613,000,000.
(3) Application of budget authority reduction.--Of the
total amount reduced in this Act as subject to paragraph (2),
the allocation of such reductions among the accounts and
programs shall be determined by the Director of Office of
Management and Budget.
(b) Offsetting Amounts.--
(1) In general.--There is rescinded for fiscal year 2013
any unobligated balances in an amount equal to $8,974,000,000
of the budget authority provided for fiscal year 2013 of any
discretionary account in title II - United States Agency for
International Development, title III - Bilateral economic
assistance, and title IV - International security assistance
accounts and programs as provided by the continuing
appropriations resolution of 2013 for the Department of
State, Foreign Operations and Related Appropriations Act,
2012 (Public Law 112-175).
(2) Limit.--Of the accounts and programs included in
paragraph (1), the rescission amounts shall not reduce the
combined aggregate budget authority of those accounts and
programs below $5,000,000,000 for all of fiscal year 2013.
(3) Excess recovered.--The amount of rescission of budget
authority in paragraphs (1) and (2) that exceeds the level of
unobligated balances in those paragraphs shall be rescinded,
on a pro rata basis, from the budget authority provided for
fiscal year 2013 from any remaining discretionary accounts in
any fiscal year 2013 appropriations Act (except the accounts
and programs as provided by the continuing appropriations
resolution of 2013 for the Military Construction and Veterans
Affairs and Related Appropriations Act, 2012).
(c) Application of Rescissions.--Of the total amount
rescinded subject to subsection (b), including paragraph (2)
the allocation of such rescissions among the accounts or
programs as specified in subsection (b)(1), shall be
determined by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget.
(d) Regular Not Emergency Spending.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Act, none of the funding provided by
this Act shall be considered to be emergency spending for
purposes of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act and the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, when Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast,
hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people were without power.
We all saw the video footage. We saw the terrible trauma, and people
are still trying to dig out from underneath the debris of Hurricane
Sandy.
During that period of time, hundreds of workers drove up from the
South wanting to help. These workers were nonunionized, and they were
turned away. This was a sad day for our country that nonunion workers
were not allowed to participate in the cleanup and were asked to join a
union before they would be accepted as workers.
I think it is a mistake to politicize things such as this,
particularly in a time of an emergency. So what I have asked for and
what my amendment would do is allow an exemption to Davis-Bacon.
Davis-Bacon is a Federal law that requires that we not have
competitive bidding on Federal projects. What happens is on Federal
projects the wages are fixed at a union scale wage and there is not a
competitive bidding for wages.
So what I have asked is that we suspend that and say, in order to get
better use of the money, in order to advance the money by billions of
dollars and do more with the money--and this is an enormous amount of
money, running into the billions of dollars--in order to get better use
of our money, to suspend Davis-Bacon, and we would basically be
allowing competitive bidding on wages.
This has been done before. President Nixon and both President Bushes
did this. During Katrina, we suspended Davis-Bacon because it was an
emergency. We wanted to make the best use of our Nation's dollars.
This amendment would suspend Davis-Bacon for this emergency. It is
estimated it might save as much as 22 percent of the cost.
We are talking about billions of dollars. Mr. President, $60 billion
is being requested for this cleanup. Where is the money going to come
from? You have heard we have an enormous debt--$16 trillion--in our
country. We have over $1 trillion in debt this year. We print up the
money, but that simply steals from your savings and steals from your
current currency. We can tax you or borrow more. But we owe $16
trillion already.
What I am asking is why don't we try to make good use of the money
that is going toward this disaster, allow money to go further? That is
simply by allowing competitive bidding on wages.

[[Page S8470]]

Currently, there is no competitive bidding on wages. My amendment
would allow for this. I urge my colleagues to stand with taxpayers--to
stand with taxpayers against special interests, against political and
partisan purposes--and for the sake of an emergency to say: We are
going to be frugal with the dollars spent. We are not going to be
extravagant. We are not going to reward certain special interests that
are very involved in the political process.
We are going to say we are going to use the money wisely, we are
going to allow competitive bidding on wages. So I urge my colleagues to
support this temporary and specific suspension of Davis-Bacon for
emergency funds.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I guess we have 5 minutes?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to the
amendment offered by my friend from Kentucky. As we work to rebuild
these communities in the east coast from Superstorm Sandy, we need
policies in place that make these communities stronger. Davis-Bacon is
a critical part of that effort because it ensures that the people who
are doing the work to rebuild our roads, schools, and bridges in these
cities and towns are paid a fair wage. Again, the Davis-Bacon Act
ensures that workers on taxpayer-funded projects are paid locally
prevailing wages--locally prevailing wages. These protections ensure
that the substantial influx of Federal dollars for reconstruction work
after a disaster will help prevent a race to the bottom for workers and
not contribute to the problem.
After a disaster such as this, people are disrupted, and people are
out of work. So we have a lot of fly-by-night operators who flock to
these areas and abuse the workers. For example, we saw this after
Hurricane Katrina. According to a 2006 study, 47 percent of workers in
New Orleans reported not receiving all of the pay they were entitled to
under law. The same report indicated that 55 percent of workers did not
receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week.
Now, again, my friend from Kentucky says this could save up to 22
percent of the money we are going to put out in Federal taxpayer
dollars to help recovery efforts. Well, how can that possibly be? Labor
costs are typically only 25 to 30 percent of the total cost of public
works projects. So there's no way we could save 22% by repealing Davis-
Bacon, we'd have to pay people next to nothing. That just doesn't make
sense.
So, again, Davis-Bacon has been in law a long time to help prevent
the kinds of abuses we saw after Katrina from happening again because
it ensures that workers will be paid locally prevailing wages--not
necessarily union-type wages but locally prevailing wages. It helps
ensure that responsible contractors--responsible contractors,
contractors who abide by wage and hour and safety and health laws--will
win the bids to perform federally funded work. We do not want this race
to the bottom where you get some fly-by-night operator who does shoddy
work. Oh, but it is cheap. When we buy into that philosophy we might
save money now, but we lose a lot of money later on.
We keep hearing from our friends on the other side that this is going
to save money. That is just not true. Numerous studies confirm that
prevailing wage laws--Davis-Bacon--do not raise construction costs and
actually lower the taxpayer bill on these projects. A study of nine
States found that prevailing wages led to costs of building
construction that were on average $6 dollars to $35 per square foot
less than without prevailing wages. Similarly, a 2004 study analyzing
Federal highway wage data found that better wages led to an average
savings of $30,000 to $34,000 per mile of highway construction. Better
wages also led to higher productivity. Higher wage States require 32 to
35 percent fewer labor hours to complete the same work than lower wage
States. Why is that? Because, as one contractor I know in Iowa says, he
always hires people to do work under Davis-Bacon because he knows he
gets quality work, he gets high productivity, the work is done right
the first time and it does not have to be done over. So these are the
responsible contractors we want to do this kind of work because in the
long run, it saves us all a lot of money and we get better work done.
I might also add parenthetically that Davis-Bacon--Senator Davis and
Representative Bacon, the authors of this law, were both Republicans.
They wanted to ensure that large Federal contractors would not drive
down the price of labor, so they passed a law saying that workers on
Federal Government projects should earn at least the typical local
wages. That is what it is--typical local wages. That is all the Davis-
Bacon Act does. It is not a giveaway to unions or the workers they
represent; it is just a commonsense policy that helps workers and
communities recover and makes sure taxpayers get the best bang for
their buck.
The workers affected by Hurricane Sandy are not just rebuilding
businesses, houses, schools, and roads, they are rebuilding entire
communities and neighborhoods. The foundation for communities is good
jobs with fair wages. The Davis-Bacon Act is a critical part in helping
communities across the east coast recover.
I urge my colleagues to oppose the Paul amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I rise in support of amendment No. 3410,
which would take the spending for Sandy relief and spend only 1 year at
a time and would offset that spending with spending cuts. Now, you ask,
why would we want to do that? Well, if you have been watching Congress
in recent years, you might understand that we are not very good with
money up here. Each year we are spending $1 trillion that we do not
have. To me, there is absolutely no objective evidence that we are very
good with money up here, so you do not want to give Congress 3 years'
worth of spending authority on Hurricane Sandy. Why don't we do it 1
year at a time and make sure there is correct oversight and make sure
the money is not being wasted, make sure the money is not being abused.
I will give a couple of examples of what is in the current bill. We
have money for Alaskan fisheries in the Hurricane Sandy bill. They
tried earlier today to stuff money in here for a country by the name of
Palau in the western part of the Pacific. Now, I thought this was about
emergency relief for Hurricane Sandy, which hit the northeast coast.
What does that have to do with sending money to the far reaches of the
Earth, including sending money to work on Alaskan fisheries? If you
want to give money to Alaskan fisheries, have a bill on the floor about
Alaskan fisheries, but do not pretend that we are going to stuff it in
some emergency bill for the Northeast.
So what I have asked is, let's just spend what you are going to spend
next year. CBO says there is going to be $9 billion spent next year.
That is what I allocate. I take the $9 billion from places where we are
wasting it. I think we are wasting it by sending it overseas. I am not
particularly happy about sending money to countries that are burning
our flag and chanting ``death to America.'' I think it is an outrage.
The President has said: Well, we need to quit doing nation building
overseas and start doing it at home. But where are the actions that
support his words? I agree completely--we need to quit doing nation
building overseas when we are running a trillion-dollar deficit here,
but we can't just say we are going to continue to print the money or
borrow the money or simply raise taxes. There is not enough for all of
this spending. What you need to do so is say: Some of the spending is
wasteful, and we should not do it.

I personally think we should not be sending billions of dollars to
dictators who oppress their people, who burn our flag, who will not
protect our embassies. I think it is an absolute mistake. You can go
through a list of 30 or 40 years of foreign aid and see dictators who
have personally profited and stolen our money. We have bridges and
roads crumbling in our country. We have infrastructure that was damaged
by Hurricane Sandy. They simply want to print more money and borrow it.
People will stand and say: Oh, we have never offset emergency
funding. Well, maybe that is why we have a $16 trillion deficit--
because no one wants

[[Page S8471]]

to cut any spending around here. If you want to help those affected by
Hurricane Sandy, do it, but do it by taking the money from someplace
where we are wasting it.
What my bill says is that we will spend next year's $9 billion, which
is what they have asked for for the next year, and we will offset it by
taking $9 billion out of the foreign aid fund.
Now, usually when we bring this up here, someone will trod on down
and say: Oh, but this will affect Israel. This has nothing to do with
Israel, will not affect any money given to Israel. There will be money
left in the foreign aid fund. It has always been my purpose that we
start by taking the money from countries that hate us, countries that
are burning our flag. I have not seen anyone in Israel burning the
American flag, but I have seen it happening in about 10 other countries
that receive money, that actually receive more than Israel. So what I
would say is let's not trot out canards about Israel; let's make it
about what it is. The Mubarak family in Egypt got $60 billion. The
country got $60 billion while the Mubarak family themselves stole
probably half of it. They are one of the richest families in the world.
The kids are some of the richest people in the world because they stole
your money. This has happened repeatedly. It has happened throughout
the African Continent. It has happened around the world, that your
money is sent overseas. Just in Iraq and Afghanistan during the wars,
we built $6 billion worth of roads. Meanwhile, we have problems here. I
have two bridges in my State that I do not have the money to repair
because we are too busy repairing some other country's roads.
There are people in this body--the majority of them here--who think:
Oh, let's keep spending this money. And the majority of the American
people do not think it is a good idea. I hope they will wake up and
call their Senators and their Congressmen and say: This is absurd. It
must end.
So this is a very simple amendment. Spend 1 year on the emergency
fund, $9 billion, and offset it by cutting foreign aid overseas. I urge
my colleagues to support this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I would like to respond and to inform my
colleagues about what would happen if this amendment were adopted by
the body. No. 1, the foreign aid budget is less than 1 percent of the
total Federal budget. It is about $52 to $53 billion. It has been
reduced. A lot of things Senator Paul said about money being wasted
were very much true in the past.
President Bush looked at foreign assistance in a different way to
come up with the Millennium Challenge Corporation. We are now trying to
make sure our dollars go to make us safer, to help people who are truly
in need, and to make sure we have a presence in the world for which I
think there would be no substitute. It cuts 67 percent of the foreign
aid budget in three titles: USAID--those of you who have been to
Afghanistan and other places, USAID projects are designed to make sure
that once the military is withdrawn from that area, that we can hold.
Those of you who are tired of war, like all of us, I just want to go
back to ``Charlie Wilson's War.'' The last scene in the movie was Mr.
Wilson wanted $1 million to build some schoolhouses in Afghanistan, and
the reply was: Man, I have got broken schools in my State and my
district. And that is true in South Carolina, that is true in Kentucky,
and it is true in West Virginia. But we had no soldiers in Afghanistan
and no aid to Afghanistan during the Taliban reign. That model did not
work.
If you think you can withdraw from the world and if you think America
has no leadership role, then this is a good amendment. If you think the
best thing America can do is invest in aid programs that help us as a
Nation to be safer, then I would vote no for this amendment.
President Bush--one of his great legacies is that he invested in AIDS
and malaria programs in Africa that saved a whole generation of African
children. The Chinese are all over Africa trying to buy up the
continent, and radical Islam is moving forward. What a time for America
to tell the African people: No longer will we help you--because if this
amendment is passed, it will devastate the account we have in Africa.
We have almost no troops. The only thing we have to combat radical
Islam and Chinese influence is our aid programs that will create a lot
of jobs here in America.
Jordan--there are 250,000 Syrian refugees flooding into Jordan. The
refugee account is being overwhelmed. If you care at all about the King
of Jordan and stability in Jordan, for God's sake, vote against this
amendment because it will devastate the money we set aside to deal with
the refugee problem from the war in Syria.
As to Israel, the third title that is affected is the
counternarcotics military assistance program, foreign military
financing. We have contacted the Department of State and the Department
of Defense. They told us: If you cut this account by 67 percent, it is
going to put pressure on defense accounts. They are already under the
threat of sequestration. It will affect the ability of our Nation to
help Israel with the F-35 aircraft, armored vehicles, and protective
systems for other vehicles.
If you think, as I do, that the world is a very dangerous place and
it is better for America to lead than to come home and play like the
world is not a dangerous place, vote against this amendment. It is $9
billion. It is 67 percent of the three accounts I have just described.
Ask yourself, as a Member of the Senate, is now the time to tell the
King of Jordan and the people of Jordan: We cannot help you with
refugees overflowing into your country.
Because if the King goes, what happens next? Is now the time to send
to the people of Israel a signal that we are going to reduce military
assistance to their struggling nation, surrounded by a lot of
adversaries? Is now the time to tell the people of Africa: America will
be leaving; enjoy the Chinese presence.
Every time America tries to play the game that what happens in other
places doesn't affect us, we pay a heavy price.
This meant 9/11 was the result of a place called Afghanistan falling
into the hands of the most vicious people on the planet, and we sat on
the sidelines. It wasn't long before the Taliban invited bin Laden in
as their honored guest, and the rest is history.
There are at least six countries I can name in Africa today that, if
we abandon Africa, are going to become the next places that attack us.
I can tell you right now that if we abandon the King of Jordan, he will
fall. You will wake up one day, and you will say, was that $9 billion
worth all of what I have just described?
I wish we could come home. I wish we never had to send a dollar
outside the State of South Carolina. But I promise you this: If we stop
leading this world and we stop having a presence where others show up,
we will pay a heavy price.
This amendment guts to their core three essential accounts that are
very important to our national security and to who we are as Americans.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. GRAHAM. Don't create one disaster in trying to solve another.
Please vote no.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, is there any time remaining in
opposition to the Paul amendment?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No time remains for debate on the Paul
amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1
minute.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I would like to thank the Senator from South Carolina
for his remarks. He summarizes what we on both sides of the aisle would
say about this compelling national security interest.
I also wish to bring to my colleagues' attention--the Senator from
Kentucky reduces the bill from $60 billion to $9 billion. Not only is
it a disaster for our foreign aid, but it is a disaster for America.
Remember, disaster assistance is aid to American people. So cutting out
$51 billion and then poking in the eye of treasured allies that you are
reducing by $50 billion--that is aid to America.
Hey, I am for aid to America, and that is why spending and working
with

[[Page S8472]]

treasured allies, their security, and also stamping out things such as
malaria and blindness are the things for which we are well known.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. President, what is the regular order here?
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cardin). The regular order is the Paul
amendment on the debate time, amendment No. 3410.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Is there any time remaining for the Paul amendment?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. No time remains for debate on the Paul
amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. So we have concluded Paul amendment No. 3410.
Mr. President, what is the parliamentary situation in time on Paul
amendment No. 3376, Davis-Bacon?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired on that amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, with all time having expired, I believe
the order requires that these amendments then be set aside to be part
of a set of stacked votes at 4 o'clock; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Don't we now proceed to the McCain amendment under the
consent agreement, for debate? It was to be Senator McCain or Senator
Lee?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Either Senator McCain or Senator Lee may be
recognized.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I note the prompt appearance of Senator
Lee.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized.

Amendment No. 3373, as Modified

Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we call up
amendment No. 3373, as modified.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows.

The Senator from UTAH [Mr. Lee] proposes an amendment
numbered 3373, as modified.

Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment, as modified, is as follows:

After section 1105, insert the following:

SEC. __. SPECIAL RULES FOR USE OF RETIREMENT FUNDS IN
CONNECTION WITH FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS.

(a) Tax-favored Withdrawals From Retirement Plans.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (2) of section 72(t) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new subparagraph:
``(H) Distributions from retirement plans in connection
with federally declared disasters.--Any qualified disaster
recovery distribution.''.
(2) Qualified disaster recovery distribution.--Section
72(t) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(11) Qualified disaster recovery distribution.--For
purposes of paragraph (2)(H)--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the term `qualified disaster recovery distribution' means,
with respect to any federally declared disaster, any
distribution from an eligible retirement plan made on or
after the applicable disaster date and before the date that
is 1 year after such date, to an individual whose principal
place of abode on the applicable disaster date, is located in
the disaster area and who has sustained an economic loss by
reason of such federally declared disaster.
``(B) Aggregate dollar limitation.--
``(i) In general.--For purposes of this subsection, the
aggregate amount of distributions received by an individual
which may be treated as qualified disaster recovery
distributions for any taxable year shall not exceed the
excess (if any) of--

``(I) $100,000, over
``(II) the sum of aggregate amounts treated as qualified
disaster recovery distributions received by such individual
for all prior taxable years, the aggregate amounts treated as
qualified hurricane distributions under section 1400Q(a), and
the aggregate amounts treated as qualified Disaster Recovery
Assistance distributions under section 701(d)(10) of the
Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008.

``(ii) Treatment of plan distributions.--If a distribution
to an individual would (without regard to clause (i)) be a
qualified disaster recovery distribution, a plan shall not be
treated as violating any requirement of this title merely
because the plan treats such distribution as a qualified
disaster recovery distribution, unless the aggregate amount
of such distributions from all plans maintained by the
employer (and any member of any controlled group which
includes the employer) to such individual exceeds $100,000.
``(iii) Controlled group.--For purposes of clause (ii), the
term `controlled group' means any group treated as a single
employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of section
414.
``(iv) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any taxable
year beginning after 2012, each of the $100,000 amounts under
clauses (i) and (ii) shall be increased by an amount equal
to--

``(I) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(II) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under
section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable
year begins, determined by substituting `calendar year 2011'
for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.

