[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5858-H5859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2020

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4358) to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to submit to Congress a report on preliminary damage 
assessment and to establish damage assessment teams in the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4358

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Preliminary Damage 
     Assessment Improvement Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Preliminary damage assessments play a critical role in 
     assessing and validating the impact and magnitude of a 
     disaster.
       (2) Through the preliminary damage assessment process, 
     representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
     validate information gathered by State and local officials 
     that serves as the basis for disaster assistance requests.
       (3) Various factors can impact the duration of a 
     preliminary damage assessment and the corresponding 
     submission of a major disaster request, however, the average 
     time between when a disaster occurs, and the submission of a 
     corresponding disaster request has been found to be 
     approximately twenty days longer for flooding disasters.
       (4) With communities across the country facing increased 
     instances of catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather 
     events, accurate and efficient preliminary damage assessments 
     have become critically important to the relief process for 
     impacted states and municipalities.

     SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency shall submit to Congress a report 
     describing the preliminary damage assessment process, as 
     supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the 5 
     years before the date of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Contents.--The report described in subsection (a) shall 
     contain the following:
       (1) The process of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
     for deploying personnel to support preliminary damage 
     assessments.
       (2) The number of Agency staff participating on disaster 
     assessment teams.
       (3) The training and experience of such staff described in 
     paragraph (2).
       (4) A calculation of the average amount of time disaster 
     assessment teams described in paragraph (1) are deployed to a 
     disaster area.
       (5) The efforts of the Agency to maintain a consistent 
     liaison between the Agency and State, local, Tribal, and 
     territorial officials within a disaster area.

     SEC. 4. PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency shall establish a training regime 
     under section 206.33(b) of title 44, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, within the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
     to ensure preliminary damage assessments are conducted and 
     reviewed under consistent guidelines.
       (b) Annual Report.--The Administrator shall annually submit 
     to Congress a report on the number and type of instances 
     under which Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel 
     have overturned decisions made by personnel in the field.
       (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 
     to Congress a report--
       (1) describing the establishment of disaster guidelines 
     from Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel described 
     under subsection (a);
       (2) assessing whether the duration of the deployment of 
     Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel to conduct a 
     preliminary damage assessment is longer based on specific 
     disaster conditions; and
       (3) containing legislative recommendations to improve the 
     operation, deployment, and staffing of disaster personnel.
       (d) Definition of State and Local Government.--For purposes 
     of this Act, the terms ``State'' and ``local government'' 
     have the meanings given such terms in section 102 of the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Missouri 
(Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 4358, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4358, as amended, the 
Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2020, introduced by 
Mr. Katko from New York.
  H.R. 4358, as amended, would direct the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency to produce a report examining the preliminary damage assessment, 
or PDA, process and establish a more consistent training regime for 
FEMA personnel to effectively support these assessments at State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial units of government.
  FEMA uses PDA findings in the wake of a disaster to determine the 
extent of damage and the subsequent unmet needs of individuals, 
businesses, and the public sector in the affected community.
  This bill would ensure greater consistency for PDAs across FEMA's 10 
regions by creating a training program with a goal of ensuring that 
data collected and reviewed is done in a more consistent manner.
  As communities across the country experience more extreme weather 
events, timely and consistent PDAs have never been more important to 
the recovery process of disaster-declared areas.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and ask my colleagues to do 
the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4358 is going to improve consistency in FEMA's 
preliminary damage assessments to better help communities hit by 
disaster.
  Inconsistencies in FEMA training and personnel on the ground 
following a disaster often slow the recovery process down dramatically. 
This bill is going to help ensure that there is more consistency within 
FEMA to support State and local communities as they navigate the 
preliminary damage assessment process to determine eligibility for 
assistance.
  Ultimately, the bill is about helping Americans impacted by disasters 
to get the help that they need sooner and more reliably.
  I want to thank Ranking Member Katko for his leadership and work on 
this piece of legislation.
  I urge support for the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).
  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be the sponsor of H.R. 4358, 
the Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act, along with the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Cunningham).
  Preliminary damage assessments, or PDAs, play a critical role in 
assessing and validating the impact of a disaster. PDAs establish a 
foundation for further assistance requests and are essential to the 
overall disaster relief process.
  Inaccurate PDAs can impact the types of Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, or FEMA, assistance available to communities following a 
disaster.
  Although FEMA is currently required to designate officials to support 
States and local communities in the PDA process, inconsistencies and 
turnovers in staffing can endanger access to critical relief. H.R. 4358 
requires FEMA to report on FEMA's role in the PDA process, including 
staffing and training.
  The bill also directs FEMA to take measures to ensure FEMA teams 
involved in damage assessments are appropriately trained and 
consistent. Whether FEMA is responding to flooding in my district on 
Lake Ontario's southern shore, which happens often,

[[Page H5859]]

or hurricanes in South Carolina's Lowcountry or natural disasters in 
any other impacted community nationwide, consistency and dependability 
are crucial.

  I want to thank the American Flood Coalition for working with 
Representative Cunningham and me on this important legislation.
  In closing, H.R. 4358 will help communities across the country 
recover from disasters by improving the consistency, dependability, and 
accuracy in the preliminary damage assessment process for FEMA disaster 
relief.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4358, as I mentioned 
earlier, is going to improve FEMA support for communities that have 
been hit by disasters by ensuring more consistency in the preliminary 
damage assessment process.
  This bill will provide much better and faster government assistance 
to those whose lives have been impacted by floods, by hurricanes, and 
by so many other disasters that we see.
  Again, I want to thank and I want to commend the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Katko) for his leadership on this issue.
  I urge support of this important legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4358, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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