[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 193 (Wednesday, November 3, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6136-H6138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HAZARD ELIGIBILITY AND LOCAL PROJECTS ACT
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1917) to modify eligibility requirements for certain hazard
mitigation assistance programs, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1917
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 ``Hazard Eligibility and Local
Projects Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION OF ACQUISITION OR
RELOCATION PROJECTS.
(a) Eligibility for Assistance for Initiated Projects.--
[[Page H6137]]
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, an entity seeking assistance under a hazard mitigation
assistance program shall be eligible to receive such
assistance for a covered project if the entity--
(A) complies with all other eligibility requirements of the
hazard mitigation assistance program for acquisition or
relocation projects, including extinguishing all incompatible
encumbrances; and
(B) complies with all Federal requirements for the project.
(2) Costs incurred.--An entity seeking assistance under a
hazard mitigation assistance program shall be responsible for
any project costs incurred by the entity for a covered
project if the covered project is not awarded, or is
determined to be ineligible for, assistance.
(b) Definitions.--In this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) Covered project.--The term ``covered project'' means--
(A) an acquisition or relocation project for which an
entity began implementation prior to grant award under a
hazard mitigation assistance program; and
(B) a project for which an entity initiated planning or
construction before or after requesting assistance for the
project under a hazard mitigation assistance program
qualifying for a categorical exemption under the National
Environmental Policy Act.
(2) Hazard mitigation assistance program.--The term
``hazard mitigation assistance program'' means--
(A) the predisaster hazard mitigation grant program
authorized under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5133);
(B) the hazard mitigation grant program authorized under
section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c); and
(C) the flood mitigation assistance program authorized
under section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c).
(c) Applicability.--This section shall apply to funds
appropriated on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Hampshire (Mr. Pappas) and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Hampshire.
General Leave
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include any extraneous material on H.R. 1917.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Hampshire?
There was no objection.
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1917, introduced and
championed by Representative Fletcher. The Hazard Eligibility and Local
Projects, or HELP Act, is designed to cut through red tape to unlock
Federal assistance to State and local governments to complete some of
the most basic mitigation projects more efficiently, such as buyouts of
flood-prone properties. It represents a change to the current law's
one-size-fits-all approach to reviewing projects that frequently delays
mitigation work which will be welcome news to communities across my
State in New Hampshire, and across our country as we deal with more
frequent severe weather events that may require a Federal response.
The National Institute of Building Sciences has conducted significant
analysis on the return on investment to taxpayers for investments in
mitigation. Congress, under both Democratic and Republican majorities,
has seen fit to bolster investments in mitigation to drive down future
disaster response and recovery costs.
Just last week, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
marked up the Resilient AMERICA Act which would align the calculation
used to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency's pre-disaster
mitigation program with the agency's post-disaster mitigation program.
FEMA's longest-running mitigation program, the Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program, or HMGP, began in 1989 and provides assistance after a
disaster has struck. While there have been more than $5.2 billion
obligated to HMGP projects, more than $1 billion in HMGP dollars have
gone unobligated and will return to FEMA.
This bill will help disaster-impacted communities complete the land
acquisition and simple construction projects that would otherwise be
categorically exempt from a NEPA review, streamlining the process with
FEMA. I want to commend Congresswoman Fletcher for her efforts to help
disaster-vulnerable communities quicken the pace of recoveries and
mitigate against future events.
I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve
the balance of my time.
Committtee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of
Representatives,
Washington, DC, November 1, 2021.
Hon. Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Waters: Thank you for your letter regarding
H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act. I
appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this
legislation.
I acknowledge that by foregoing formal consideration on
H.R. 1917, the Committee on Financial Services does not waive
any future jurisdictional claims to provisions in this or
similar legislation, and that your Committee will be
consulted and involved on any matters in your Committee's
jurisdiction should this legislation move forward. In
addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I
would support your effort to seek appointment of an
appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate
conference involving provisions within this legislation on
which the Committee on Financial Services has a valid
jurisdictional claim.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation,
and I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in
the Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R.
1917.
Sincerely,
Peter A. DeFazio,
Chair.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC, November 1, 2021.
Hon. Peter DeFazio,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 1917, the
``Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act.'' In order to
permit H.R. 1917 to proceed expeditiously to the House Floor,
I agree to forgo formal consideration of the bill.
The Committee on Financial Services takes this action to
forego formal consideration of H.R. 1917 in light of our
mutual understanding that, by foregoing formal consideration
of H.R. 1917 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction
over the subject matter contained in this or similar
legislation, and that our Committee will be appropriately
consulted and involved as this or similar legislation moves
forward with regard to any matters in the Committee's
jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the right to seek
appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any
House-Senate conference involving this or similar legislation
that involves the Committee's jurisdiction and request your
support for any such request.
Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter
confirming this understanding, and I would ask that a copy of
our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the
Congressional Record during Floor consideration of H.R. 1917.
Sincerely,
Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman.
Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1917, the Hazard
Eligibility and Local Projects Act.
This bipartisan legislation will let communities recover from
disasters more efficiently, and even more importantly, better prepare
these communities for the next disaster.
H.R. 1917 provides assistance for certain mitigation projects that
began before the grant was applied for. Last Congress, the House also
worked in a bipartisan manner to pass this very practical bill under
suspension of the rules. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher).
Mrs. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I am delighted to bring my bill, H.R.
1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects, or HELP Act, to the
floor today, and I thank Congressman Pappas, and I thank my colleagues
on both sides of the aisle on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee for agreeing to move this bill forward. I am so proud of the
HELP Act and all that it represents. It is bipartisan, commonsense,
meaningful legislation, that was born out of a real partnership with
local officials in my district in
[[Page H6138]]
Houston that will benefit all Americans.
As many in this body will recall, Hurricane Harvey hit my district in
Houston and the entire Texas Gulf Coast in August of 2017, causing
great devastation, dropping nearly 60 inches of rain, claiming 68
lives, and causing an estimated $125 billion in damages. It was the
second-most expensive hurricane in the United States' history. Members
of this body responded to Harvey's devastation with the speed and
purpose we needed for our recovery, passing three supplemental
appropriations bills, sending billions of dollars in aid to Texas
through different programs. But our recovery was and still is slow,
slower than many expected, and slower than any can afford.
Before I was sworn into Congress, I met with our local officials at
home to talk about the impediments to our recovery. How could we speed
it up? Where was recovery delayed? What could the Federal Government
do? And one impediment that had significant impact on our recovery was
the process for the award of mitigation project funding from FEMA.
Here is why. As Mr. Pappas noted, section 404 of the Stafford Act
provides that FEMA may grant up to 75 percent of funds for cost-
effective mitigation projects through the Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program, HMGP. When States or municipalities apply through the HMGP
program, projects, regardless of size or scope, require a comprehensive
review to make sure all requirements of NEPA or other statutory
requirements are met.
Importantly, these hazard mitigation grants do not allow for the
reimbursement of costs incurred before a grant is approved. As a
result, many areas recovering from disaster must wait for the FEMA
review before purchasing land or starting construction on a project
designed to mitigate damage. This FEMA review can go on for months or
years at a critical time for decisionmaking and recovering.
In the case of natural disasters, local governments need to move
quickly on projects like land acquisition; for example, buying land or
buying out homes that have been damaged or other land acquisition
projects. In Houston, this was true for us when we were looking to buy
a golf course to create additional stormwater detention. The chief
recovery officer for the city of Houston has told us that FEMA's pre-
award cost policy--that is, not allowing reimbursement of costs
incurred before grant approval--is a limiting factor in recovery,
especially in cases of land acquisition.
Homeowners simply cannot afford to wait the months or years to make
decisions about whether to repair their homes or participate in a
buyout. The result is not only inefficiency, but real hardship.
For example, Harris County Flood Control District received $25
million from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to conduct buyouts to
reduce flood damages in areas located deep in the floodplain where
structural projects to reduce flooding aren't cost-effective. But that
was nearly a year after Harvey. It took a year because of the review
period required at FEMA for all HMGP applications. Most homeowners
simply don't have the luxury of waiting a year or more to begin repairs
or decide what to do.
So the quicker local governments are able to move, the more people
they can help and the more resources they can leverage. Having a one-
size-fits-all approach to reviewing projects through the HMGP is not
efficient or effective. It needlessly delays critical mitigation work.
That is where the idea for the HELP Act came from. The HELP Act will
allow land acquisition projects and simple construction projects that
do not require an environmental impact statement under NEPA to commence
immediately without the risk of losing potential Federal funds. This
will allow State and local governments to respond more quickly to the
needs of their communities and to plan disaster mitigation more
efficiently and effectively by removing unnecessary delays and
streamlining FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It is simple, it
is straightforward, and it is needed.
At home, I continue to hear a consistent concern that these Federal
disaster recovery projects move at a very slow pace. This bill
addresses that and will be a real improvement for communities across
the country.
I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. McCaul, for working with me
on this bill. Disaster mitigation is not and should never be a partisan
issue. There remains much work to do to prepare for future storms that
we know will come, but I am hopeful that the HELP Act will aid State
and local governments when they do.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important
legislation and help our families, businesses, and communities recover
from disasters.
Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time as I
have no additional speakers.
In closing, H.R. 1917 benefits our communities by allowing them to be
eligible for Federal disaster mitigation assistance for projects
started prior to their request for assistance. I believe that this bill
is a good bill, and I urge support of this bipartisan legislation. I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Fletcher
again for her leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to pass
this commonsense piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1917.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
____________________