If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence is not
a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to the
next highest multiple of $10,000.
``(C) Amount distributed may be repaid.--
``(i) In general.--Any individual who receives a qualified
disaster recovery distribution may, at any time during the 3-
year period beginning on the day after the date on which such
distribution was received, make one or more contributions in
an aggregate amount not to exceed the amount of such
distribution to an eligible retirement plan of which such
individual is a beneficiary and to which a rollover
contribution of such distribution could be made under section
402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3), or 457(e)(16), as
the case may be.
``(ii) Treatment of repayments of distributions from
eligible retirement plans other than iras.--For purposes of
this title, if a contribution is made pursuant to clause (i)
with respect to a qualified disaster recovery distribution
from an eligible retirement plan other than an individual
retirement plan, then the taxpayer shall, to the extent of
the amount of the contribution, be treated as having received
the qualified disaster recovery distribution in an eligible
rollover distribution (as defined in section 402(c)(4)) and
as having transferred the amount to the eligible retirement
plan in a direct trustee to trustee transfer within 60 days
of the distribution.
``(iii) Treatment of repayments for distributions from
iras.--For purposes of this title, if a contribution is made
pursuant to clause (i) with respect to a qualified disaster
recovery distribution from an individual retirement plan (as
defined by section 7701(a)(37)), then, to the extent of the
amount of the contribution, the qualified disaster recovery
distribution shall be treated as a distribution described in
section 408(d)(3) and as having been transferred to the
eligible retirement plan in a direct trustee to trustee
transfer within 60 days of the distribution.
``(D) Income inclusion spread over 3-year period.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of any qualified disaster
recovery distribution, unless the taxpayer elects not to have
this paragraph apply for any taxable year, any amount
required to be included in gross income for such taxable year
shall be so included ratably over the 3-taxable year period
beginning with such taxable year.
``(ii) Special rule.--For purposes of clause (i), rules
similar to the rules of subparagraph (E) of section
408A(d)(3) shall apply.
``(E) Other definitions.--
``(i) Federally declared disaster; disaster area.--The
terms `federally declared disaster' and `disaster area' have
the meanings given such terms under section 165(h)(3)(C).
``(ii) Applicable disaster date.--The term `applicable
disaster date' means, with respect to any federally declared
disaster, the date on which such federally declared disaster
occurs.
``(iii) Eligible retirement plan.--The term `eligible
retirement plan' shall have the meaning given such term by
section 402(c)(8)(B).
``(F) Special rules.--
``(i) Exemption of distributions from trustee to trustee
transfer and withholding rules.--For purposes of sections
401(a)(31), 402(f), and 3405, qualified disaster recovery
distributions shall not be treated as eligible rollover
distributions.
``(ii) Qualified disaster recovery distributions treated as
meeting plan distribution requirements.--For purposes this
title, a qualified disaster recovery distribution shall be
treated as meeting the requirements of sections
401(k)(2)(B)(i), 403(b)(7)(A)(ii), 403(b)(11), and
457(d)(1)(A).''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to distributions with respect to disaster
declared after December 31, 2011.
(b) Recontributions of Withdrawals for Home Purchases.--
(1) Individual retirement plans.--Paragraph (8) of section
72(t) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(F) Recontributions.--
``(i) General rule.--

``(I) In general.--Any individual who received a qualified
distribution may, during the applicable period, make one or
more contributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed the
amount of such qualified distribution to an eligible
retirement plan (as defined in section 402(c)(8)(B)) of which
such individual is a beneficiary and to which a rollover
contribution of such distribution could be made under section
402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 408(d)(3), as the case may
be.

[[Page S8473]]

``(II) Treatment of repayments.--Rules similar to the rules
of clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (11)(C) shall apply
for purposes of this subsection.

``(ii) Qualified distribution.--For purposes of this
subparagraph, the term `qualified distribution' means, with
respect to any federally declared disaster, any
distribution--

``(I) which is a qualified first-time homebuyer
distribution,
``(II) received on or after the date which is 6 months
before the applicable disaster date and before the date which
is the day after the applicable disaster date, and
``(III) which was to be used to purchase or construct a
principal residence in the disaster area, but which was not
so purchased or constructed on account of the federally
declared disaster.

``(iii) Applicable period.--For purposes of this
subparagraph, the term `applicable period' means the period
beginning on the applicable disaster date and ending on the
date which is 1 year after the applicable disaster date.
``(iv) Other definitions.--For purposes of this
subparagraph--

``(I) Federally declared disaster; disaster area.--The
terms `federally declared disaster' and `disaster area' have
the meanings given such terms under section 165(h)(3)(C).
``(II) Applicable disaster date.--The term `applicable
disaster date' means, with respect to any federally declared
disaster, the date on which such federally declared disaster
occurs.''.

(2) Qualified plans.--Subsection (c) of section 402 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(12) Recontributions of withdrawals for home purchases.--
``(A) General rule.--
``(i) In general.--Any individual who received a qualified
distribution may, during the applicable period, make one or
more contributions in an aggregate amount not to exceed the
amount of such qualified distribution to an eligible
retirement plan (as defined in paragraph (8)(B)) of which
such individual is a beneficiary and to which a rollover
contribution of such distribution could be made under
subsection (c) or section 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 408(d)(3),
as the case may be.
``(ii) Treatment of repayments.--Rules similar to the rules
of clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 72(t)(11)(C) shall apply
for purposes of this subsection.
``(B) Qualified distribution.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term `qualified distribution' means, with
respect to any federally declared disaster, any
distribution--
``(i) described in section 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(IV),
403(b)(7)(A)(ii) (but only to the extent such distribution
relates to financial hardship), or 403(b)(11)(B),
``(ii) received--

``(I) on or after the date which is 6 months before the
applicable disaster date, and
``(II) before the date which is the day after the
applicable disaster date, and

``(iii) which was to be used to purchase or construct a
principal residence in the disaster area, but which was not
so purchased or constructed on account of the federally
declared disaster.
``(C) Applicable period.--For purposes of this paragraph,
the term `applicable period' means the period beginning on
the applicable disaster date and ending on the date which is
1 year after the applicable disaster date.
``(D) Other definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph--
``(i) Federally declared disaster; disaster area.--The
terms `federally declared disaster' and `disaster area' have
the meanings given such terms under section 165(h)(3)(C).
``(ii) Applicable disaster date.--The term `applicable
disaster date' means, with respect to any federally declared
disaster, the date on which such federally declared disaster
occurs.''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to distributions with respect to disaster
declared after December 31, 2011.
(c) Loans From Qualified Plans.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (p) of section 72 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(6) Increase in limit on loans not treated as
distributions.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of any loan from a qualified
employer plan to a qualified individual made during the
applicable period--
``(i) clause (i) of paragraph (2)(A) shall be applied by
substituting `$100,000' for `$50,000', and
``(ii) clause (ii) of such paragraph shall be applied by
substituting `the present value of the nonforfeitable accrued
benefit of the employee under the plan' for `one-half of the
present value of the nonforfeitable accrued benefit of the
employee under the plan'.
``(B) Delay of repayment.--In the case of a qualified
individual with an outstanding loan on or after the
applicable disaster date from a qualified employer plan--
``(i) if the due date pursuant to subparagraph (B) or (C)
of paragraph (2) for any repayment with respect to such loan
occurs during the period beginning on the applicable disaster
date and ending on the date which is 1 year after such date,
such due date shall be delayed for 1 year,
``(ii) any subsequent repayments with respect to any such
loan shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect the delay in
the due date under clause (i) and any interest accruing
during such delay, and
``(iii) in determining the 5-year period and the term of a
loan under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (2), the
period described in clause (i) shall be disregarded.
``(C) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any taxable
year beginning after 2012, the $100,000 amounts under
subparagraph (A)(i)shall be increased by an amount equal to--
``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under
section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which the taxable
year begins, determined by substituting `calendar year 2011'
for `calendar year 1992' in subparagraph (B) thereof.

If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence is not
a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to the
next highest multiple of $10,000.
``(D) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph--
``(i) Qualified individual.--The term `qualified
individual' means, with respect to any federally declared
disaster, an individual whose principal place of abode on the
applicable disaster date is located in the disaster area and
who has sustained an economic loss by reason of such
federally declared disaster.
``(ii) Applicable period.--The applicable period is the
period beginning on the applicable disaster date and ending
on the date that is 1 year after such date.
``(iii) Federally declared disaster; disaster area.--The
terms `federally declared disaster' and `disaster area' have
the meanings given such terms under section 165(h)(3)(C).
``(iv) Applicable disaster date.--The term `applicable
disaster date' means, with respect to any federally declared
disaster, the date on which such federally declared disaster
occurs.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection
shall apply to loans made with respect to disaster declared
after December 31, 2011.
(d) Provisions Relating to Plan Amendments.--
(1) In general.--If this subsection applies to any
amendment to any plan or annuity contract, such plan or
contract shall be treated as being operated in accordance
with the terms of the plan during the period described in
paragraph (2)(B)(i).
(2) Amendments to which subsection applies.--
(A) In general.--This subsection shall apply to any
amendment to any plan or annuity contract which is made--
(i) pursuant to any provision of, or amendment made by,
this section, or pursuant to any regulation issued by the
Secretary or the Secretary of Labor under any provision of,
or amendment made by, this section, and
(ii) on or before the last day of the first plan year
beginning on or after January 1, 2014, or such later date as
the Secretary may prescribe.

In the case of a governmental plan (as defined in section
414(d)), clause (ii) shall be applied by substituting the
date which is 2 years after the date otherwise applied under
clause (ii).
(B) Conditions.--This subsection shall not apply to any
amendment unless--
(i) during the period--

(I) beginning on the date that the provisions of, and
amendments made by, this section or the regulation described
in subparagraph (A)(i) takes effect (or in the case of a plan
or contract amendment not required by the provisions of, or
amendments made by, this section or such regulation, the
effective date specified by the plan), and
(II) ending on the date described in subparagraph (A)(ii)
(or, if earlier, the date the plan or contract amendment is
adopted),

the plan or contract is operated as if such plan or contract
amendment were in effect; and
(ii) such plan or contract amendment applies retroactively
for such period.

SEC. __. NONAPPLICATION OF DAVIS-BACON.

The wage-rate requirements of subchapter IV of chapter 31
of part A of subtitle II of title 40, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'') shall not
apply with respect to any project or program carried out in
whole or in part with Federal funds in any Federally declared
disaster area. This section shall apply to any project or
program contract entered into during the 1-year period
beginning on the date of disaster declaration involved.

SEC. __. MANDATORY POSTPONEMENT OF DEADLINES BY REASON OF
DISASTERS OR TERRORISTIC OR MILITARY ACTIONS.

(a) In General.--Section 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended by striking ``may specify a period of up
to 1 year'' each place it appears in subsections (a) and (B)
and inserting ``shall specify a period of 1 year''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The heading for section 7508A of such Code is amended
by striking ``AUTHORITY TO POSTPONE'' and inserting
``POSTPONEMENT OF''.
(2) The item relating to section 7508A in the table of
sections for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by striking
``Authority to postpone'' and inserting ``Postponement of''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to disasters and terroristic or military actions
occurring

[[Page S8474]]

on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. __. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF BOUTIQUE FUEL REQUIREMENT
AND ETHANOL MANDATE.

(a) Boutique Fuel Requirement.--Section 211(c)(4)(C) of the
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(c)(4)(C)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second clause (v) (relating to the
authority of the Administrator to approve certain State
implementation plans) as clause (vi); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(vii) Suspension.--The Administrator shall suspend a
control or prohibition respecting the use of a fuel or fuel
additive required or regulated by the Administrator pursuant
to this subsection for any area for which the President
declared a major disaster in accordance with section 401 of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 90-day period
beginning on the date of the declaration.''.
(b) Ethanol Mandate.--Section 211(o)(7) of the Clean Air
Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(7)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(G) Suspension.--The Administrator shall suspend the
requirements of paragraph (2) for any area for which the
President declared a major disaster in accordance with
section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 90-day
period beginning on the date of the declaration.''.

SEC. __. OTHER RELIEF.

Section 301 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141) is amended by
inserting ``at its own discretion or'' before ``if so
requested''.

SEC. __. WAIVER OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR VESSELS IN
DISASTER AREAS.

Notwithstanding section 501 of title 46, United States
Code, during the 14-day period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the provisions of sections 55102 and
55103 of title 46, United States Code, shall not apply to a
vessel that is delivering merchandise or transporting
passengers to a port--
(1) in an area for which the President declared a disaster
under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.); or
(2) designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security as a
port of significant importance to an area referred to in
paragraph (1).

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized.
Mr. LEE. Mr. President, it is important that we begin the long
overdue process of reforming the way the Federal Government responds to
catastrophic disasters.
Too often Federal disaster relief has been reactive, bureaucratic,
arbitrary, and billions of dollars are spent. Sometimes that happens
with little or no accountability. Resources go unused, goals are not
met, and redtape delays recovery. In the end, it seems Washington
focuses sometimes solely on the price tag rather than on the people we
are trying to help.
The current model assumes that politicians and bureaucrats in
Washington are best suited to decide where, when, and how best to
allocate resources during an emergency, but common sense and decades of
experience tell us otherwise. It is the people on the ground--local
officials and emergency responders, of course, but also individuals,
families, and voluntary organizations--who are best equipped to help
communities respond and recover from disasters.
As I looked into these issues, it became clear to me that even as the
Federal Government has distributed billions for recovery with the right
hand, regulations and bureaucracy have choked the recovery process with
the left hand. Our recovery policy needs to be both more flexible and
more consistent. Flood victims on the east coast deal with the same
issues as flood victims in the gulf. Yet they are often faced with
different rules and requirements. Federal policy should be clarified so
that local officials and private citizens understand the process before
a disaster occurs rather than having to deal with it and figure it out
after the fact.
My amendment would create permanent, substantive regulatory reforms
to assist victims of all disasters. It would create no new Federal
program or taxpayer burden. It would instead remove redtape and provide
temporary but immediate regulatory relief for disaster victims and
relief volunteers. It would make it easier for a family to access
savings to begin immediate recovery. It would temporarily waive certain
regulatory burdens for people providing essential services after a
disaster. It would expedite shipping to ensure we can get critical
materials to areas affected by a disaster. Most importantly, my
amendment would make these reforms automatic so that communities could
begin rebuilding immediately and without having to wait for Washington,
DC, to act. These are important and I believe overdue reforms, and they
represent a good first step toward improving our approach to disaster
relief.
I am pleased with the positive response this proposal has received so
far, although I understand that some of my colleagues have concerns
that a few of these substantive changes merit additional discussion and
consideration.
I believe these reforms ought to be permanent fixtures of Federal
emergency response policy, and ideally they should be part of a more
comprehensive package to overhaul how we respond to Federal disasters.
I have spoken with my good friend Senator Hatch, the ranking member
of the Finance Committee--the committee in which many of these reforms
will and should properly be debated. He has expressed an interest in
working with me on these reforms in the new Congress.
I look forward to and encourage all of my colleagues to join me in a
serious and meaningful dialog about these critical issues.

Amendment No. 3373, as Modified, Withdrawn

Mr. President, with that understanding, I withdraw my amendment
because I am confident that a broader discussion will be good for the
country and will result in reforms that will eliminate waste,
facilitate quicker recovery, and deliver assistance to Americans most
severely affected by disasters.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment of the Senator from Utah is withdrawn.
The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BAUCUS. I appreciate the Senator withdrawing his amendment. Had
he not, I would have had to oppose it. It basically waives the Davis-
Bacon requirements instruction for the Sandy rehabilitation projects.
It is a bad idea, and we shouldn't have been on that road.
Second, it changes the Code with respect to giving rules and also
with respect to penalties with respect to withdrawals from IRAs. I
don't think that is a good idea.
More importantly, the fancy term is, it makes this bill blue-slipped;
that is, because it is a revenue provision the Senator is offering and
it did not originate in the other body, the other body would say: I am
sorry, under the Constitution, revenue bills have to begin in the other
body--in the House. This didn't begin over there. It began here, this
provision, and so they would not even take up the bill.
For that reason, I am glad the Senator withdrew his amendment,
because it would cause unnecessary problems for people who deserve a
lot of help in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. I thank the Senator.
Mr. President, might I inquire of the Chair or the chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, who is managing this bill, whether I might
speak on a subject? Now, I don't want to speak out of turn, but I was
going to make a brief statement with respect to the fiscal cliff and
urging a resolution, showing with the chart I have here that we are not
that far apart, but I don't want to get in the way here. Given the
managers' preference in how they manage the bill, I defer to the
managers because it is their bill.
Ms. MIKULSKI. If the Senator will withhold, the next amendment under
our agreement was Senator McCain. He will be here in 5 minutes, so the
Senator may proceed.
Mr. BAUCUS. I will speak within that period of time. Thank you very
much, and I thank both Senators.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana is recognized.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, President Kennedy once said:

There are risks and costs to action, but they are far less
than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.

Here we are on December 28, just 3 days from what some have termed
the ``fiscal cliff''--trillions of dollars in automatic tax increases,
across-the-board spending cuts, including cuts in Medicare payments,
unemployment benefits, and more.
I rise today to call on the Congress and the President to take
immediate action to resolve the year-end fiscal challenges. We can do
it. We are very

[[Page S8475]]

close together. The proposals are not that far part.
I make this call on behalf of the people I work for in Montana. My
bosses have given me clear marching orders, three simple words: Get it
done. I believe their neighbors all across the country agree. It is
about time we listened.
In all the hype and the rhetoric here on Capitol Hill, many have lost
sight of our fundamental duty to serve the American people. It is time
to put politics aside and remember what is at stake for working
families, farmers, and small business owners across our country.
If Congress fails to act by the New Year's deadline, nearly every
American will be hit with a tax hike, including 400,000 Montana
families. That is approximately $2,000 out of the pockets of America's
working families. About 125 million American workers will see smaller
paychecks as a result of higher payroll taxes.
More than 2 million Americans will lose the Federal unemployment
insurance that helps keep a roof over their heads while they look for
work.
About 98,000 Montana parents will see a tax hike of $1,000 if they
loose the child tax credit, and thousands more will be hit by the loss
of the earned-income and American opportunity tax credits.
As many as 28 million Americans and 52,000 working Montanans will be
forced to pay the alternative minimum tax.
Across-the-board mandatory spending cuts mean thousands of Federal
employees will lose the jobs that put food on the tables for their
families. Agencies in charge of keeping America safe, such as the FBI,
Border Patrol, Department of Defense, and others, will be short-
staffed.
Families may lose farms and ranches that have been passed down for
generations because of the estate tax hike. These aren't wealthy
aristocrats. They are honest, hard-working people who get dirt under
their nails every day to put food on their tables. All they want in
return is to pass the land they work on, on to their kids and on to
their grandkids. These are not just numbers on a page. These are
people. We work for them. They are our employers.
Montana families sit down together at their kitchen tables every
month and make tough choices to make ends meet. They deserve a Congress
that could do the same.
Unfortunately, the list of last-minute legislation doesn't stop with
the fiscal cliff. Our rural economies will take a big hit if the House
fails to pass a farm bill. Make no mistake, the farm bill is a jobs
bill. Agriculture supports 60 million jobs nationwide. In Montana, one
in five jobs is tied to agriculture, and the Senate farm bill supports
those jobs while also cutting spending by $23 billion. This bill is
part of a responsible solution.
There is absolutely no excuse for inaction. I call on the House to
bring the Senate farm bill up for a vote immediately. Our farmers and
ranchers break their backs to put food on their tables every day. At
least they deserve an honest, fair, up-or-down vote on their jobs bill.
Failure to reach agreement on these critical year-end issues will
certainly cause market volatility and shock the greater economy.
Experts predict that failure to reach agreement on the fiscal cliff
will cause the economy to contract in the year 2013 by one-half
percent, likely causing unemployment to climb to 9.1 percent, pushing
our Nation back into recession.
But it doesn't have to be this way. It is only because of
stubbornness and stagnation on both sides of the aisle that we find
ourselves facing this great challenge at the eleventh hour. The blame
game has shifted into full gear, but there will be no winners if both
sides continue to play this game of chicken.
The United States is at a critical juncture. We can come together and
show the world America is still the leader of a global economy or we
can let obstructionism turn this country into a second-rate superpower.
Just last week, I was doing some last-minute holiday shopping for my
family. While in one store, I asked the sales clerk how business was
going. We got to talking, and she told me how numbers were dramatically
down this year. She said people were worried. With so much uncertainty
about the future and the fragile economy, she said it was hard to
convince people to spend their hard-earned money on gifts.
That word, ``uncertainty'' is one I have heard quite often lately.
Whether it is industrial leaders on Wall Street, small business owners
on Main Street or farmers and ranchers on country roads, they are
worried about the future. They understand confidence matters in our
economy.
It is time to act right now, today. We have a chance to earn back the
confidence of the people we work for and show the world America is
still the safest bet in the world.
To give families and businesses certainty to start down a sustainable
fiscal path, Congress and the President must agree on a balanced plan.
They must ramp up over time and cut spending, while at the same time
asking a little more from those who can afford it. The math will not
work any other way. The clock is ticking. It is time to stop
campaigning and start listening. It is time to make the tough choices
the American people sent us to make.
The President is meeting with congressional leaders at this very
moment. My message to them is simple: We can do this. We can get this
done, and we must. It is our responsibility.
Here is a comparison of the latest grand bargain proposals made by
the President and Speaker Boehner. As you can see, we are not that far
apart. There is not a lot of difference. There are compromises that can
be made on both sides. We are not far from an agreement on a balanced
plan--a plan that will bridge the fiscal cliff.
A balanced plan will encourage businesses to invest, enabling
investors to return to the markets with confidence. Most important, a
balanced plan will put Americans back to work in a growing economy.
I understand time is short, New Year's Eve fast approaching. But I
believe in life we have only two choices: try or do nothing. To ask the
question is to answer it: Of course we try. If we try, we have another
question to ask ourselves: Do we try our best? Of course, to ask that
question is to answer it as well: We try our best.
I choose to try, I choose to try my best, and I ask you to join me in
that effort.
Our first choice is a grand bargain that puts this issue to bed once
and for all. That is unlikely, to be honest, this late in the game. But
it is still my first choice, and we should still try.
At the very least, we owe the American people a plan that addresses
the immediate challenges and gives Congress additional time to reach a
bigger deal. It will show we can work together across party lines, and
it will set the tone for the tougher discussion we need to have to
enact a long-term and comprehensive deficit solution.
The American people are calling on us to act. They are calling for
compromise, for common sense. It is time to put progress ahead of
politics.
As President Kennedy warned, we cannot be lulled into comfortable
inaction. We need to face this challenge head on and use it as an
opportunity to put our economy back on track. So let's get to work.
I thank the managers of the bill for giving me this time, and I yield
the floor.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Remembering Dan Inouye

Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I wish to talk for just a couple
minutes about Senator Inouye. I know I am late in the process, and that
is partly why I am doing it--because I wanted to be late in the
process.
I had been in the Senate 1 day back in 1985, and Dan Inouye came to
visit me in my office. He was up here; I was down here. He introduced
himself. We talked about our States. He had all kinds of seniority and
amazing qualities, I was nothing and he came to see me. I am sorry, but
you don't forget things such as that. It says something about him,
which went through his life. That is just the way he was.

[[Page S8476]]

From there, a long friendship began. While I believe he looked at me
as a friend, I looked to him as so much more than that. He was in a
total sense a mentor with sort of a Confucian touch. He was of Japanese
heritage and I had an interest in Japan and he had a way of imparting
judgments and wisdom which were in the Eastern method, very subtle. He
was not always that way, but he could be, and he was with me.
I learned from him how this Chamber works and how to get things done.
I watched the way he did them--not with a heavy fist or sharp words but
with thoughtfulness and hard work, a commanding presence, that voice--
that voice--and genuine relationships, including across the aisle. He
believed in action. He believed in getting things done through hard
work and through determination. He had very much of an agenda.
Dan, of course, was one of our Nation's ultimate war heroes--not only
because of his service and sacrifice but also somebody who stood for
his country, even when his country did not immediately stand for him.
Dan's courage and iron will were evident as he fought on the
battlefield, taking bullet after bullet, yet continuing to get back up.
A tough soldier. He fought for the people of Hawaii every single day
that he lived in public service.
His love of his State and every Hawaiian was so abundantly clear
through his massive list of accomplishments--an overwhelming list of
accomplishments. Since Hawaii became a State, Dan had been working for
it as the first Congressman ever elected by the State and only the
third Senator. His efforts are clear in his State's roads, bridges,
airports, schools, military bases, health care, oceans, and almost
every aspect of American life that reached to the Islands. He played a
truly momentous role in making Hawaii what it is today.
Dan and I worked together on the Commerce Committee for 27 years. I
always felt very close to him. I remember sitting with him quietly,
maybe sharing a joke when I was lucky enough to be sitting beside him
but most often just listening. He was thinking, waiting for a
discussion to ripen. He never once spoke just for the sake of it. Yet
when he did speak, watch out.
I watched him a number of times, which I could well recite, when he
took an argument that the Commerce Committee had let ripen, and then,
through the force of his argument, his quiet demeanor, and that
powerful face and his calmness, turned the argument 180 degrees from a
yes to a no or from a no to a yes, people simply following the power of
his logic and strength.
Dan didn't want us to be in awe of him, but many of us were anyway.
His integrity and his authenticity were momentous. He approached policy
and public service with a pure heart.
As chairman of the Appropriations Committee--to be succeeded by the
wonderful Senator from Maryland--and the Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee, he was respected by everybody on both sides of the aisle.
He was a task master. He could be tough. He ran a tight and highly
disciplined ship but was unfailingly courteous and generous.
I have no doubt that one of the most difficult decisions he ever had
to make was to implement the ongoing ban on congressional earmarks. Dan
Inouye believed in congressional earmarks, as does the current speaker.
He was adamant in his support and the constitutional right of Members
to direct investments to their States, but he recognized that his bills
had no chance of being enacted into law in the current political
climate.
He fought back against Draconian funding cuts in the Ryan budget and,
in a very partisan environment, moved all 12 of his bills for the 2012
fiscal year. He wasn't inactive. He was always on his game. Just in
this lameduck session, he turned a disaster relief request from the
President into a finished bill to help so many States and families
impacted by Hurricane Sandy. These are large accomplishments.
His family was so deeply important to him. It has been wonderful for
my wife Sharon and me to see the utter joy that Dan's wife Irene
brought to him in these recent years, the happiness she gave him, the
twinkle in his eye and the privilege of just getting to know her, a
remarkable and strong woman. Our hearts obviously are with Irene and
Dan's son Ken now.
Dan's is an awesome legacy and always will be, a legacy of character,
of honor, and of service. So I say: Dan, thank you for what you have
shared with each of us and for the life of service you gave to this
country and your State that you loved so very much.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from West Virginia for
his deeply moving and heartfelt sentiments concerning our dear and
departed comrade, Senator Inouye, a unique man. Never will the Senate
of the United States of America see his like again.
I thank the Senator from West Virginia for his very important and
moving tribute.

Amendment No. 3355

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up pending amendment
No. 3355.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain], for himself and Mr.
Coburn, proposes an amendment numbered 3355.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To strike funding for the emergency forest restoration
program)

Beginning on page 2, strike line 16 and all that follows
through page 3, line 2.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 8
minutes of debate equally divided on amendment No. 3355 offered by the
Senator from Arizona. The Senator from Arizona is recognized.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I thank the manager of the bill for her
patience during this difficult time of many amendments and other
priorities. I thank her for her patience and her courtesy as well as
our Republican manager, the Senator from Mississippi.
This amendment is very minor in nature when we look at a $60 billion
piece of legislation. But I think it has a certain amount of symbolism
associated with it, which is why I bring it up, symbolism we all want
to respond to an emergency and a tragedy such as befell the people of
the Northeast as a result of this terrible hurricane and ongoing
tragedies that continue. Our hearts go out to them. It is clearly an
obligation of the Congress and President to do whatever is necessary to
provide what comfort and relief we can to them. It is one of the
obligations of government we all recognize.
But also, over the years, I have seen the tendency as one of these
things happens, as they do from time to time, tragically, that we have
a tendency to put money in things we otherwise would not get so easily
or funds for programs that have nothing to do with addressing the
tragedy or just an excess of funds in an act of generosity on the part
of the Congress of the United States. That might be OK--might be OK
under certain circumstances, but we have a $16 trillion debt. To
appropriate more money without adequate justification for doing so is
something that, sooner or later, we will have to stop.
I guess it was Margaret Thatcher who once said the problem with
socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money.
My friends and colleagues, sooner or later we are going to run out of
other people's money because they are going to stop lending it to us
because we have a $16 trillion debt. Even though this is a relatively
minor item, I think it is kind of symbolic of what we do around here.
It is concerning the $58 million we are going to spend for the
Department of Agriculture Forest Restoration Program for planting trees
on private property.
Let me make that clear. We are going to spend $58 million for
planting trees on private property. This amendment would strike that
provision. This tree planting program called the Forest Restoration
Program is actually a farm bill subsidy that was created in 2008. It is
run by a relatively unknown government office called the Farm Service
Agency, whatever that is, which was primarily responsible for

[[Page S8477]]

managing crop insurance in rural counties. Under the program,
``nonindustrial private forest landowners'' can apply for up to
$500,000 for a range of forest restoration activities, including tree
planting.
Why is that the role of the Federal Government? Why is it the role of
the Federal Government to pay for trees to be planted on private
property, much less funded in a bill to repair the damage done by a
hurricane.
There is nothing in the supplemental that limits the funding to just
Hurricane Sandy. Under this bill, the $58 million can be used anywhere.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, approximately 45 percent of all
forest land in the United States qualifies as ``nonindustrial private
forestland.'' These lands are owned by approximately 11 million
landowners, many of whom have holdings of fewer than 50 acres on
average.
We know this program has cash. It received $11 million from Congress
in 2010. It received an additional $28 million in the 2011 Omnibus
Appropriations Act, more than doubling the program.
The Senate is proposing to double this subsidy again to $58 million.
We know from the U.S. Department of Agriculture records the majority of
funding has been used in past years for wind damaged trees in
Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. There remains an unobligated $15
million in the program's account.
I say to my colleagues, $58 million here, $58 million there, sooner
or later it runs into real money. In fact, it runs into a $16 trillion
debt. I come from a State, I say, Mr. President, where we love trees.
We have not enough of them. In some parts of our State we have a lot of
them. In some parts of our State it is kind of bleak--but beautiful.
But I am not asking for any money for private owners in my State to
plant trees. I think they can do that themselves.
Again, it is only $58 million. Maybe I am taking up the time of the
Senate when we are talking about $60 billion, but it is an example, an
outstanding example, of the kind of excess that does not have the
priority to spend another $58 million of the taxpayers' money.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, first, I thank the Senator from Arizona
for coming to the floor and debating this amendment because it means we
can move our bill in an expeditious way. I wish we could be solving the
issues around the fiscal cliff with such civility, watchful rigor, and
a commitment to the taxpayer.
Having said that, however, I rise to oppose the Senator's amendment.
The Emergency Forest Restoration Program was established after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It does help owners of private forest land
carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural
disaster. This is not just trees falling. It has recently been used to
provide assistance to tornado damaged land across the Southeast:
Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
As the Senator from Maryland, the Presiding Officer, knows, when a
hurricane hits, people, homes, and landscape are uprooted.
The program provides a 75-percent cost share for the work. The
landowner has to provide the other 25 percent. In order to participate
in this program, there must be an onsite inspection to determine the
type and extent of damage caused by the disaster, and it must show that
the damage, if untreated, would endanger our natural resources or
materially affect the future use of land around it.
If the physical inspection determines this land qualifies for the
program, funding can be provided to remove damaged timber, clean up the
damaged trees, and take those activities to prevent future forest fires
that can certainly spread beyond the private forest. In the long run,
some of these issues, if not controlled, could cause much greater
damage and cost much more money.
Funding for this program was included in the administration request
for the supplemental, but it is limited only to Sandy. We are not doing
this as a new program that will occur in every disaster. Just as we did
for Katrina and for Rita, the bill was done for that. This would be
limited only to those geographic areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Historically, when disaster supplementals are considered, funding to
eliminate the full EFRP backlog was included. This practice has been
historically supported by both sides of the aisle. We hope it is
continued in this bill. I respectfully urge all Senators to oppose this
amendment.
Mr. President, we are moving very well on this bill, and we expect to
have votes on these amendments when our colleagues return from the
White House beginning shortly, around 4 o'clock. We note there is
another Senator who wishes to speak, but I, both in terms of the chair
of the full committee as well as the Senator from Maryland, along with
my colleague presiding, do want to speak about this supplemental.
As we are drawing to a close with very few amendments left, I hope my
colleagues will pass this supplemental appropriations and view it
urgently. In Maryland, we were hit in Hurricane Sandy. We were hit in
two ways. No. 1, a hurricane on the Eastern Shore and up and down the
Chesapeake Bay, over 2,500 miles of shoreline, the Maryland part of the
bay, the big bay, the inlets, the coves, the peninsulas--all of which
were vulnerable during Hurricane Sandy. Parts of our lower shore were
absolutely devastated.
While we were fighting the ravages of the hurricane and the wind and
the rain, up in western Maryland it took the turn that it was a
blizzard, a blizzard in western Maryland. Mr. President, you received
the same calls I did, county commissioners saying the roads were
blocked, 90 percent of the power was down. The National Guard had to be
called out because only they had the muscle vehicles to clear the roads
so the emergency power could get in. State Troopers were rescuing
people on snowmobiles and down in the lower shore they were going in,
in swift boats, to pull out the elderly and other vulnerable
populations. It was just awful.
As the storm moved up and down the coast, community after community--
small like ours, large like New York City--was pounded and pounded by
this devastating hurricane. All of America watched. We all held our
breath. We all feared the worst and we saw the worst. At the same time,
we saw the indomitable spirit of the American people hanging on to
their home, praying for their livelihood.
While all that was going on, the President visited the Governors on
both sides of the aisle to say you have the United States of America
behind you. The United States of America being behind you, whether you
are Governor O'Malley or Governor Christie or Governor Cuomo or the
other Governors, means we need to pass this bill. We want to pass it
because we know that lives were devastated and livelihoods were ruined.
In Maryland, we faced these unique challenges: hurricane, blizzards,
urban and rural communities affected. In our own lower shore, Somerset
County was hit.
That has one of the highest unemployment rates in the State, close to
10 percent; 18 percent of the residents live below a line of $35,000 a
year. What I said then and what I say now: They were rich in community
spirit, but they don't always have a lot of cash. Why? Because their
jobs are in agriculture, seafood--industries that were hard hit by the
decline in species, drought, and high fuel prices.
Families live in the same house for one, two, and three generations.
An appraiser might come by and wonder what the value is of that house.
If a family inherited the house from their mom, dad, or grandpa--some
families go back to the days of the Underground Railroad--that house
means something to that family. How do we restore them? How do we get
the mold out? How do we get them back and functioning? Well, that is
what this bill is all about.
You and I fought tooth and nail to get our State the assistance it
needed--not only our State but the other States as well--because we are
the United States of America. We hit some bureaucratic roadblocks along
the way, but thanks to the President and Mr. Fugate, the Administrator
for FEMA--and, wow, didn't he do a good job--and the creativity of
Shaun Donovan at

[[Page S8478]]

HUD, we all felt we were in it together. I thank them for their work.
What does that mean? Just in Somerset County alone, 619 people have
applied for individual assistance. They were eligible for about $1
million. When we are talking about all of this money, $1 million might
not mean a lot in the Federal budget, but it sure meant a lot in the
Somerset County family budget.
I am proud of what I did in working with you to help do this, and I
am really proud of what our colleagues have done with their work on
this legislation. We have outstanding subcommittee chairs, and I will
talk about this in the wrap-up. They did a great job under President
Obama's leadership, and the executive branch functioned in a prime-time
way. Now it is up to us to function in a prime-time way and to move
this bill.
The supplemental package provides well-tailored resources. Yes, there
was $11.5 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and $17 billion in
community development block grants for the restoration of
infrastructure and housing, lives and livelihoods, and so the Corps of
Engineers can repair and rebuild projects along the shorelines. These
are the kinds of things this money will be used for. It is not to be
spent on bureaucracy but on the restoration and recovery. It will
actually put people to work rebuilding their communities.
Now, we might want to talk about how we don't want to spend money on
foreign aid, but I sure want to spend money on American aid. I want to
rebuild America, and I want to talk about things such as an
infrastructure bank another time. Right now, we have an opportunity to
come to the aid of fellow Americans, who in many instances are quite
desperate, to restore those communities and do the kind of
infrastructure we need in order to rebuild physical infrastructure and,
I might add, emotional infrastructure.
I strongly support this legislation that I bring before the Senate
today. I ask that my colleagues join me in moving it forward. At the
end of the day, if we pass this bill, it will be a better day for all
of those who were so hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas is recognized.

The Fiscal Cliff

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I would like to thank the Senator from
Maryland for allowing me the opportunity to speak during this
discussion of the supplemental appropriations bill. Also, it is my
first opportunity to publicly congratulate the Senator from Maryland on
her achievement of becoming the chairman of the committee I am a member
of, and I look forward to working with her on an ongoing basis over the
next 2 years as we work our way through appropriations bills. I look
forward to seeing that we do right and well and that we appropriately
take care of the taxpayers' dollars.
While the supplemental is important--and I am anxious that we move
forward and vote on the amendments and its final passage--I would like
to take this moment to speak, here on December 28, on the reason we are
back in Washington, DC--the so-called looming fiscal cliff. It is
unusual for the Senate to be in session at this point in time, just a
few days after Christmas and a few days before the New Year. I believe
it has not been since 1970 that the Senate has cast votes during this
period of time.
Our country faces a significant financial challenge, and I hope the
House, the Senate, and the President are up to the task. I want to
reach an agreement. I want to avoid finding out the consequences of no
agreement. We have heard the predictions of the Congressional Budget
Office that suggest that the U.S. economy will be driven back into a
recession should we go over the cliff. There is a projection of
increasing unemployment rates, a reduction in real GDP, and the amount
of debt held by the public will increase. I do not want our economy,
the American people, the taxpayers, the business men and women of our
country to suffer the risks of inaction by Congress and the President.
But while meetings are ongoing now at the White House--and I hope
there is some semblance of progress that we learn about shortly--it
does seem to me that we are at this final hour with a lack of any
significant progress to deal with the fiscal cliff issue. We need
leadership. We need the President's leadership. We need leadership by
Republicans and Democrats, and we need the House and Senate.
While I say I want an agreement, I am also willing to appreciate the
fact that I will not get everything I might want in an agreement. The
consequences of our failure seem to me to be so significant that we
ought to find common ground.
Now, I understand we might reach an agreement that deals with a
portion of the so-called fiscal cliff. I want to point out that we are
only really talking these days about the tax consequences of the fiscal
cliff. I don't know exactly how the phrase ``fiscal cliff'' came into
existence. I don't know where those words came from. I don't know
exactly what they mean. I think they probably mean different things to
different people.
It seems to me the fiscal cliff we face is based upon sequestration.
This plan that was put in place by the Budget Control Act would reduce
spending by $1.2 trillion in both defense and nondefense as well as the
debt ceiling, which our Treasury Secretary says needs to be addressed.
The peak will be reached, the balance necessary to be raised, on
December 31. We might want to include the doc fix, which is the
Medicare set of payments we make on a short-term basis to keep
physicians seeing Medicare patients. Certainly, the deficit and debt
our country faces are a part of that fiscal cliff.

It seems to me that we are only dealing with the issue of taxes. I
want to avoid taxes being raised on any American. I may not have that
opportunity, but we ought to do everything we can to make certain the
Tax Code is unchanged in regard to those who are currently paying
taxes. For more than 10 years, we have had a tax code that treated
taxpayers a certain way, and in my view, any tax increase is damaging
to the economy. Having said that, that I might not get everything I
want, there are consequences of not dealing with this issue that may be
beneficial even though a tax increase on anyone would be detrimental.
So there is this opportunity for give-and-take to make certain that if
there is a tax increase on anyone, there is a corresponding benefit
that overcomes the damage to the economy in regard to this issue.
We need to understand that while we are talking about taxes, we are
talking about a tax increase that will affect everyday Kansans and
everyday Americans. The research I have seen indicates that a teacher
in my State making $43,000 a year, in the absence of us dealing with
this issue, his or her taxes would go up $3,000 a year, which is about
$250 a month. That does not include the end of the temporary payroll
tax holiday, the new ObamaCare tax increases, or the alternative
minimum tax, which affects taxpayers at income levels of more than
$33,750.
So I am hoping we can deal with the tax issue, but I don't want us to
forget there are other significant issues our country faces. Almost
none of the conversation coming from the White House or the discussions
over the last few days, weeks, and months have dealt with the deficit,
which is so compelling.
As I drove down the roads from one side of the State to the other for
Christmas, with one side of our family in western Kansas and the other
side of our family in eastern Kansas, I was thinking less about
Christmas at that moment and more about what to do if we have a short-
term so-called kick-the-can-down-the-road--a 60-day or 30-day
extension.
It seems that we owe Americans something much greater than just
delaying the consequences of our inaction to date. We desperately need
to deal with the big issues. We have no choice but to move forward with
just the small items that are before us today, but we especially need
to deal with the deficit and debt problems our country faces. We cannot
afford to kick the can down the road.
I read a letter from a constituent of mine who wrote to me back
during the debt ceiling debate. I think what she said is still
important for us today. This is a letter from Gina Reynolds from
Shawnee, KS. She says that she believes America is the greatest country
on Earth. She says:

I believe we have the greatest country on Earth, but our
inability to compromise and stop acting like spoiled children
saddens me.

[[Page S8479]]

The Founding Fathers were able to compromise and write a
document that has stood the test of time for 235 years. Can
we not now do the same? Please do the right thing for the
American people, the ones . . . hurt by this self-produced
impasse.

I want the impasse to come to an end. I want us to reach an
agreement. I want us to deal with the Tax Code that changes on January
1. But I do not want us to avoid the opportunity to deal with the most
significant problem and challenge our country faces--the fiscal
challenge of our deficit and debt.
I yield the floor .
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). The Senator from Texas.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the looming
financial crisis that all of us here are trying to solve. We are here
because we know that in 4 days something that will affect every
American family in not a very good way is going to happen. We are
talking among ourselves, and we are trying to see what could be given
on each side of the debate and where we are together. In many areas, we
are already together.
The President has said he is for AMT relief, and most certainly we
are as well. There are other areas where we are in agreement, such as
relief from the marriage penalty and the child tax credit, which have
helped so many American families. Yet we seem to dwell on where we are
apart and not start with where we are together.
As we speak, our leaders are meeting at the White House. Our majority
and minority leader in the Senate and the Speaker and the minority
leader in the House are meeting with the President. It will be
remembered about the President's term and it will be remembered by
Members of Congress if we don't do something that is a compromise. At
this point, it has to be bipartisan. There is no question that
something has to pass the House and the Senate with votes from the
minority party of each chamber.
We have to go to the drawing board, and I hope there is a plan laid
out at the White House with the leaders from which we can start that
real negotiation. Now, many would say: Really? Should we start now, 2
or 3 or 4 days out?
Well, no. We should have started about 6 months or a year ago, no
doubt about it, but we are where we are. So what can be done in a
significant way that will ease the concerns of the American people
right now? No one wants to see tax increases on every American. No one
wants to see America's defense budget decimated, which is what will
happen automatically with no action on January 2 with sequestration. No
one wants to see unemployment tick up, and no one wants to see another
recession when we have barely started on a very slow road to recovery
from the last one.
The consequences are enormous. For instance, the child tax credit is
$1,000 per child and refundable today. On January 1 of next year, it
will be $500 per child and not refundable. The adoption tax credit,
which has helped many American families ease the cost of adoption while
giving a home to children who wouldn't have one otherwise today, is a
$12,650 deduction. As of January 1, it would be $6,000 and not
applicable to any child except one with special needs. Even though that
is a wonderful thing, why not continue the full amount for every child
who is adopted.

The marriage penalty relief will be significantly reduced if we don't
do something by January 1.
This is something that hasn't been talked about very much: If an
employer provides education assistance, up to $5,250 of the cost of
this assistance may be excluded from their tax payment. That provision
expires, so that is a huge disincentive for employers to help their
employees further their education, which is in everyone's best
interests. Today student loan interest deductions are $2,500 per year.
That is an interest deduction to pay back a student loan, where someone
has had the initiative to get their higher education and borrowed to do
it. In 2013, this deduction will only be available for 5 years of
interest payments.
The alternative minimum tax, which was meant to hit millionaires when
it was enacted years ago, hit an income of $48,000 for an individual
and almost $75,000 for a couple in 2011. Because it expired at the end
of last year, for tax year 2012, the AMT has gone to $33,000 for an
individual and $45,000 for a married couple. A married couple making
$45,000 with two children, maybe in college, should they pay an
alternative minimum tax? This doesn't make sense to anyone in our
country, and it is time we came together to face reality. The reality
is we are on the brink of letting a bad thing happen because we are so
divided on the edges and we can't come to terms.
There are areas I have talked to my Democratic colleagues about where
I know we are together. Fixing the AMT is one. Another one is the
estate tax. Today, over 80 percent of the value of a ranch or a farm is
a nonliquid, land-based or equipment-based asset. That means if someone
dies and they have to pay an estate tax over $1 million, which is what
it will be January 1, often heirs have to sell at pennies on the dollar
because they can't sell land or equipment for the value that is put on
it for an estate. So we are going to throw family-owned farms into a
liquidation, which cuts jobs of the people who are working there and
also affects the businesses and rural communities they support in Texas
and in many other states. None of us want that. I talked to my
Democratic colleagues and they don't want that either. Today the
exemption is $5.1 million--much more reasonable when we are talking
about an asset that is virtually not sellable on the open market. We
want to fix that so families can pass their businesses and farms and
ranches to their heirs and keep the people who are working there in
jobs.
We know we need to boost our economy at the same time we need to take
hold of the spending of government. That is something we have talked
about for a long time because we know the debt is $16.3 trillion and we
know the deficits, which are more than $1 trillion every year, are
going to make that higher. It is unsustainable. So we have to address
the revenue and we have to address the spending.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, if the Senator from Texas will yield for
a moment, I don't want the gavel to come down during her presentation.
We were scheduled to resume votes at 4 o'clock. I wish to ask
unanimous consent for the Senator from Texas to finish her statement
and then Senator Leahy be recognized to make a few remarks. We know the
leadership is on their way back from the White House. So I ask
unanimous consent that votes resume at 4:15 after the Senator from
Texas completes her remarks and after the Senator from Vermont speaks
for a few minutes to debate the Rand Paul amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished chairman of
the Appropriations Committee as well as the ranking member because as
soon as our leaders get back from the White House I certainly want us
to be able to go forward and vote.
To finish my remarks, we must take hold of our financial situation.
There is no doubt we are spending too much, we are borrowing too much,
and I believe we are taxing too much. It is time for us to hold the
line on taxes so they do not go up for the people who would hire
people. At the same time, we know we must cut responsibly. We must set
our priorities and put a ceiling on spending in this country.
I understand that is going to take more time than the next 4 days,
but I implore my colleagues to not let the jolt happen on December 31
at midnight that would hurt our economy, possibly put more people out
of work, and jeopardize their family incomes which, in many cases, are
barely able to make ends meet today. Let's come together where I know
from talking to my Democratic colleagues we could come together. If we
can do the things that are necessary to bring us together to avoid this
cliff, we need to do everything in our power to do it.
I thank the Chair, and I certainly wish to yield the floor to the
Senator from Vermont. I just hope that before December 31 at midnight,
if we have to be here to do it, we will come to an agreement that will
ease the tensions in the marketplace and in the American family and
workplace so we can go forward and give the new Congress the time to
look at all these issues and come to the terms of a government that has
a Democratic majority in the

[[Page S8480]]

Senate, a Republican majority in the House, and a President in the
White House whom I hope will bring everyone together.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

Amendment No. 3410

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from
Texas. As I said earlier on the floor this week, I will miss working
with her. We have worked together on a number of things.
I know my distinguished colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham, has
already spoken on the amendment of the junior Senator from Kentucky
which would offset a portion of the cost of the supplemental by
rescinding unobligated funds from the fiscal year 2013 continuing
resolution for the Department of State and foreign aid programs and
operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development. I agree
with him in opposing it.
The fiscal year 2013 CR provides $13.4 billion for these national
security programs. Of course, we are only 90 days into the fiscal year
and $10.4 billion is not yet obligated. No matter how good an amendment
such as this might sound, we need to talk about the reality. These days
we seem to have two types of arguments, those that go to symbols and
those that go to substance. Let me speak about the substance of what
this amendment would do to all of our foreign assistance programs.
It would effectively bring to a halt U.S. foreign aid programs around
the world. It would shut down the U.S. Agency for International
Development. The distinguished Presiding Officer and his family have
experienced how important these programs are throughout the world.
Let me tell my colleagues some of the things this amendment would do.
It would force early termination of contracts that are based on the
fiscal year 2013 budget request such as military aid for Israel and
Egypt, potentially resulting in significant early termination and legal
costs to U.S. taxpayers. It also tells these countries not to rely on
us: We will make agreements with you, we will give you contracts, but
we may change our mind 2 months into the fiscal year. Is this how the
greatest, most powerful Nation on Earth should act? Come on.
The amendment would reduce the amount available for these programs
during the continuing resolution by 67 percent. The amendment sets a
floor of $5 billion for these programs for all of fiscal year 2013;
that would be a cut of 81 percent. It is not clear how or when
additional funds would be provided. In fact, the lack of clarity would
wreak havoc on operations and programs that have bipartisan support.
That is why Senator Graham and I both spoke in unison on this.
Republicans and Democrats across the political spectrum support these
programs.
It might make a good press release back home to say we are going to
cut all this money from our foreign aid programs, particularly when no
mention is made that these programs are a mere 1 percent of the entire
Federal budget, but these programs represent a large percentage of the
face of America throughout the world. This amendment represents a
myopic misunderstanding of the world we live in, where our economy and
our security are intricately linked with those of other countries.
Frankly, a lot of countries wish we would do something such as this so
they could step in with influence that would be counter to the
interests of the United States.
Now is not the time to abruptly end our lifesaving global health
programs, including the PEPFAR initiative of the George W. Bush
administration, which I and many Democrats and Republicans supported,
and which also protects the health and safety of Americans living here
and traveling and studying and working overseas.
I would ask: Are we actually going to end anticrime programs in
Mexico and Colombia or military and economic aid for Israel, Egypt, and
Jordan? If anyone wants to eliminate all those programs, then vote for
this amendment. But if colleagues want to keep anticrime programs in
Mexico and Colombia and keep military and economic aid for Israel,
Egypt, and Jordan, then vote against this amendment.
This amendment would curtail relief aid for refugees and victims of
natural disasters, from earthquakes to famines. How many times have we
seen a tsunami or an earthquake and the world says: At least the United
States of America is there. How about if we said: Sorry, we may be the
wealthiest, most powerful nation on Earth, but we can't help you.
How about the Peace Corps? Of course, this amendment would shut it
down. The Millennium Challenge Corporation? It would shut that down.
The list goes on and on.
I mention these things because they have all had strong bipartisan
support--Republican and Democratic support, both in Congress and in
Republican and Democratic administrations.

Let's not waste our time like this. It is a classic example of
recklessly robbing Peter to pay Paul. We need Americans to help the
victims of Hurricane Sandy rebuild their lives. But we cannot do it by
eliminating programs that are critical to our economy and especially
programs critical to our national security.
This amendment also includes a new provision that would prevent all
funds within this act from being considered emergency spending.
Can any one of us stand on this floor with a straight face and say
the devastating effects of the largest Atlantic hurricane in history is
not an emergency?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator would suspend, the time for the
vote has now arrived.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would ask consent for 2 more minutes.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I am right here.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask the manager of the bill, are you
ready to vote? I will take 30 seconds.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator
be allowed to finish his statement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when they say it is not an emergency, look
at what happened with this hurricane. We lost 120 American lives. We
lost 340,000 homes. We lost 200,000 businesses due to the effects of
Sandy. If that is not an emergency, then I have not seen an emergency
in all my years in the Senate.
There are 12 States with disaster or emergency declarations in place
due to Sandy's wrath. It produced an emergency disaster for our Nation.
It should be considered as such through the appropriations process, and
I applaud the Chair of the Appropriations Committee for moving this.
I yield the floor.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Regular order.

Amendment No. 3376

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to
amendment No. 3376 offered by the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Paul.
Who yields time?
If no one yields time, time will be charged equally to both sides.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, on our side, we yield all time back and
are ready to proceed to a vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from Nevada
(Mr. Reid), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 42, nays 52, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 243 Leg.]

YEAS--42

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker

[[Page S8481]]

Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Moran
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Sessions
Shelby
Snowe
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker

NAYS--52

Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Manchin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--6

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Reid
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes
for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is rejected.

Amendment No. 3410

Under the previous order, there will now be 2 minutes of debate
equally divided prior to a vote on amendment No. 3410 offered by the
Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Paul.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I understand there is no more time
necessary on this amendment, and we call for the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back?
The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
Ms. LANDRIEU. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Begich), the
Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr.
Lautenberg), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 3, nays 91, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 244 Leg.]

YEAS--3

Heller
Lee
Paul

NAYS--91

Akaka
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Durbin
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (WI)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden

NOT VOTING--6

Begich
Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of New Mexico).
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this
amendment, the amendment is rejected.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am told by the manager of this bill,
Senator Mikulski, that she thinks they can complete work on this
legislation, the supplemental, in the next couple hours. I hope that is
the case. Maybe they can even do it more quickly.
Here is what the plan is. I talked to the Republican leader about
this generally, not specifically. Everyone knows we have been to the
White House. We have had a constructive meeting. We certainly hope
something positive will come from that. The Republican leader and I and
our staffs are working to see what we can come up with. It should not
take a long time to do that.
I think it would be to everyone's interest if we were not in session
tomorrow. It is my plan to come in at 1 o'clock. We have an hour on a
previous agreement that we have on Galante. There is an hour of debate
on that. We would have a vote.
Ms. MIKULSKI. What day?
Mr. REID. Sunday. We have another vote that has been set up, Baer.
That is a simple majority.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Leader, you are talking about Sunday, right?
Mr. REID. Yes. We will have those votes, start the votes after 2, and
then for us we will have another caucus following that. Hopefully, by
that time, we will have made a determination, Senator McConnell and I,
whether we can do something on the floor in addition to what I have
just talked about. But I do think we need that time to have everybody
kind of step back a little bit.
If we come up with something, it is not that easy. We are dealing
with big numbers and some of the stuff we do is somewhat complicated.
But I think it was a very positive meeting. There was not a lot of
hilarity in the meeting. Everyone knows how important it is. It was a
very serious meeting, and it took an extended period of time, as you
all know, waiting for us.
I would like to have the Republican leader speak.
Mr. McCONNELL. I share the view of the majority leader. We had a good
meeting down at the White House. We are engaged in discussions, the
majority leader and myself and the White House, in the hopes that we
can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I
can make to my conference and the majority leader can make to his
conference. So we will be working hard to try to see if we can get
there in the next 24 hours.
I am hopeful and optimistic.
Mr. REID. I am going to do everything I can and I am confident
Senator McConnell will do the same. But for everybody, whatever we come
up with is going to be imperfect. Some people are not going to like it,
some people will like it less, but that is where we are. I am confident
we have an obligation to do the best we can. That was made very clear
in the White House. We are going to do the best we can for the caucuses
we have and the country that is waiting for us to make a decision.

Amendment No. 3355

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to
amendment No. 3355, offered by the Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, a point of clarification for our
colleagues, if Members could understand: We are going to vote on the
McCain amendment now and then we have four more amendments.
Mr. President, I stand corrected. So Senators can plan their time--I
know it is of the essence--we have, upon the disposition of the McCain
amendment, two other amendments--Merkley in agriculture and Coats on
the Republican alternative.
Then we have the Reid substitute, which we believe will be a voice
vote. Then we will go to final passage.
So we have two amendments. We will have four votes, one of which we
think is a voice. So everybody knows--don't go off. Don't go off. Also,
when we have the votes, if we can stick to the 10 minutes, it will
enable us to complete the disposition of the bill.
I yield the floor and recommend we follow the regular order on the
amendment of Senator McCain.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does anyone seek debate on the McCain
amendment?
Ms. MIKULSKI. I will yield back the time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If not, all time is yielded back. The question
is on agreeing to the amendment.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?

[[Page S8482]]

There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), and the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Warner), are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 49, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 245 Leg.]

YEAS--46

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Brown (MA)
Burr
Carper
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker

NAYS--49

Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Casey
Cochran
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--5

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes
for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is rejected.

Amendment No. 3367, as Further Modified

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to
amendment No. 3367, as further modified, offered by the Senator from
Oregon, Mr. Merkley.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I am delighted to partner with Senator
Blunt and Senator Stabenow on this important amendment which addresses
the disasters that occurred this last summer in terms of a century's
worth of the worst fires and the worst drought. This is a true
emergency in which our response has been delayed because programs are
tied up in the farm bill.
I ask that my colleagues address this real emergency.
I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I respect my colleague's desire to get
this matter done, but the language he is advocating is already in the
Farm bill. We need to get the Farm bill passed, and I think we will
soon. It is paid for and is within the budget limits, which was done by
the Agriculture Committee.
This amendment defines ``disaster'' so broadly that it would include
almost anything that results in a livestock death, and the taxpayers
would be better served if we opposed this budget-breaking amendment. It
is not an emergency since legislation is already in place that would
take care of this issue. There are also other problems with this
amendment.
Mr. President, pursuant to section 314(e)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, I raise a point of order against the emergency
designation provisions contained in amendment No. 3367 to amendment No.
3395, the substitute amendment to H.R. 1, the vehicle for the
Supplemental Appropriations Act.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair is determining which section the
point of order lies against.
The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SESSIONS. To further extend my point of order, I ask that the
budget point of order lie against both emergency designation provisions
that are contained in amendment No. 3367 to amendment No. 3395.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, this is a budget point of order against
this being an emergency. If a person is a farmer or a rancher and their
property or the property they rent from the BLM----
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon is advised the point
of order is not debatable.
Mr. MERKLEY. I ask unanimous consent to complete 30 seconds of
remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. MERKLEY. If a person is a farmer or a rancher, saying this is not
an emergency is cold comfort. Saying this will be addressed in the farm
bill is cold comfort. When a person's land is burned up, when they have
the worst drought in a century, it is an emergency, and getting help 6
or 8 months after it happens is unacceptable.
We have a responsibility, having not gotten the farm bill done, to do
these emergency provisions today. Please vote for the following waiver:
Pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, I
move to waive all applicable sections of that act for purposes of the
pending amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The yeas and nays are ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), and the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Blumenthal). Are there any other Senators
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 55, nays 40, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 246 Leg.]

YEAS--55

Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Hoeven
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Manchin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NAYS--40

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker

NOT VOTING--5

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 55, the nays are
40. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected. The point of order is
sustained, and the emergency designations are removed.
The Senator from Oregon.

Amendment No. 3367, as Further Modified, Withdrawn

Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, given that the emergency designations in
this amendment have been stricken, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw
my amendment No. 3367.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the amendment, as further
modified, is withdrawn.
The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask for 1 minute to be able to respond
to what the Senator from Oregon just did.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

[[Page S8483]]

Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. I just want to say to the Senator from Oregon, and all
the other Senators who face agricultural disasters, we on the
Appropriations Committee would like to work with the Senator. This is
compelling human need--your disaster, my fisheries disaster. We have to
have a way of working together. We want to acknowledge the validity of
the Senator's concern.
The Senate has spoken on a budget point of order. But we do want to
work with the Senator and work with our authorizers so we do not have
our agricultural interests hanging out there.
So I thank the Senator for his efforts. The Senate has spoken on this
amendment. Let's see what we can do together.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and ask for the regular order.

Amendment No. 3391

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2
minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to
amendment No. 3391, offered by the Senator from Indiana, Mr. Coats.
The Senator from Indiana.
Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I do not believe there is anyone in this
Chamber who does not understand the devastating impact of Sandy on the
Northeast and the pain and the suffering that has come from that.
I do not think there is anyone in this Chamber who does not
understand this is an emergency supplemental appropriation that is
needed now to address this pain and suffering and help rebuild and help
provide the relief necessary to these people and businesses and others
in the Northeast.
We want to do that. But the bill before us presented by the
Democrats--the bill offered by the other side throws out $60-plus
billion to address not just immediate needs but also future needs for
future storms and even unrelated issues not related to Sandy.
The Coats alternative, which I hope to gain support for, documents
what is needed, takes that documentation, provided by FEMA, SBA, all
the agencies involved, and more than generously compensates for what is
needed between now and the end of March.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, first, I wish to say I appreciate the
true concern my colleague from Indiana and those who have put this
amendment together have shown. He is not just giving us the back of his
hand or saying: You do not need it or wait 3 months or whatever.
Unfortunately, though, it would just stop dead in its tracks the
recovery efforts so desperately needed. You cannot plan a recovery on a
3-month basis. The bottom line is, if you want to build a tunnel, you
cannot say: I will build one-fifth of the tunnel now, and we will see
if there is more money later. If you need to build a berm of 6 feet,
you cannot say: We will build it 2 feet and then see if we can build
another 4 feet later. You just cannot do that.
Because of the way we all know FEMA and these other agencies work,
you have to spend the money first and then they reimburse you. If they
are not sure there is going to be money at the end of the road--no more
after March 31; maybe Congress will, maybe Congress will not--you are
going to get a lot of homeowners, small businesses, and governments not
going ahead with the desperate repairs that we in New York need and the
whole national economy--since we are about 10 percent of the national
economy--needs.
I strongly urge the amendment--good intentioned, though, as it is--be
defeated.
Mr. COATS. Mr. President, could I have 15 seconds just to respond to
my colleague?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. COATS. Let me just say that we simply are allowing 3 months for
the Congress of the United States--representatives of taxpayers'
dollars--to assess, document, and justify additional expenditures that
go beyond emergency needs. That is what this is all about.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from Indiana, Mr.
Coats, for the work he has done on this bill. He has proposed changes
to the bill to balance our help for the victims of Hurricane Sandy with
our duty to be responsive to the public trust.
His effort would provide aid now that is clearly needed now and
consider separately the longer term proposals in the substitute. I
think his intent was to propose a bill that could be enacted into law
quickly so that disaster recovery would not be delayed. I thank him for
his contributions to this debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No.
3391.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), and the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
Kirk).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 41, nays 54, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 247 Leg.]

YEAS--41

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rubio
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker

NAYS--54

Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Manchin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Paul
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--5

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Warner
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes
for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is rejected.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I understand we will now be going to the
Reid substitute; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator
Frank Lautenberg be added as a cosponsor to the Reid substitute.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Amendment No. 3395

Under the previous order, there will now be 2 minutes of debate
equally divided prior to a vote on the substitute amendment No. 3395.
Who yields time?
The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, our side yields back all time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back?
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, we yield back all time on this side.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask for a voice vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment
in the nature of a substitute, as amended.
The amendment (No. 3395), as amended, was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. The substitute amendment has been amended, and now, as
I understand the order, we will move to final passage.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to invoke
cloture on H.R. 1 is withdrawn.

[[Page S8484]]

The question is on the engrossment of the amendments and the third
reading of the bill.
The amendments were ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a
third time.
The bill was read the third time.

Department of Interior

Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise for the purpose of entering into a
colloquy with Senator Reed, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, regarding funding for the
Department of the Interior included in the disaster assistance
supplemental.
Mr. President, my home State of Delaware was unfortunately impacted
by Hurricane Sandy, which struck on October 28 and 29 of this year. The
damage caused by Hurricane Sandy was widespread in Delaware. Among the
areas impacted was Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Sussex
County.
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, established in the 1960s, is an
important part of the Eastern migratory flyway and one of the only
places in the world where horseshoe crabs come to spawn. It offers
world class outdoor recreation and is a key piece of Delaware's tourism
industry.
The refuge suffered severe damage during Hurricane Sandy. Breaches in
the beach and dune system separating the refuge's marsh units from the
Delaware Bay resulted in an ongoing inundation of the refuge by salt
water. This has led to the loss of thousands of acres of critical
habitat, as well as damage to refuge property and facilities. It
severely impacted the health of the freshwater marsh system in the
refuge, and the decline of the marsh has in turn led to continuous
flooding of nearby farmland and communities, damaging the private
property of thousands of people.
I am grateful that the Appropriations Committee had the wisdom to
include $150,000,000 for the Office of the Secretary of at the
Department of the Interior to fund recovery and restoration activities
related to Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters. I would like to
ask if the intent of this funding is to support recovery and
restoration projects similar to those that will be required in my State
to respond to the impacts of Hurricane Sandy?
Mr. REED. The Senator is correct. Coming from a State that received a
major disaster declaration due to the damage it sustained in Hurricane
Sandy, including damage to the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge
Complex, I recognize the importance of providing funding for projects
in States impacted by the storm. The funds provided in this bill will
be used in support of additional recovery activities directly related
to the hurricane or to fund longer-term restoration activities for
areas directly affected by Hurricane Sandy. The bill provides
flexibility so that the Department can transfer the funds to any of its
programs to fund the highest priority needs in these specific disaster
areas. I expect these funds to be of great assistance to states like
ours which were affected by this devastating storm.
Mr. CARPER. I thank the Senator.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, as we debate the Hurricane Sandy
Supplemental bill this week, it is critical that we ensure taxpayer
dollars go to help those impacted by this devastating storm and not
toward spending projects that are wasteful or not a priority at this
time. This bill, unfortunately, goes way beyond emergency aid and funds
projects that have little or nothing to do with meeting the immediate
needs of individuals misplaced by Hurricane Sandy. At a time when we
face ongoing trillion-dollar deficits, and a $16.3 trillion debt, we
cannot justify this type of spending.
While some of the projects included in this bill may hold merit on
their own, they should go through the normal budget and appropriations
process, where Congress has time to vet the need for such spending
requests.
To highlight this point, the Congressional Budget Office--CBO--
examined both the Senate bill and the administration's request and
found that that 64 percent of the funds appropriated under the Sandy
Supplemental will not be spent until fiscal years 2015-2022 and after,
therefore, raising concerns about the rush to spend $60.4 billion
without any attempt to pay for it.
Just two weeks ago, FEMA Director Fugate told the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the Disaster Relief
Fund currently has enough money and will not need additional funding
until the spring 2013. CBO's assessment, combined with the statement of
Director Fugate clearly shows us that we need to pass a Sandy
Supplemental bill that only includes prioritized disaster aid funding.
As I have examined this bill over this week, I have found numerous
examples of questionable spending including billions to replace
`Federal assets' damaged by the storm, including automobiles owned by
the Federal Government. The Federal Government currently owns or leases
over 660,000 vehicles--surely we can find replacements within our
current inventory.
Shouldn't we focus on providing relief directly to those still trying
to rebuild their lives before replacing a bureaucrat's car?
The new substitute also includes language expanding levee
construction to include West North Central States, such as North
Dakota. It also includes $2 million to repair damage to the roofs of
museums in Washington, D.C., while many in Hurricane Sandy's path still
have no permanent roof over their own heads, $150 million for fisheries
as far away from the storm's path as Mississippi and Alaska, $125
million for the Department of Agriculture's Emergency Watershed
Protection program, which helps restore watersheds damaged by wildfires
and droughts for areas including Colorado, $15 million for NASA
facilities, though NASA itself has called its damage from the hurricane
`minimal.' On the day after the storm hit, NASA's Wallops Island put
out a statement stating that ``an initial assessment team surveyed
roads and facilities at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility today reporting
a number of downed trees but otherwise minimal impact in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy.'' To me, this raises a red flag that this NASA funding
may not be an immediate emergency.
There is $58 million for the USDA ``Forest Restoration Program'' for
planting trees on private property. This program is actually a Farm
Bill subsidy program that's run by a relatively unknown agency called
the ``Farm Service Administration,'' which is primarily responsible for
managing crop insurance. Under this program, private landowners with
about 50 acres of land can apply for up to $500,000 in free grants for
tree planting activities. Not only is this a non-emergency need,
there's nothing in the supplemental that limits the funding to
Hurricane Sandy areas. Under this bill, this $58 million can be used
just about anywhere.
There is $336 million for taxpayer-supported AMTRAK without a
detailed plan for how the money will be spent. While some of the
funding will go for repairs, money will also go to increasing passenger
capacity to New York and future mitigation efforts. In a two page
letter from AMTRAK that gives a broad description of how the $336
million will be spent, almost all of it falls under funding for
improvements and future capital projects. This includes $191 million
for AMTRAK to start design and construction of new Hudson River
Tunnels, as part of the Gateway Program. According to AMTRAK, the
Gateway Program, which was started in 2011 and is projected to cost
over $13 billion, is ``a comprehensive program of infrastructure
improvements to increase track, tunnel, bridge, and station capacity
serving New York City that will improve current assets and allow the
eventual doubling of passenger trains into Manhattan.'' I am not here
to debate the merits or the need for new tunnels, but this is clearly a
capital improvement project--unrelated to Hurricane Sandy. AMTRAK is up
and running so it is not apparent why this funding is deemed
``emergency'' spending and included in this spending package. Keep in
mind, AMTRAK receives roughly $1 billion in annual funding. Future
mitigation projects should be debated in next year's budget process.
There is $5.3 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers--more than the
Army Corps' annual budget--with little clarity on how the money will be
spent. Included in the Senate bill is $50 million in funding for more
studies, which will most definitely lead to additional Army Corp
projects and a new Task Force established by Executive Order.

[[Page S8485]]

More projects are not something the Army Corps can handle. They are
currently experiencing a backlog of construction and maintenance
projects of approximately $70 billion. Furthermore, a 2010 report
released by the Government Accountability Office noted that carryover
funds have increased ``due to the large amount of supplemental funding
the Corps has received in recent years.'' Clearly, supplemental
spending on the Army Corps has not paid off. There is $10 million
improve weather forecasting capabilities and infrastructure. The bill
also includes roughly $13 billion for future disaster mitigation
activities and studies, without identifying a single way to pay for it.
While I understand that Mitigation is important to save money when
future natural disasters occur, there is no justification to include
these projects in this ``emergency'' spending bill. By waiting to fund
these projects until next year during the normal budget and
appropriations process, we will have a better understanding of the path
forward and reduce the possibility of waste fraud and abuse.
As a nation, we are confronted with trillion dollar deficits, out of
control spending in Washington and the imminent approach of an
economically, devastating fiscal cliff. We do need to come to the aid
of those who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy and are struggling to
get their lives back together. Congress, however, cannot continue down
this road of irresponsible spending. We must pass a true disaster
spending bill that only spends money on disaster recovery and response,
not pet projects.
Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, Hurricane Sandy had a devastating effect on
the electric and transportation infrastructure in the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic states. When Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast, it
flooded electrical substations and knocked down trees onto power lines,
shutting off power for 8.2 million customers, and causing billions of
dollars in damage.
The storm sent floodwater gushing into New York's five boroughs,
flooding tunnels and the subway system and making the equipment
inoperable. In many hard-hit areas wireless networks suffered
widespread outages primarily due to lack of power.
We have seen this scenario play out before. Just this past summer, a
derecho thunderstorm knocked out power for more than 1 million
residents near Washington for several days.
Do such storms have to result in such widespread outages and does the
restoration of a power grid have to take so long? Several experts have
said that America's power infrastructure could be more resilient--even
when tested by a once-in-a-century storm.
The intent of section 52005 of the supplemental Appropriations bill
is to encourage recipients of these disaster assistance funds to
rebuild the electrical infrastructure so that it is more resilient to
future storms. We can achieve a more resilient electric grid by
maximizing the utilization of technologies that can mitigate future
power outages and by ensuring the continued operation of facilities
critical to first responders, communications, health care,
transportation, financial systems, homeland security, emergency food
and shelter, government offices, as well as other vital services such
as hospitals and wastewater treatment systems.
Rebuilding these essential infrastructure systems with technology
that is equipped to deal with extreme weather will better enable the
electric grid to withstand potential damage and continue to deliver
these vital services and maintain electric power to facilities critical
to public health, safety and welfare.
There are numerous proven technologies that are ready to be deployed
to enhance our electric infrastructure resiliency including smart grid
technologies to isolate problems and repair them remotely, such as
smart meters, high-tech sensors, grid monitoring and control systems,
and remote reconfiguration and redundancy systems; microgrids, energy
storage, distributed and back-up generation to power critical
facilities and operations; wiring, cabling, submersible and other
distribution components and enclosures to prevent outages; and
electronically controlled re-closers and similar technologies for power
restoration.
When we look at the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the
suffering by millions of people who could not get electricity or
communicate by phone or the internet, it makes smart sense to rebuild
the electric grid so that it is more resilient and better able to
withstand whatever nature may next throw at it.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I will vote in support of the legislation
before us because we have a responsibility to help our fellow Americans
who have lost homes and businesses through no fault of their own.
Natural disasters are something we can attempt to prepare for, but the
destructive force of nature can overwhelm us, even when efforts are
made in advance of devastating storms, floods, droughts, or other
disasters. Further, the bill provides permanent reforms to the Stafford
Act that will help to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks that have
caused problems for local communities in rebuilding after a disaster
and in mitigating risks from future disasters.
Hurricane Sandy was one of those disasters that overwhelmed us with
its damage. Over 125 people lost their lives, thousands of people were
displaced, millions lost power, and fuel deliveries were disrupted.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, and public
infrastructure was devastated. The storm is estimated to have caused
such damage that it is projected to be the second or third most costly
disaster in U.S. history. We need to provide the assistance to those
impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
Other natural disasters have also pummeled the U.S. this year,
including the wildfires in the West and Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf
Coast region. The bill includes some funding for these other natural
disasters, which I support. While Hurricane Sandy was most devastating,
we also should be responsive to these other disasters.
One of these disasters had impacts on my great State of Michigan.
This year, the Midwest experienced extreme weather including one of the
worst droughts in history, causing tremendous damage to crops. Michigan
also experienced unusually warm weather in March that resulted in an
early bloom for many fruit crops, including tart cherries. These crops
were then heavily damaged by a series of freezes during April and May.
The drought, coupled with a warm winter, has resulted in near-historic
low water levels in the Great Lakes, which is also a natural disaster.
The Army Corps of Engineers reports that Lakes Michigan and Huron are
more than two feet below their long-term average. Lake Superior is more
than one foot below its long-term average. These low water levels
threaten harbors with closure, hamper boaters from getting to safe
harbor, and require vessels to light-load, causing shippers to lose
millions of dollars of freight shipments and hampering our economic
competitiveness. The bill includes $821 million in funding for dredging
needs related to natural disasters. I entered into a colloquy with the
bill manager to ensure that Great Lakes projects would be eligible for
this funding. I am pleased Senator Leahy assured me that in fact Great
Lakes harbors and channels impeded as a result of drought and low water
levels would be eligible for this funding. When the Army Corps makes
determinations as to how to allocate funds, I hope the Corps will
prioritize funding for Great Lakes projects which are estimated to
require $35 million to address the low water levels.
With respect to crop damage, the bill includes an amendment sponsored
by Senator Merkley that reauthorizes several expired disaster
assistance programs to assist ranchers and farmers, including an
extension of the noninsured crop assistance disaster program. This
program will provide critical assistance to farm producers, including
Michigan tart cherry growers who are currently ineligible to purchase
crop insurance for their crops.
I hope this bill will soon be passed by the House and be signed by
the President. The people impacted by Hurricane Sandy and other
disasters should not be kept waiting for their Nation to provide
assistance. I hope we will be able to provide the funds for those in
need.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, as we now move to final passage on this
bill, I believe Senator Cochran and I, on a bipartisan basis, could
wrap up our statements.

[[Page S8486]]

Mr. President, we are now moving to final passage, and I know this
bill will provide immediate relief to our constituents. I urge the
adoption of the bill.
I thank Senator Cochran, the ranking member on this bill, for his
courtesy.
I want to say to my colleagues that Senator Inouye would have been
really proud of the way we acted today. We acted with civility, and we
acted with crispness and promptness. We did the people's business. He
would really be proud of us, and I am proud of all of you. I thank my
subcommittees' chairs--Senators Landrieu, Murray, Leahy, Feinstein, and
Harkin--for the great work they did and Senators Schumer, Lautenberg,
Gillibrand, and Menendez for the way they helped with the heavy
lifting. To the able staff of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Charlie
Houy and the subcommittee clerks, again a heartfelt thanks. But the
real thanks would be passage of the bill and making sure we are meeting
the compelling human needs of our fellow citizens.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. COCHRAN. I commend the distinguished Senator from Maryland for
her outstanding service here today to the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
Ms. MIKULSKI. I ask for the yeas and yeas.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg) and the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Kirk),
and the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 62, nays 32, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 248 Leg.]

YEAS--62

Akaka
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden

NAYS--32

Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
McCain
McConnell
Moran
Paul
Portman
Roberts
Rubio
Sessions
Thune
Toomey

NOT VOTING--6

Boxer
DeMint
Kirk
Lautenberg
Risch
Warner
The bill (H.R. 1), as amended, was passed, as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause, and insert in lieu thereof:
That the following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fiscal
year 2013, and for other purposes, namely:

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE

TITLE I

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS

Farm Service Agency

emergency conservation program

For necessary expenses for the ``Emergency Conservation
Program'', $25,090,000, to remain available until expended,
of which $15,000,000 is for expenses resulting from a major
disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et.
seq.): Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

emergency forest restoration program

For necessary expenses for the ``Emergency Forest
Restoration Program'', $58,855,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $49,010,000 is for expenses resulting from
a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et. seq.): Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

Natural Resources Conservation Service

emergency watershed protection program

For necessary expenses for the ``Emergency Watershed
Protection Program'', $125,055,000, to remain available until
expended, of which $77,085,000 is for expenses resulting from
a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121
et. seq.): Provided, That unobligated balances for the
``Emergency Watershed Protection Program'' provided in Public
Law 108-199, Public Law 109-234, and Public Law 110-28 shall
be available for the purposes of such program for disasters,
and shall remain available until expended: Provided further,
That such amounts are designated by the Congress as being for
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

DOMESTIC FOOD PROGRAMS

Food and Nutrition Service

commodity assistance program

For an additional amount for the emergency food assistance
program as authorized by section 27(a) of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036(a)) and section
204(a)(1) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7
U.S.C. 7508(a)(1)), $15,000,000, to remain available through
September 30, 2014: Provided, That notwithstanding any other
provisions of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (the
``Act''), the Secretary may allocate additional foods and
funds for administrative expenses from resources specifically
appropriated, transferred, or reprogrammed to restore to
states resources used to assist families and individuals
displaced by Hurricane Sandy among the states without regard
to sections 204 and 214 of the Act: Provided further, That
such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
(Public Law 99-177), as amended.

TITLE II

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

operations, research, and facilities

For an additional amount for ``Operations, Research, and
Facilities'', $373,000,000 to remain available until
September 30, 2014, as follows--
(1) $6,200,000 to repair and replace ocean observing and
coastal monitoring assets damaged by Hurricane Sandy;
(2) $10,000,000 to repair and improve weather forecasting
capabilities and infrastructure;
(3) $150,000,000 to evaluate, stabilize and restore coastal
ecosystems affected by Hurricane Sandy;
(4) $56,800,000 for mapping, charting, damage assessment,
and marine debris coordination and remediation; and
(5) $150,000,000, for necessary expenses related to fishery
disasters as declared by the Secretary of Commerce in
calendar year 2012:
Provided, That the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration shall submit a spending plan to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate within 45 days after the date of enactment of this
Act: Provided further, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

procurement, acquisition and construction

For an additional amount for ``Procurement, Acquisition and
Construction'', $109,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2015, as follows--
(1) $47,000,000 for the Coastal and Estuarine Land
Conservation Program to support State and local restoration
in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy;
(2) $9,000,000 to repair National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) facilities damaged by Hurricane Sandy;
(3) $44,500,000 for repairs and upgrades to NOAA hurricane
reconnaissance aircraft; and
(4) $8,500,000 for improvements to weather forecasting
equipment and supercomputer infrastructure:

Provided, That NOAA shall submit a spending plan to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate within 45 days after the date of enactment of
this Act: Provided further, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

General Administration

office of inspector general

For an additional amount for ``General Administration,
Office of Inspector General'' for

[[Page S8487]]

necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $20,000, to remain available until September 30, 2013:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Salaries and Expenses'' for necessary expenses
related to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $4,000,000,
to remain available until September 30, 2013: Provided, That
such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

Drug Enforcement Administration

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Drug Enforcement
Administration, Salaries and Expenses'' for necessary
expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy,
$1,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2013:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $230,000, to remain available until September 30,
2013: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Federal Prison System

buildings and facilities

For an additional amount for ``Federal Prison System,
Buildings and Facilities'' for necessary expenses related to
the consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $10,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

SCIENCE

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

construction and environmental compliance and restoration

For an additional amount for ``Construction and
Environmental Compliance and Restoration'' for repair at
National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities
damaged by Hurricane Sandy, $15,000,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2018: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

RELATED AGENCIES

Legal Services Corporation

payment to the legal services corporation

For an additional amount for ``Legal Services Corporation,
Payment to the Legal Services Corporation'' to carry out the
purposes of the Legal Services Corporation Act by providing
for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy, $1,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2013: Provided, That the amount made available
under this heading shall be used only to provide the mobile
resources, technology, and disaster coordinators necessary to
provide storm-related services to the Legal Services
Corporation client population and only in the areas
significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy: Provided further,
That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985: Provided further, That none of the funds appropriated
in this Act to the Legal Services Corporation shall be
expended for any purpose prohibited or limited by, or
contrary to any of the provisions of, sections 501, 502, 503,
504, 505, and 506 of Public Law 105-119, and all funds
appropriated in this Act to the Legal Services Corporation
shall be subject to the same terms and conditions set forth
in such sections, except that all references in sections 502
and 503 to 1997 and 1998 shall be deemed to refer instead to
2012 and 2013, respectively, and except that sections 501 and
503 of Public Law 104-134 (referenced by Public Law 105-119)
shall not apply to the amount made available under this
heading.

TITLE III

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE--MILITARY

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

Operation and Maintenance, Army

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army'', $5,370,000, to remain available until September 30,
2013, for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Operation and Maintenance, Navy

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Navy'', $40,015,000, to remain available until September 30,
2013, for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Operation and Maintenance, Air Force

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air Force'', $8,500,000, to remain available until September
30, 2013, for necessary expenses related to the consequences
of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army National Guard'', $3,165,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2013, for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount
is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air National Guard'', $5,775,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2013, for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount
is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

PROCUREMENT

Procurement of Ammunition, Army

For an additional amount for ``Procurement of Ammunition,
Army'', $1,310,000, to remain available until September 30,
2015, for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

REVOLVING AND MANAGEMENT FUNDS

Defense Working Capital Funds

For an additional amount for ``Defense Working Capital
Funds'', $24,200,000, to remain available until September 30,
2013, for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

TITLE IV

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE--CIVIL

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

Corps of Engineers--Civil

investigations

For an additional amount for ``Investigations'' to expedite
studies of flood and storm damage reduction related natural
disasters, $50,000,000 at full Federal expense, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That using $34,500,000
of the funds provided herein, the Secretary shall expedite
and complete ongoing flood and storm damage reduction studies
in areas that were impacted by Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac in
the North Atlantic and Mississippi Valley Divisions of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Provided further, That using
up to $15,000,000 of the funds provided herein, the Secretary
shall support an interagency planning process in conjunction
with State, local and Tribal officials to develop plans to
address the flood risks of vulnerable coastal populations,
including innovative approaches to promote the long-term
sustainability of the coastal ecosystems and communities to
reduce the economic costs and risks associated with large-
scale flood and storm events: Provided further, That using
$500,000 of the funds provided herein, the Secretary shall
conduct an evaluation of the performance of existing projects
constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and impacted
by Hurricane Sandy for the purposes of determining their
effectiveness and making recommendations for improvements
thereto: Provided further, That as a part of the study, the
Secretary shall identify institutional and other barriers to
providing comprehensive protection to affected coastal areas
and shall provide this report to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
within 120 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further,
That the amounts in this paragraph are designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That the
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall provide
a monthly report to the Committees on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Senate detailing the
allocation and obligation of these funds, beginning not later
than 60 days after enactment of this Act.

construction

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Construction'' to
rehabilitate, repair and construct U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers projects related to the consequences of natural
disasters, $3,461,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That $2,902,000,000 of the funds
provided under this heading shall be used to reduce future
flood risk in ways that will support the long-term
sustainability of the coastal ecosystem and communities and
reduce the economic costs and risks associated with large-
scale flood and storm events that occurred in 2012 along the
Gulf Coast and

[[Page S8488]]

Atlantic Coast within the boundaries of the North Atlantic
and Mississippi Valley Divisions of the Corps that were
affected by Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac: Provided further,
That efforts using these funds shall incorporate current
science and engineering standards in constructing previously
authorized Corps projects designed to reduce flood and storm
damage risks and modifying existing Corps projects that do
not meet these standards, with such modifications as the
Secretary determines are necessary to incorporate these
standards or to meet the goal of providing sustainable
reduction to flooding and storm damage risks: Provided
further, That these funds may be used to construct any
project that is currently under study by the Corps for
reducing flooding and storm damage risks in areas along the
Atlantic coast within the North Atlantic or the Gulf Coast
within the Mississippi Valley Divisions of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers that suffered direct surge inundation
impacts and significant monetary damages from Hurricanes
Isaac or Sandy if the study demonstrates that the project
will cost-effectively reduce those risks and is
environmentally acceptable and technically feasible:
Provided further, That local interests shall provide all
lands, easements, rights-of-way, relocations and disposal
areas (LERRDs) necessary for projects using these funds at no
cost to the Government: Provided further, That cost sharing
for implementation of any projects using these funds shall be
90 percent Federal and 10 percent non-Federal exclusive of
LERRDs: Provided further, That the non-Federal cash
contribution for projects using these funds shall be financed
in accordance with the provisions of section 103(k) of Public
Law 99-662 over a period of 30 years from the date of
completion of the project or separable element: Provided
further, That for these projects, the provisions of section
902 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 shall not
apply to these funds: Provided further, That the Secretary
may transfer up to $499,000,000 of the funds provided under
this heading to other U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Accounts
to address damages from previous natural disasters following
normal policies and cost sharing: Provided further, That the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate shall be notified at least 15 days in advance
of any such transfer: Provided further, That up to
$51,000,000 of the funds provided under this heading shall be
used to expedite continuing authorities projects along the
coastal areas in States impacted by Hurricane Sandy within
the boundaries of the North Atlantic Division: Provided
further, That $9,000,000 of the funds provided under this
heading shall be used for repairs to projects that were under
construction and damaged by the impacts of Hurricane Sandy:
Provided further, That any projects using funds appropriated
under this heading shall be initiated only after non-Federal
interests have entered into binding agreements with the
Secretary requiring the non-Federal interests to pay 100
percent of the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement,
and rehabilitation costs of the project and to hold and save
the United States free from damages due to the construction
or operation and maintenance of the project, except for
damages due to the fault or negligence of the United States
or its contractors: Provided further, That the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a monthly report detailing the allocation and
obligation of these funds, beginning not later than 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

operation and maintenance

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance'',
$821,000,000, to remain available until expended to dredge
Federal navigation channels and repair damage to Corps
projects nationwide related to natural disasters: Provided,
That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for
an emergency requirement pursuant section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985: Provided further, That the Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works shall provide a monthly report to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate detailing the allocation and obligation of
these funds, beginning not later than 60 days after enactment
of this Act.

flood control and coastal emergencies

For an additional amount for ``Flood Control and Coastal
Emergencies'', $1,008,000,000, to remain available until
expended to prepare for flood, hurricane, and other natural
disasters and support emergency operations, repairs and other
activities in response to flood, hurricanes or other natural
disasters as authorized by law: Provided, That $430,000,000
of the funds provided herein shall be utilized by the Corps
to restore projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy in the North
Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
design profiles of the authorized projects: Provided
further, That the provisions of section 902 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986 shall not apply to funds
provided under this heading: Provided further, That the
amounts in this paragraph are designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works shall provide a monthly
report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate detailing the allocation and
obligation of these funds, beginning not later than 60 days
after enactment of this Act.

expenses

For an additional amount for ``Expenses'' for increased
efforts to oversee emergency response and recovery activities
related to natural disasters, $10,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided
further, That the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil
Works shall provide a monthly report to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
detailing the allocation and obligation of these funds,
beginning not later than 60 days after enactment of this Act.

TITLE V

INDEPENDENT AGENCIES

General Services Administration

real property activities

federal buildings fund

For an additional amount to be deposited in the ``Federal
Buildings Fund'', $7,000,000, to remain available until
expended, notwithstanding 40 U.S.C. 3307, for necessary
expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy,
including repair and alteration of buildings under the
custody and control of the Administrator of General Services,
and real property management and related activities not
otherwise provided for: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Small Business Administration

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'',
$40,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014, of
which $20,000,000 is for grants to or cooperative agreements
with organizations to provide technical assistance related to
disaster recovery, response, and long-term resiliency to
small businesses that are recovering from Hurricane Sandy;
and of which $20,000,000 is for grants or cooperative
agreements for public-private partnerships to provide long-
term economic development assistance to industries and/or
regions affected by Hurricane Sandy through economic
development initiatives, including innovation clusters,
industry accelerators, supply-chain support,
commercialization, and workforce development: Provided, That
the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall expedite the
delivery of assistance in disaster-affected areas by awarding
grants or cooperative agreements for technical assistance
only to current recipients of SBA grants or cooperative
agreements using a streamlined application process that
relies, to the maximum extent practicable, upon previously
submitted documentation: Provided further, That the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall
waive the matching requirements under section 21(a)(4)(A) and
29(c) of the Small Business Act for any grant made using
funds made available under this heading: Provided further,
That in designing appropriate economic development
initiatives and identifying those regions and industries most
affected by Hurricane Sandy, the SBA shall work with other
Federal agencies, State and local economic development
entities, institutions of higher learning, and private sector
partners: Provided further, That grants or cooperative
agreements for public-private partnerships may be awarded to
public or private nonprofit organizations, or any combination
thereof: Provided further, That no later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, or no less than 7 days
prior to obligation of funds, whichever occurs earlier, the
SBA shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Senate a detailed
expenditure plan for funds provided under this heading:
Provided further, That such amounts are designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

office of inspector general

For an additional amount for ``Office of Inspector
General'' for necessary expenses related to the consequences
of Hurricane Sandy and other disasters, $5,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

disaster loans program account

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Disaster Loans Program
Account'' for the cost of direct loans authorized by section
7(b) of the Small Business Act, for necessary expenses
related to Hurricane Sandy and other disasters, $500,000,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That such
costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall be
as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974: Provided further, That in addition, for administrative
expenses to carry out the direct loan program authorized by
section 7(b) of the Small Business Act in response to
Hurricane Sandy and other disasters, $260,000,000, to remain
available until expended, of which $250,000,000 is for direct
administrative expenses of loan making and servicing to carry
out the direct loan program, which may be transferred to and
merged with the appropriations for Salaries and Expenses; and
of which $10,000,000 is for indirect administrative expenses
for the direct loan program, which may be transferred to and
merged with the appropriations for Salaries and Expenses:
Provided further, That such amounts are designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

[[Page S8489]]

GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS TITLE

Sec. 501. Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(d)(6)) is amended by inserting after ``which are
made under paragraph (1) of subsection (b)'' the following:
``: Provided further, That the Administrator, in obtaining
the best available collateral for a loan of not more than
$200,000 under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b)
relating to damage to or destruction of the property of, or
economic injury to, a small business concern, shall not
require the owner of the small business concern to use the
primary residence of the owner as collateral if the
Administrator determines that the owner has other assets with
a value equal to or greater than the amount of the loan that
could be used as collateral for the loan: Provided further,
That nothing in the preceding proviso may be construed to
reduce the amount of collateral required by the Administrator
in connection with a loan described in the preceding proviso
or to modify the standards used to evaluate the quality
(rather than the type) of such collateral''.

TITLE VI

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $1,667,000: Provided, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further,
That a description of all property to be replaced, with
associated costs, shall be submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives
no later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $855,000: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further,
That a description of all property to be replaced, with
associated costs, shall be submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives
no later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.

Coast Guard

acquisition, construction, and improvements

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Acquisition, Construction,
and Improvements'' for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $274,233,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2017: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985: Provided further, That notwithstanding the transfer
limitation contained in section 503 of division D of Public
Law 112-74, such funding may be transferred to other Coast
Guard appropriations after notification as required in
accordance with such section: Provided further, That a
description all facilities and property to be reconstructed
and restored, with associated costs and time lines, shall be
submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate
and the House of Representatives no later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.

United States Secret Service

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $300,000: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided further,
That a description of all property to be replaced, with
associated costs, shall be submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives
no later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

disaster relief fund

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for the ``Disaster Relief Fund''
in carrying out the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.),
$11,487,735,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That of the total amount provided, $5,379,000,000
shall be for major disasters declared pursuant to the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.): Provided further, That the amount in
the previous proviso is designated by the Congress as being
for disaster relief pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(D) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985:
Provided further, That of the total amount provided,
$6,108,735,000 is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
which shall be for major disasters declared pursuant to the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.): Provided further, That of the
total amount provided, $3,000,000 shall be transferred to the
Department of Homeland Security ``Office of Inspector
General'' for audits and investigations related to disasters.

Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program Account

For an additional amount for the cost of direct loans,
$300,000,000, to remain available until expended, as
authorized by section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184), of
which up to $4,000,000 is for administrative expenses to
carry out the direct loan program: Provided, That such
costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall be
as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974: Provided further, That these funds are available to
subsidize gross obligations for the principal amount of
direct loans not to exceed $400,000,000: Provided further,
That these amounts are designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

Science and Technology

research, development, acquisition, and operations

For an additional amount for ``Research, Development,
Acquisition, and Operations'' for necessary expenses related
to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $3,249,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2017: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

systems acquisition

For an additional amount for ``Systems Acquisition'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy for replacing or repairing U.S. Customs and Border
Protection equipment, $3,869,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2015: Provided, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS TITLE

Sec. 601. (a) Section 1309(a) of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by
striking ``$20,725,000,000'' and inserting
``$30,425,000,000''.
(b) The amount provided by this section is designated by
the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 and as an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall be considered to have taken effect on December 12,
2012.
Sec. 602. The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, in cooperation with representatives of
State, tribal, and local governments may give greater weight
to the factors considered under section 206.48(b)(3) of title
44, Code of Federal Regulations, to accurately measure the
acute needs of a population following a disaster in order to
expedite a declaration of Individual Assistance under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
Sec. 603. For determinations regarding compliance with
codes and standards under the Federal Emergency Management
Agency Public Assistance program (42 U.S.C. 5172), the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for
major disasters declared on or after August 27, 2011, shall
consider eligible the costs required to comply with a State's
Stream Alteration General Permit process, including any
design standards required to be met as a condition of permit
issuance.
Sec. 604. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management may
recommend to the President an increase in the Federal cost
share of the eligible cost of permanent work under section
406 and of emergency work under section 403 and section 407
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) for damages resulting from
Hurricane Sandy without delay.
Sec. 605. In administering the funds made available to
address any major disaster declared during the period
beginning on August 27, 2011 and ending on December 5, 2012,
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
shall establish a pilot program for the relocation of State
facilities under section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5172), under which the Administrator may waive, or specify
alternative requirements for, any regulation the
Administrator administers to provide assistance, consistent
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), for the permanent relocation of State
facilities, including administrative office buildings,
medical facilities, laboratories, and related operating
infrastructure (including heat, sewage, mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing), that were significantly damaged as
a result of the major disaster, are subject to flood risk,
and are otherwise eligible for repair, restoration,
reconstruction, or replacement under section 406 of that Act,
if the Administrator determines that such relocation is
practicable, and will be cost effective or more appropriate
than repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing the
facility in its pre-disaster location, and if such relocation
will effectively mitigate the flood risk to the facility.

levees

Sec. 606. (a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
(2) the term ``covered hazard mitigation land'' means
land--
(A) acquired and deed restricted under section 404(b) of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

[[Page S8490]]

5170c(b)) before, on, or after the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(B) that is located--
(i) in a West North Central State; and
(ii) in a community that--

(I) is participating in the National Flood Insurance
Program on the date on which a State, local, or tribal
government submits an application requesting to construct a
permanent flood risk reduction levee under subsection (b);
and
(II) certifies to the Administrator and the Chief of
Engineers that the community will continue to participate in
the National Flood Insurance Program.

(b) Authority.--Notwithstanding clause (i) or (ii) of
section 404(b)(2)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5170c(b)(2)(B)), the Administrator shall approve the
construction of a permanent flood risk reduction levee by a
State, local, or tribal government on covered hazard
mitigation land if the Administrator and the Chief of
Engineers determine, through a process established by the
Administrator and Chief of Engineers and funded entirely by
the State, local, or tribal government seeking to construct
the proposed levee, that--
(1) construction of the proposed permanent flood risk
reduction levee would more effectively mitigate against
flooding risk than an open floodplain or other flood risk
reduction measures;
(2) the proposed permanent flood risk reduction levee
complies with Federal, State, and local requirements,
including mitigation of adverse impacts and implementation of
floodplain management requirements, which shall include an
evaluation of whether the construction, operation, and
maintenance of the proposed levee would continue to meet best
available industry standards and practices and would be the
most cost-effective measure to protect against the assessed
flood risk and minimizes future costs to the Federal
Government;
(3) the State, local, or tribal government seeking to
construct the proposed levee has provided an adequate
maintenance plan that documents the procedures the State,
local, or tribal government will use to ensure that the
stability, height, and overall integrity of the proposed
levee and the structure and systems of the proposed levee are
maintained, including--
(A) specifying the maintenance activities to be performed;
(B) specifying the frequency with which maintenance
activities will be performed;
(C) specifying the person responsible for performing each
maintenance activity (by name or title);
(D) detailing the plan for financing the maintenance of the
levee; and
(E) documenting the ability of the State, local, or tribal
government to finance the maintenance of the levee.
(c) Maintenance Certification.--
(1) In general.--A State, local, or tribal government that
constructs a permanent flood risk reduction levee under
subsection (b) shall submit to the Administrator and the
Chief of Engineers an annual certification indicating whether
the State, local, or tribal government is in compliance with
the maintenance plan provided under subsection (b)(3).
(2) Review.--The Chief of Engineers shall review a
certification submitted under paragraph (1) and determine
whether the State, local, or tribal government has complied
with the maintenance plan.
Sec. 607. The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall cancel the liquidated balances of all
remaining uncancelled or partially cancelled loans disbursed
under the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 (Public Law
109-88) and the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery,
2006 (Public Law 109-234), as amended by section 4502 of the
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and
Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110-
28) to the extent that revenues of the local government
during the period following the major disaster are
insufficient to meet the budget of the local government,
including additional disaster-related expenses of a municipal
character. In calculating a community's revenues while
determining cancellation, the Administrator shall exclude
revenues for special districts and any other revenues that
are required by law to be disbursed to other units of local
government or used for specific purposes more limited than
the scope allowed by the General Fund. In calculating a
community's expenses, the Administrator shall include
disaster-related capital expenses for which the community has
not been reimbursed by Federal or insurance proceeds, debt
service expenses, and accrued but unpaid uncompensated
absences (vacation and sick pay). In calculating the
operating deficit of the local government, the Administrator
shall also consider all interfund transfers. When considering
the period following the disaster, the Administrator may
consider a period of 3, 5, or 7 full fiscal years after the
disaster, beginning on the date of the declaration, in
determining eligibility for cancellation. The criteria for
cancellation do not apply to those loans already cancelled in
full. Applicants shall submit supplemental documentation in
support of their applications for cancellation on or before
April 30, 2014, and the Administrator shall issue
determinations and resolve any appeals on or before April 30,
2015. Loans not cancelled in full shall be repaid not later
than September 30, 2035. The Administrator may use funds
provided under Public Law 109-88 to reimburse those
communities that have repaid all or a portion of loans,
including interest, provided as Special Community Disaster
Loans under Public Law 109-88 or Public Law 109-234, as
amended by section 4502 of Public Law 110-28. Further, the
Administrator may use funds provided under Public Law 109-88
for necessary expenses to carry out this provision:
Provided, That the entire amount is designated by the
Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
Sec. 608. The Inspector General shall review the
applications for public assistance provided through the
Disaster Relief Fund with a project cost that exceeds
$10,000,000 and the resulting decisions issued by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency for category A debris removal for
DR-1786 upon receipt of a request from an applicant made no
earlier than 90 days after filing an appeal with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency without regard to whether the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has
issued a final agency determination on the application for
assistance: Provided, That not later than 180 days after the
date of such request, the Inspector General shall determine
whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency correctly
applied its rules and regulations to determine eligibility of
the applicant's claim: Provided further, That if the
Inspector General finds that the Federal Emergency Management
Agency determinations related to eligibility and cost
involved a misapplication of its rules and regulations, the
applicant may submit the dispute to the arbitration process
established under the authority granted under section 601 of
Public Law 111-5 not later than 15 days after the date of
issuance of the Inspector General's finding in the previous
proviso: Provided further, That if the Inspector General
finds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided
unauthorized funding, that the Federal Emergency Management
Agency shall take corrective action.

disaster recovery

Sec. 609. (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as
the ``Disaster Recovery Act of 2012''.
(b) Hazard Mitigation.--
(1) In general.--Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5170c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Expedited Procedures.--
``(1) In general.--For the purpose of providing assistance
under this section, the President shall ensure that--
``(A) adequate resources are devoted to ensuring that
applicable environmental reviews under the National
Environmental Policy Act and historic preservation reviews
under the National Historic Preservation Act are completed on
an expeditious basis; and
``(B) the shortest existing applicable process under the
National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic
Preservation Act shall be utilized.
``(2) Authority for other expedited procedures.--The
President may utilize expedited procedures in addition to
those required under paragraph (1) for the purpose of
providing assistance under this section, such as those under
the Prototype Programmatic Agreement of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, for the consideration of multiple
structures as a group and for an analysis of the cost-
effectiveness and fulfillment of cost-share requirements for
proposed hazard mitigation measures.
``(e) Advance Assistance.--The President may provide not
more than 25 percent of the amount of the estimated cost of
hazard mitigation measures to a State grantee eligible for a
grant under this section before eligible costs are
incurred.''.
(2) Establishment of criteria relating to administration of
hazard mitigation assistance by states.--Section 404(c)(2) of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(c)(2)) is amended by
inserting ``Until such time as the Administrator promulgates
regulations to implement this paragraph, the Administrator
may waive notice and comment rulemaking if the Administrator
determines doing so is necessary to expeditiously implement
this section and may carry out the alternative procedures
under this section as a pilot program'' after ``applications
submitted under paragraph (1).''.
(3) Applicability.--The authority under the amendments made
by this subsection shall apply for--
(A) any major disaster or emergency declared under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) on or after the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(B) a major disaster or emergency declared before the date
of enactment of this Act for which the period for processing
requests for assistance has not ended on the date of
enactment of this Act.
(c) Public Assistance Program Alternative Procedures.--
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating section 425 (42 U.S.C. 5189e) relating
to essential service providers, as added by section 607 of
the SAFE Port Act (Public Law 109-347; 120 Stat. 1941) as
section 427; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 428. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES.

``(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency may approve projects under the
alternative procedures adopted under this section for--
``(1) any major disaster or emergency declared on or after
the date of enactment of this section; and
``(2) any project relating to a major disaster or emergency
declared before the date of enactment of this section for
which construction has not begun on the date of enactment of
this section.

[[Page S8491]]

``(b) Adoption.--The Administrator, in coordination with
States, tribal, and local governments, and owners or
operators of private nonprofit facilities, may adopt
alternative procedures to administer assistance provided
under sections 403(a)(3)(A), 406, 407, and 502(a)(5).
``(c) Goals.--Any procedures adopted under subsection (b)
shall further the goals of--
``(1) reducing the costs to the Federal Government of
providing such assistance;
``(2) increasing flexibility in the administration of such
assistance;
``(3) expediting the provision of such assistance to
States, tribal, and local governments and to owners or
operators of private nonprofit facilities; and
``(4) providing financial incentives and disincentives for
the State, tribal, or local government, or owner or operator
of a private nonprofit facility for the timely and cost-
effective completion of projects with such assistance.
``(d) Voluntary Participation.--Participation in
alternative procedures adopted under this section shall be at
the election of a State, tribal, or local government, or
owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility consistent
with procedures determined by the Administrator.
``(e) Requirements for Procedures.--The alternative
procedures adopted under subsection (b) shall include--
``(1) for repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged
facilities under section 406--
``(A) making grants on the basis of fixed estimates, if the
State, tribal, or local government, or owner or operator of
the private nonprofit facility agrees to be responsible for
any actual costs that exceed the estimate;
``(B) providing an option for a State, tribal, or local
government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit
facility to elect to receive an in-lieu contribution, without
reduction, on the basis of estimates of--
``(i) the cost of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or
replacement of a public facility owned or controlled by the
State, tribal, or local government or the owner or operator
of a private nonprofit facility; and
``(ii) management expenses;
``(C) consolidating, to the extent determined appropriate
by the Administrator, the facilities of a State, tribal, or
local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit
facility as a single project based upon the estimates adopted
under the procedures;
``(D) if the actual costs of a project completed under the
procedures are less than the estimated costs thereof, the
Administrator may permit a grantee or subgrantee to use all
or part of the excess funds for purposes of--
``(i) cost-effective activities that reduce the risk of
future damage, hardship, or suffering from a major disaster;
and
``(ii) other activities to improve future Public Assistance
operations or planning;
``(E) in determining eligible cost under section 406, the
Administrator shall make available, at an applicant's request
and where the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the
certified cost estimate prepared by the applicant's
professionally licensed engineers has estimated an eligible
Federal share for a project of not less than $5,000,000, an
independent expert panel to validate the estimated eligible
cost consistent with applicable regulations and policies
implementing this section;
``(F) in determining eligible cost under section 406, the
Administrator shall, at the applicant's request, consider
properly conducted and certified cost estimates prepared by
professionally licensed engineers (mutually agreed upon by
the Administrator and the applicant), to the extent that such
estimates comply with applicable regulation, policy, and
guidance; and
``(2) for debris removal under sections 403(a)(3)(A), 407,
and 502(a)(5)--
``(A) making grants on the basis of fixed estimates to
provide financial incentives and disincentives for the timely
or cost effective completion if the State, tribal, or local
government, or owner or operator of the private nonprofit
facility agrees to be responsible to pay for any actual costs
that exceed the estimate;
``(B) using a sliding scale for the Federal share for
removal of debris and wreckage based on the time it takes to
complete debris and wreckage removal;
``(C) allowing use of program income from recycled debris
without offset to the grant amount;
``(D) reimbursing base and overtime wages for employees and
extra hires of a State, tribal, or local government, or owner
or operator of a private nonprofit facility performing or
administering debris and wreckage removal;
``(E) providing incentives to State, tribal, and local
governments to have a debris management plan approved by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and have pre-qualified
one or more debris and wreckage removal contractors before
the date of declaration of the major disaster; and
``(F) if the actual costs of projects under subparagraph
(A) are less than the estimated costs of the project, the
Administrator may permit a grantee or subgrantee to use all
or part of the excess funds for--
``(i) debris management planning;
``(ii) acquisition of debris management equipment for
current or future use; and
``(iii) other activities to improve future debris removal
operations, as determined by the Administrator.
``(f) Waiver Authority.--Until such time as the
Administrator promulgates regulations to implement this
section, the Administrator may waive notice and comment
rulemaking, if the Administrator determines the waiver is
necessary to expeditiously implement this section, and may
carry out the alternative procedures under this section as a
pilot program.
``(g) Reimbursement.--The guidelines for reimbursement for
costs under subsection (e)(2)(D) shall assure that no State,
tribal, or local government is denied reimbursement for
overtime payments that are required pursuant to the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).''.
(d) Simplified Procedures.--Section 422 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5189) is amended--
(1) by striking ``If the Federal estimate'' and inserting
the following:
``(a) In General.--If the Federal estimate'';
(2) by inserting ``or, if the Administrator has established
a threshold under subsection (b), the amount established
under subsection (b)'' after ``$35,000'' the first place it
appears;
(3) by inserting ``or, if applicable, the amount
established under subsection (b),'' after ``$35,000 amount'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Threshold.--
``(1) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2012, the
President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (in this section referred to as
the `Administrator'), shall--
``(A) complete an analysis to determine whether an increase
in the threshold for eligibility under subsection (a) is
appropriate, which shall include consideration of cost-
effectiveness, speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past
performance, and accountability measures; and
``(B) submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress
(as defined in section 602 of the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)) a report
regarding the analysis conducted under subparagraph (A).
``(2) Amount.--After the Administrator submits the report
required under paragraph (1), the President shall direct the
Administrator to--
``(A) immediately establish a threshold for eligibility
under this section in an appropriate amount, without regard
to chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code; and
``(B) adjust the threshold annually to reflect changes in
the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by
the Department of Labor.
``(3) Review.--Not later than 3 years after the date on
which the Administrator establishes a threshold under
paragraph (2), and every 3 years thereafter, the President,
acting through the Administrator, shall review the threshold
for eligibility under this section.''.
(e) Essential Assistance.--Section 403 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170b) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Salaries and Benefits.--
``(1) In general.--If the President declares a major
disaster or emergency for an area within the jurisdiction of
a State, tribal, or local government, the President may
reimburse the State, tribal, or local government for costs
relating to--
``(A) basic pay and benefits for permanent employees of the
State, tribal, or local government conducting emergency
protective measures under this section, if--
``(i) the work is not typically performed by the employees;
and
``(ii) the type of work may otherwise be carried out by
contract or agreement with private organizations, firms, or
individuals; or
``(B) overtime and hazardous duty compensation for
permanent employees of the State, tribal, or local government
conducting emergency protective measures under this section.
``(2) Overtime.--The guidelines for reimbursement for costs
under paragraph (1) shall ensure that no State, tribal, or
local government is denied reimbursement for overtime
payments that are required pursuant to the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).
``(3) No effect on mutual aid pacts.--Nothing in this
subsection shall effect the ability of the President to
reimburse labor force expenses provided pursuant to an
authorized mutual aid pact.''.
(f) Unified Federal Review.--Title IV of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as
amended by subsection (c), is amended by adding at the end
the following:

``SEC. 429. UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEW.

``(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2012, and in
consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality and
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the President
shall establish an expedited and unified interagency review
process to ensure compliance with environmental and historic
requirements under Federal law relating to disaster recovery
projects, in order to expedite the recovery process,
consistent with applicable law.
``(b) Contents.--The review process established under this
section shall include mechanisms to expeditiously address
delays that may occur during the recovery from a major
disaster, and shall be updated as appropriate, consistent
with applicable law.''.
(g) Dispute Resolution Pilot Program.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
(B) the term ``eligible assistance'' means assistance--
(i) under section 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 5173);
(ii) for which the legitimate amount in dispute is not less
than $1,000,000, which the Administrator shall adjust
annually to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for
all Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor; and
(iii) for which the applicant has a non-Federal share.
(2) Procedures.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and in

[[Page S8492]]

order to facilitate an efficient recovery from major
disasters, the Administrator shall establish procedures under
which an applicant may request the use of alternative dispute
resolution, including arbitration by an independent review
panel, to resolve disputes relating to eligible assistance.
(B) Binding effect.--A decision by an independent review
panel under this subsection shall be binding upon the parties
to the dispute.
(C) Considerations.--The procedures established under this
subsection shall--
(i) allow a party of a dispute relating to eligible
assistance to request an independent review panel for the
review;
(ii) require a party requesting an independent review panel
as described in clause (i) to agree to forego rights to any
further appeal of the dispute relating to any eligible
assistance;
(iii) require that the sponsor of an independent review
panel for any alternative dispute resolution under this
subsection shall be--

(I) an individual or entity unaffiliated with the dispute
(which may include a Federal agency, an administrative law
judge, or a reemployed annuitant who was an employee of the
Federal Government) selected by the Administrator; and
(II) responsible for identifying and maintaining an
adequate number of independent experts qualified to review
and resolve disputes under this subsection;

(iv) require an independent review panel to--

(I) resolve any remaining disputed issue in accordance with
all applicable laws, regulations, and Federal Emergency
Management Agency interpretations of those laws through its
published policies and guidance;
(II) consider only evidence contained in the administrative
record, as it existed at the time at which the Federal
Emergency Management Agency made its initial decision;
(III) only set aside a decision of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse
of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; and
(IV) in the case of a finding of material fact adverse to
the claimant made on first appeal, only set aside or reverse
such finding if the finding is clearly erroneous;

(v) require an independent review panel to expeditiously
issue a written decision for any alternative dispute
resolution under this subsection; and
(vi) direct that if an independent review panel for any
alternative dispute resolution under this subsection
determines that the basis upon which a party submits a
request for alternative dispute resolution is frivolous, the
independent review panel shall direct the party to pay the
reasonable costs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
relating to the review by the independent review panel.
(D) Funds received.--Any funds received by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency under the authority under this
subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the
appropriation or appropriations available for the eligible
assistance in dispute on the date on which the funds are
received.
(3) Sunset.--A request for review by an independent review
panel under this subsection may not be made after December
31, 2015.
(4) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the
termination of authority under this subsection pursuant to
paragraph (3), the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives a report analyzing the effectiveness of the
program under this subsection.
(B) Contents.--The report submitted under subparagraph (A)
shall include--
(i) a determination of the availability of data required to
complete the report;
(ii) an assessment of the effectiveness of the program
under this subsection, including an assessment of whether the
program expedited or delayed the disaster recovery process;
(iii) an assessment of whether the program increased or
decreased costs to administer section 403, 406, or 407 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act;
(iv) an assessment of the procedures and safeguards that
the independent review panels established to ensure
objectivity and accuracy, and the extent to which they
followed those procedures and safeguards;
(v) a recommendation as to whether any aspect of the
program under this subsection should be made a permanent
authority; and
(vi) recommendations for any modifications to the authority
or the administration of the authority under this subsection
in order to improve the disaster recovery process.
(h) 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 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, in cooperation with representatives of
State, tribal, 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 (including section 206.48(b)(2) of such title
relating to trauma and the specific conditions or losses that
contribute to trauma), to measure the severity, magnitude,
and impact of a disaster.
(i) Child Care.--Section 408(e)(1) of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5174(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``Child care,''
after ``Dental,''; and
(2) by inserting ``child care,'' after ``dental,''.
(j) Temporary Housing.--Section 408(c)(1)(B) of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5174(c)(1)(B)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses
(iii) and (iv), respectively;
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) Lease and repair of rental units for temporary
housing.--

``(I) In general.--The President, to the extent it would be
a cost effective alternative to other temporary housing
options, may--

``(aa) enter into lease agreements with owners of
multifamily rental property located in areas covered by a
major disaster declaration to house individuals and
households eligible for assistance under this section; and
``(bb) make repairs or improvement to properties under such
lease agreements, to the extent necessary to serve as safe
and adequate temporary housing.

``(II) Improvements or repairs.--Under the terms of any
lease agreement for property entered into under this
subsection, the value of the improvements or repairs shall be
deducted from the value of the lease agreement; and may not
exceed the value of the lease agreement.
``(III) Period of assistance.--The President may not
provide direct assistance under this clause with respect to a
major disaster after the end of the 18-month period beginning
on the date of declaration of the major disaster by the
President, except that the President may extend that period
if the President determines that due to extraordinary
circumstances an extension would be in the public
interest.''; and

(3) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, by striking
``clause (ii)'' and inserting ``clause (iii)''.
(k) Tribal Requests for a Major Disaster or Emergency
Declaration Under the Stafford Act.--
(1) Major disaster requests.--Section 401 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170) is amended--
(A) by striking ``All requests for a declaration'' and
inserting ``(a) In General.--All requests for a
declaration''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Indian Tribal Government Requests.--
``(1) In general.--The Chief Executive of an affected
Indian tribal government may submit a request for a
declaration by the President that a major disaster exists
consistent with the requirements of subsection (a).
``(2) References.--In implementing assistance authorized by
the President under this Act in response to a request of the
Chief Executive of an affected Indian tribal government for a
major disaster declaration, any reference in this Act, except
sections 310 and 326, to a State or the Governor of a State
is deemed to refer to an affected Indian tribal government or
the Chief Executive of an affected Indian tribal government,
as appropriate.
``(3) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection shall
prohibit an Indian tribal government from receiving
assistance under this Act through a declaration made by the
President at the request of a State under subsection (a) if
the President does not make a declaration under this
subsection for the same incident.
``(c) Cost Share Adjustments for Indian Tribal
Governments.--
``(1) In general.--In providing assistance to an Indian
tribal government under this Act, the President may waive or
adjust any payment of a non-Federal contribution with respect
to the assistance if--
``(A) the President has the authority to waive or adjust
the payment under another provision of this Act; and
``(B) the President determines that the waiver or
adjustment is necessary and appropriate.
``(2) Criteria for making determinations.--The President
shall establish criteria for making determinations under
paragraph (1)(B).''.
(2) Emergency requests.--Section 501 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5191) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Indian Tribal Government Requests.--
``(1) In general.--The Chief Executive of an affected
Indian tribal government may submit a request for a
declaration by the President that an emergency exists
consistent with the requirements of subsection (a).
``(2) References.--In implementing assistance authorized by
the President under this Act in response to a request of the
Chief Executive of an affected Indian tribal government for
an emergency declaration, any reference in this Act, except
sections 310 and 326, to a State or the Governor of a State
is deemed to refer to an affected Indian tribal government or
the Chief Executive of an affected Indian tribal government,
as appropriate.
``(3) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection shall
prohibit an Indian tribal government from receiving
assistance under this Act through a declaration made by the
President at the request of a State under subsection (a) if
the President does not make a declaration under this
subsection for the same incident.''.
(3) Definitions.--Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)
is amended--
(A) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking ``; and'' and inserting
``, that is not an Indian tribal government as defined in
paragraph (6); and'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (10) as
paragraphs (7) through (11), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) Indian tribal government.--The term `Indian tribal
government' means the governing body of any Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community
that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as
an Indian tribe under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe
List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.).''; and

[[Page S8493]]

(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(12) Chief executive.--The term `Chief Executive' means
the person who is the Chief, Chairman, Governor, President,
or similar executive official of an Indian tribal
government.''.
(4) References.--Title I of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
is amended by adding after section 102 the following:

``SEC. 103. REFERENCES.

``Except as otherwise specifically provided, any reference
in this Act to `State and local', `State or local', `State,
and local', `State, or local', or `State, local' (including
the plural form of such terms) with respect to governments or
officials and any reference to a `local government' in
sections 406(d)(3) and 417 shall be deemed to refer also to
Indian tribal governments and officials, as appropriate.''.
(5) Regulations.--
(A) Issuance.--The President shall issue regulations to
carry out the amendments made by this subsection.
(B) Factors.--In issuing regulations under this paragraph,
the President shall consider the unique conditions that
affect the general welfare of Indian tribal governments.
(l) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chair of the Hurricane Sandy
Rebuilding Task Force established by the President, in
consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the Secretary of the Treasury, and others
whom the Chair determines to be appropriate, shall submit to
the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives a report that includes a discussion of--
(1) the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on local government
budgets in States where a major disaster has been declared,
including revenues from taxes, fees, and other sources, and
expenses related to operations, debt obligations, and
unreimbursed disaster-related costs;
(2) the availability of loans from private sources to
address such impacts, including information on interest
rates, repayment terms, securitization requirements, and the
ability of affected local governments to qualify for such
loans;
(3) the availability of Federal resources to address the
budgetary impacts of Hurricane Sandy upon local governments;
(4) the ability of the Community Disaster Loan program
authorized under section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184)
to effectively and expeditiously address budgetary impacts of
Hurricane Sandy and other disasters upon local governments,
including--
(A) an assessment of the current statutory limits on loan
amounts;
(B) the regulations, policies, and procedures governing
program mobilization to communities in need and expeditious
processing of loan applications;
(C) information on interest rates, repayment terms,
securitization requirements, and ability of affected local
governments to qualify for such loans;
(D) criteria governing the cancellation of such loans,
including appropriate classification of available revenues
and eligible expenses, and the consistency of program rules
with customary local government budgetary practices and State
or local laws that affect the specific budgetary practices of
local governments affected by Hurricane Sandy and other
disasters;
(E) repayment terms and timeframes on loans that do not
qualify for cancellation;
(F) options for Congressional consideration related to
legislative modifications of this program, and any other
applicable provisions of Federal law, in order to address the
budgetary impacts of Hurricane Sandy and other disasters upon
local governments; and
(G) recommendations on steps the Federal Emergency
Management Agency may take in order to improve program
administration, effectiveness, communications, and speed; and
(5) potential consequences of Federal action or inaction to
address the budgetary impacts of Hurricane Sandy upon local
governments.
(m) Applicability.--Unless otherwise specified, this
section and the amendments made by this section shall apply
for--
(1) any major disaster or emergency declared under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) on or after the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(2) a major disaster or emergency declared before the date
of enactment of this Act for which the period for processing
requests for assistance has not ended on the date of
enactment of this Act.

TITLE VII

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

construction

For an additional amount for ``Construction'' for necessary
expenses incurred to prepare for, respond to, and recover
from Hurricane Sandy, $78,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

National Park Service

historic preservation fund

For an additional amount for the ``Historic Preservation
Fund'' for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy, $50,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2015, including costs to states necessary to
complete compliance activities required by section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act and costs needed to
administer the program: Provided, That grants shall only be
available for areas that have received a major disaster
declaration pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.):
Provided further, That individual grants shall not be
subject to a non-Federal matching requirement: Provided
further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

construction

For an additional amount for ``Construction'' for necessary
expenses incurred to prepare for, respond to, and recover
from Hurricane Sandy, $348,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

oil spill research

For an additional amount for ``Oil Spill Research'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $3,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

Departmental Operations

office of the secretary

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Departmental Operations''
and any Department of the Interior component bureau or office
for necessary expenses related to the consequences of
Hurricane Sandy and for other activities related to storms
and natural disasters, $150,000,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That funds appropriated herein
shall be used to restore and rebuild parks, refuges, and
other public assets; increase the resiliency and capacity of
coastal habitat and infrastructure to withstand future storms
and reduce the amount of damage caused by such storms;
protect natural and cultural values; and assist State, tribal
and local governments: Provided further, That the Secretary
may transfer these funds to any other account in the
Department and may expend such funds by direct expenditure,
grants, or cooperative agreements, including grants to or
cooperative agreements with States, Tribes, and
municipalities, to carry out the purposes provided herein:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a detailed spending plan for the amounts
provided herein within 60 days of enactment of this Act:
Provided further, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Environmental Programs and Management

For an additional amount for ``Environmental Programs and
Management'' for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $725,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Hazardous Substance Superfund

For an additional amount for ``Hazardous Substance
Superfund'' for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $2,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund

For an additional amount for ``Leaking Underground Storage
Tank Fund'' for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $5,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

For an additional amount for ``State and Tribal Assistance
Grants'', $810,000,000, to remain available until expended,
of which $700,000,000 shall be for capitalization grants for
the Clean Water State Revolving Funds under Title VI of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and of which
$110,000,000 shall be for capitalization grants under section
1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act: Provided, That
notwithstanding section 604(a) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act and section 1452(a)(1)(D) of the Safe Drinking
Water Act, funds appropriated herein shall be provided to
States that have received a major disaster declaration
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for
Hurricane Sandy: Provided further, That no eligible state
shall receive less than two percent of such funds: Provided
further, That funds appropriated herein shall not be subject
to the matching or cost share requirements of sections
602(b)(2), 602(b)(3) or 202 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act nor the matching requirements of section 1452(e)
of the Safe

[[Page S8494]]

Drinking Water Act: Provided further, That notwithstanding
the requirements of section 603(d) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, for the funds appropriated herein,
each State shall use not less than 50 percent of the amount
of its capitalization grants to provide additional
subsidization to eligible recipients in the form of
forgiveness of principal, negative interest loans or grants
or any combination of these: Provided further, That the
funds appropriated herein shall only be used for eligible
projects whose purpose is to reduce flood damage risk and
vulnerability or to enhance resiliency to rapid hydrologic
change or a natural disaster at treatment works as defined by
section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or any
eligible facilities under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking
Water Act, and for other eligible tasks at such treatment
works or facilities necessary to further such purposes:
Provided further, That notwithstanding the definition of
treatment works in section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, and subject to the purposes described herein,
the funds appropriated herein shall be available for the
purchase of land and easements necessary for the siting of
eligible treatment works projects: Provided further, That
the Administrator may retain up to $1,000,000 of the funds
appropriated herein for management and oversight of the
requirements of this section: Provided further, That such
amounts are designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

RELATED AGENCIES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

capital improvement and maintenance

For an additional amount for ``Capital Improvement and
Maintenance'' for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy, $4,400,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

OTHER RELATED AGENCY

Smithsonian Institution

salaries and expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'' for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy, $2,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

TITLE VIII

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

training and employment services

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Training and Employment
Services'', $50,000,000, for the dislocated workers
assistance national reserve for necessary expenses resulting
from Hurricane Sandy, which shall be available from the date
of enactment of this Act through September 30, 2013:
Provided, That the Secretary of Labor may transfer up to
$3,500,000 of such funds to any other Department of Labor
account for other Hurricane Sandy reconstruction and recovery
needs, including worker protection activities: Provided
further, That such amounts are designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

social services block grant

For an additional amount for ``Social Services Block
Grant'', $500,000,000, for necessary expenses resulting from
Hurricane Sandy in States for which the President declared a
major disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, notwithstanding
section 2003 and paragraphs (1) and (4) of section 2005(a) of
the Social Security Act: Provided, That, notwithstanding
section 2002 of the Social Security Act, the distribution of
such amount shall be limited to States directly affected by
these events: Provided further, That section 2002(c) of the
Social Security Act shall be applied to funds appropriated in
this paragraph by substituting succeeding 2 fiscal years for
succeeding fiscal year: Provided further, That funds
appropriated in this paragraph are in addition to the
entitlement grants authorized by section 2002(a)(1) of the
Social Security Act and shall not be available for such
entitlement grants: Provided further, That in addition to
other uses permitted by title XX of the Social Security Act,
funds appropriated in this paragraph may be used for health
services (including mental health services), and for costs of
renovating, repairing, or rebuilding health care facilities
(including mental health facilities), child care facilities,
or other social services facilities: Provided further, That
notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (8) of section 2005(a) of
the Social Security Act, a State may use up to 10 percent of
its allotment of funds appropriated in this paragraph to
supplement any other funds available for the following costs,
subject to guidelines established by the Secretary, for
health care providers (as defined by the Secretary): (a)
payments to compensate employees of health care providers for
wages lost as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy, and (b)
payments to support the viability of health care providers
with facilities that were substantially damaged as a direct
result of Hurricane Sandy: Provided further, That funds
appropriated in this paragraph are also available for costs
incurred up to 3 days prior to Hurricane Sandy's October 29,
2012, landfall, subject to Federal review of documentation of
the cost of services provided: Provided further, That none
of the funds appropriated in this paragraph shall be
available for costs that are reimbursed by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency or insurance: Provided further,
That, with respect to the Federal interest in real property
acquired or on which construction or major renovation of
facilities (as such terms are defined in 45 CFR 1309.3) is
undertaken with these funds, procedures equivalent to those
specified in Subpart C of 45 CFR Part 1309 shall apply:
Provided further, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

children and family services programs

For an additional amount for ``Children and Families
Services Programs'', $100,000,000, for making payments under
the Head Start Act in States for which the President declared
a major disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act as a result of
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That funds appropriated in this
paragraph are not subject to the allocation requirements of
section 640(a) or the matching requirements of section 640(b)
of the Head Start Act: Provided further, That funds
appropriated in this paragraph shall be available through
September 30, 2014 for activities to assist affected Head
Start agencies, including technical assistance, costs of Head
Start services (including supportive services for children
and families, and provision of mental health services for
children affected by Hurricane Sandy), and costs of
renovating, repairing, or rebuilding those Head Start
facilities damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy: Provided
further, That none of the funds appropriated in this
paragraph shall be included in the calculation of the ``base
grant'' in subsequent fiscal years, as such term is used in
section 640(a)(7)(A) of the Head Start Act: Provided
further, That none of the funds appropriated in this
paragraph shall be available for costs that are reimbursed by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency or by insurance:
Provided further, That such amounts are designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Office of the Secretary

public health and social services emergency fund

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund'' for disaster response and recovery,
and other expenses related to Hurricane Sandy, and for other
disaster-response activities, $200,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That these funds may be
transferred by the Secretary to accounts within the
Department of Health and Human Services, and shall be
available only for the purposes provided in this paragraph:
Provided further, That the transfer authority provided in
this paragraph is in addition to any other transfer authority
available in this or any other Act: Provided further, That
obligations incurred for the purposes provided herein prior
to the enactment of this Act may be charged to this
appropriation: Provided further, That funds appropriated in
this paragraph may be used to make grants for renovating,
repairing, or rebuilding non-Federal research facilities
damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy: Provided further,
That funds appropriated under this paragraph shall not be
available for costs that are eligible for reimbursement by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency or are covered by
insurance: Provided further, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

RELATED AGENCY

Social Security Administration

limitation on administrative expenses

For an additional amount for ``Limitation on Administrative
Expenses'', $2,000,000, for necessary expenses resulting from
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by
the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant
to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

TITLE IX

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION

Military Construction, Army National Guard

For an additional amount for ``Military Construction, Army
National Guard'', $24,200,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2014, for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such funds
may be obligated or expended for planning and design and
military construction projects not otherwise authorized by
law: Provided further, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration

medical services

For an additional amount for ``Medical Services'',
$21,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014,
for necessary expenses related to

[[Page S8495]]

the consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

medical facilities

For an additional amount for ``Medical Facilities'',
$6,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014, for
necessary expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane
Sandy: Provided, That such amount is designated by the
Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.

national cemetery administration

For an additional amount for ``National Cemetery
Administration'', $1,100,000, for necessary expenses related
to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

Departmental Administration

information technology systems

For an additional amount for ``Information Technology
Systems'', $500,000, for necessary expenses related to the
consequences of Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That such amount
is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

construction, major projects

For an additional amount for ``Construction, Major
Projects'', $207,000,000 to remain available until expended,
for renovations and repairs to the Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center in Manhattan, New York, as a
consequence of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy: Provided,
That notwithstanding any other provision of law, such funds
may be obligated and expended to carry out planning and
design and major medical facility construction not otherwise
authorized by law: Provided further, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

TITLE X

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

facilities and equipment

(airport and airway trust fund)

For an additional amount for ``Facilities and equipment'',
$30,000,000, to be derived from the Airport and Airway Trust
Fund and to remain available until expended, for necessary
expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

Federal Highway Administration

federal-aid highways

emergency relief program

For an additional amount for the Emergency Relief Program
as authorized under section 125 of title 23, United States
Code, $921,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.

Federal Railroad Administration

grants to the national railroad passenger corporation

For an additional amount for the Secretary to make grants
to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for costs and
losses incurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy and to advance
capital projects that address Northeast Corridor
infrastructure recovery, mitigation and resiliency in the
affected areas, $336,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the Administrator of the Federal
Railroad Administration may retain up to one-half of 1
percent of the funds provided under this heading to fund the
award and oversight by the Administrator of grants made under
this heading: Provided further, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Federal Transit Administration

public transportation emergency relief program

For the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program as
authorized under section 5324 of title 49, United States
Code, $10,783,000,000, to remain available until expended,
for recovery and relief efforts in the areas most affected by
Hurricane Sandy: Provided, That, of the funds provided under
this heading, the Secretary may transfer up to $5,383,000,000
to the appropriate agencies to fund programs authorized under
titles 23 and 49, United States Code, in order to carry out
mitigation projects related to reducing risk of damage from
future disasters in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy:
Provided further, That the Committees on Appropriations of
the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be notified
at least 15 days in advance of any such transfer: Provided
further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Federal share for all projects funded under this heading for
repairs, reconstruction or mitigation of transportation
infrastructure in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy shall be
90 percent: Provided further, That up to three-quarters of 1
percent of the funds retained for public transportation
emergency relief shall be available for the purposes of
administrative expenses and ongoing program management
oversight as authorized under 49 U.S.C. 5334 and 5338(i)(2)
and shall be in addition to any other appropriations for such
purposes: Provided further, That, of the funds made
available under this heading, $6,000,000 shall be transferred
to the Office of Inspector General to support the oversight
of activities funded under this heading: Provided further,
That such amounts are designated by the Congress as being for
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Community Planning and Development

community development fund

For an additional amount for the ``Community Development
Fund'' for necessary expenses related to disaster relief,
long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and
housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation in the most
impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster
declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), due to
Hurricane Sandy, for activities authorized under title I of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5301 et seq.), $17,000,000,000, to remain available until
expended, of which at least $2,000,000,000 shall be used for
mitigation projects to reduce future risk and
vulnerabilities: Provided, That the Secretary shall
establish a minimum allocation for each eligible State
declared a major disaster due to Hurricane Sandy: Provided
further, That of the amount provided under this heading,
$500,000,000 shall be used to address the unmet needs of
impacted areas resulting from a major disaster declared
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or for small, economically distressed
areas with a disaster declared in 2011 or 2012: Provided
further, That funds shall be awarded directly to the State or
unit of general local government as a grantee at the
discretion of the Secretary: Provided further, That the
Secretary shall allocate to grantees not less than 33 percent
of the funds provided under this heading within 60 days after
the enactment of this Act based on the best available data:
Provided further, That prior to the obligation of funds, a
grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary for approval
detailing the proposed use of all funds, including criteria
for eligibility and how the use of these funds will address
long-term recovery and restoration of infrastructure and
housing and economic revitalization in the most impacted and
distressed areas: Provided further, That the Secretary shall
by notice specify the criteria for approval of such plans
within 45 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further,
That such funds may not be used for activities reimbursable
by, or for which funds are made available by, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency or the Army Corps of Engineers:
Provided further, That the final paragraph under the heading
Community Development Block Grants in title II of Public Law
105-276 (42 U.S.C. 5305 note) shall not apply to funds
provided under this heading: Provided further, That funds
allocated under this heading shall not be considered relevant
to the non-disaster formula allocations made pursuant to 42
U.S.C. 5306: Provided further, That a grantee may use up to
5 percent of its allocation for administrative costs:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall require that
grantees have established procedures to ensure timely
expenditure of funds and prevent any duplication of benefits
as defined by 42 U.S.C. 5155 and prevent fraud and abuse of
funds: Provided further, That the Secretary shall provide
grantees with technical assistance on contracting and
procurement processes and shall require grantees, in
contracting or procuring for management and administration of
these funds, to incorporate performance requirements and
penalties into any such contracts or agreements and to
maintain information with respect to performance on the use
of any funds for management and administrative purposes:
Provided further, That in administering the funds under this
heading, the Secretary may waive, or specify alternative
requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation
that the Secretary administers in connection with the
obligation by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of
these funds (except for requirements related to fair housing,
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment),
pursuant to a determination by the Secretary that good cause
exists for the waiver or alternative requirement and that
such action is not inconsistent with the overall purposes of
title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
(42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.): Provided further, That
notwithstanding the previous proviso, recipients of funds
provided under this heading that use such funds to match or
supplement Federal assistance provided under sections 402,
403, 406, 407, or 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
may adopt, without review or public comment, any
environmental review, approval, or permit performed by a
Federal agency, and such adoption shall satisfy the
responsibilities of the recipient with respect to such
environmental review, approval, or permit: Provided further,
That, notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2), the Secretary
may, upon receipt of a request for release of funds and
certification, immediately approve the release of funds for
an activity or project assisted under this heading if the
recipient has adopted an environmental review prepared under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.) or the project is categorically excluded from
further review under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.): Provided further, That a
waiver granted by the Secretary may not

[[Page S8496]]

reduce the percentage of funds which must be used for
activities that benefit persons of low and moderate income to
less than 50 percent, unless the Secretary specifically finds
that there is a compelling need to further reduce or
eliminate the percentage requirement: Provided further, That
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register any
waiver of any statute or regulation that the Secretary
administers pursuant to title I of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 no later than 5 days before the
effective date of such waiver: Provided further, That funds
provided under this heading to for-profit enterprises may
only assist such enterprises that meet the definition of
small business as defined by the Small Business
Administration under 13 CFR part 121: Provided further, That
notwithstanding the previous proviso, funds may be provided
to a for-profit enterprise, that does not meet such
definition of small business, but which provides a public
benefit, is publicly regulated, and is otherwise eligible for
assistance under 42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq., and the implementing
regulations at 24 CFR Part 570.201(l): Provided further,
That of the funds made available under this heading, up to
$10,000,000 may be transferred to ``Program Office Salaries
and Expenses, Community Planning and Development'' for
technical assistance and administrative costs (including
information technology costs), related solely to
administering funds available under this heading or funds
made available under prior appropriations to the ``Community
Development Fund'' for disaster relief, long-term recovery,
or emergency expenses: Provided further, That, of the funds
made available under this heading, $10,000,000 shall be
transferred to ``Office of Inspector General'': Provided
further, That the amounts provided under this heading are
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS TITLE

Sec. 1001. For fiscal year 2013, upon request by a public
housing agency and supported by documentation as required by
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development that
demonstrates that the need for the adjustment is due to the
disaster, the Secretary may make temporary adjustments to the
Section 8 housing choice voucher annual renewal funding
allocations and administrative fee eligibility determinations
for public housing agencies in an area for which the
President declared a disaster under title IV of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170 et seq.), to avoid significant adverse funding
impacts that would otherwise result from the disaster.
Sec. 1002. The Departments of Transportation and Housing
and Urban Development shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
within 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act a
plan for implementing the provisions in this title, and
updates to such plan on a biannual basis thereafter.
Sec. 1003. None of the funds provided in this title to the
Department of Transportation or the Department of Housing and
Urban Development may be used to make a grant unless the
Secretary of such Department notifies the House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations and posts the notification on
the public website of that agency not less than 3 full
business days before either Department (or a modal
administration of either Department) announces the selection
of any project, State or locality to receive a grant award
totaling $500,000 or more.

TITLE XI

GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT

Sec. 1101. Each amount appropriated or made available in
this Act is in addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for
the fiscal year involved.
Sec. 1102. Each amount designated in this Act by the
Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 shall be available only if the President
subsequently so designates all such amounts and transmits
such designations to the Congress.
Sec. 1103. (a) Not later than March 31, 2013, in accordance
with criteria to be established by the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), Federal agencies shall submit to OMB and to
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and of the Senate internal control plans for
funds provided by this Act.
(b) All programs and activities receiving funds under this
Act shall be deemed to be ``susceptible to significant
improper payments'' for purposes of the Improper Payments
Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) (IPIA),
notwithstanding section 2(a) of IPIA.
(c) In accordance with guidance to be issued by the
Director of OMB, agencies shall identify those grants for
which the funds provided by this Act should be expended by
the grantees within the 24-month period following the
agency's obligation of funds for the grant. In the case of
such grants, the agency shall include a term in the grant
that:
(1) requires the grantee to return to the agency any funds
not expended within the 24-month period; and
(2) provides that the head of the agency may, after
consultation with the Director of OMB, subsequently issue a
waiver of this requirement based on a determination by the
head of the agency that exceptional circumstances exist that
justify an extension of the period in which the funds must be
expended.
Sec. 1104. (a) In carrying out activities funded by this
Act, Federal agencies, in partnership with States, local
communities and tribes, shall inform plans for response,
recovery, and rebuilding to reduce vulnerabilities from and
build long-term resiliency to future extreme weather events,
sea level rise, and coastal flooding. In carrying out
activities funded by this title that involve repairing,
rebuilding, or restoring infrastructure and restoring land,
project sponsors shall consider, where appropriate, the
increased risks and vulnerabilities associated with future
extreme weather events, sea level rise and coastal flooding.
(b) Funds made available in this Act shall be available to
develop, in partnership with State, local and tribal
officials, regional projections and assessments of future
risks and vulnerabilities to extreme weather events, sea
level rise and coastal flooding that may be used for the
planning referred to in subsection (a), and to encourage
coordination and facilitate long-term community resiliency.
Sec. 1105. Recipients of Federal funds dedicated to
reconstruction efforts under this Act shall, to the greatest
extent practicable, ensure that such reconstruction efforts
maximize the utilization of technologies designed to mitigate
future power outages, continue delivery of vital services and
maintain the flow of power to facilities critical to public
health, safety and welfare. The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development as chair of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding
Task Force shall issue appropriate guidelines to implement
this requirement.

vehicles use in the wake of hurricane sandy

Sec. 1106. (a) Report.--Not later than 7 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Department of Justice and
Department of Homeland Security shall identify and relocate
any vehicles currently based at the Washington, D.C.,
headquarters of such agencies used for non-operational
purposes to replace vehicles of those agencies damaged by
Hurricane Sandy. The Department of Justice and Department of
Homeland Security shall provide copies of a report
summarizing the actions taken to carry out this subsection to
the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and
Judiciary.
(b) Funding Limitation.--No funds provided by this Act
shall be used to purchase, repair, or replace any Department
of Justice or Department of Homeland security vehicle until
after the report required by subsection (a) has been provided
to Congress.

increased embassy security

Sec. 1107. Funds appropriated under the heading
``Administration of Foreign Affairs'' under Title VIII of
Division I of Public Law 112-74 and as carried forward under
Public Law 112-175, may be transferred to, and merged with,
any such other funds appropriated under such title and
heading: Provided, That such transfers shall be subject to
the regular notification procedures of the Committees on
Appropriations.

prohibition on emergency spending for persons having serious delinquent
tax debts

Sec. 1108. (a) Definition of Seriously Delinquent Tax
Debt.--In this section:
(1) In general.--The term ``seriously delinquent tax debt''
means an outstanding debt under the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 for which a notice of lien has been filed in public
records pursuant to section 6323 of that Code.
(2) Exclusions.--The term ``seriously delinquent tax debt''
does not include--
(A) a debt that is being paid in a timely manner pursuant
to an agreement under section 6159 or 7122 of Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; and
(B) a debt with respect to which a collection due process
hearing under section 6330 of that Code, or relief under
subsection (a), (b), or (f) of section 6015 of that Code, is
requested or pending.
(b) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act or an amendment made by this Act, none of the
amounts appropriated by or otherwise made available under
this Act may be used to make payments to an individual or
entity who has a seriously delinquent tax debt during the
pendency of such seriously delinquent tax debt.

prohibition on emergency spending for deceased individuals

Sec. 1109. None of the amounts appropriated by or otherwise
made available under this Act may be used for any person who
is not alive when the amounts are made available. This does
not apply to funeral costs.
This Act may be cited as the ``Disaster Relief
Appropriations Act, 2013''.

Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act making appropriations for
disaster relief for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and
for other purposes.''.

Amendment No. 3440

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an amendment to
the title of H.R. 1, the text of which is at the desk, be agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 3440) was agreed to, as follows:

Amend the title to read:
``An Act making appropriations for disaster relief for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other
purposes.''

Change of Vote

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, on rollcall vote 248 I voted no. It was my
intention to vote aye. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that I be
permitted to change my vote since it will not affect the outcome.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)
Mr. REID. Mr. President, first of all, I congratulate the people who
worked

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so hard on this bill. We appreciate the new chair of the Appropriations
Committee and the good work she did; the work done by the New York
delegation, led by Senator Schumer; and the work done by the New Jersey
delegation. This is extremely fine legislation. I really appreciate all
their hard work, and the cooperation we got from the Republicans was
wonderful.
The people in New England suffered a tremendous blow caused by
nature. As has happened during the entire history of this country when
that sort of devastation has occurred, Congress stepped in to do
something to help the beleaguered people. In this case, it is New York,
New Jersey, and some other States, but they were the ones hit the
hardest. Even now, hundreds of thousands of people are without homes,
so I hope the House takes this up very quickly.

____________________