[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7753-H7755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPEDITING DISASTER RECOVERY ACT
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5774) to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major
disaster are met, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5774
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 ``Expediting Disaster Recovery
Act''.
SEC. 2. UNMET NEED ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 431. UNMET NEEDS ASSISTANCE.
``(a) In General.--After the declaration of a major
disaster, the President may direct the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide to the State,
subject to amounts made available from appropriations,
assistance necessary for meeting unmet needs as a result of
such disaster.
``(b) Funding.--
``(1) Amount of funding.--Subject to appropriations and not
later than 30 days after a declaration is made under section
401, the President acting through the Administrator may
allocate an amount that equals up to 10 percent of the
estimated aggregate amount of the grants to be made pursuant
to sections 406 and 408 for the major disaster in order to
provide technical and financial assistance under this section
and such set aside shall be deemed to be related to
activities carried out pursuant to major disasters under this
Act.
``(2) Estimated aggregate amount.--Not later than 180 days
after each major disaster declaration pursuant to this Act,
the estimated aggregate amount of grants for purposes of
paragraph (1) shall be determined by the President and such
estimated amount need not be reduced, increased, or changed
due to variations in estimates.
``(3) No reduction in amounts.--The amount set aside
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not reduce the amounts
otherwise made available for sections 403, 404, 406, 407,
408, 410, 416, and 428 under this Act.
``(c) Unmet Needs.--Financial assistance provided under
this section may be used to provide assistance, in addition
to other amounts made available under this Act, for the
following unmet needs:
``(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding
assistance to families for permanent housing purposes,
including in conjunction with eligible expenditures under
section 408.
``(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families who are
unable to obtain adequate assistance from other sources.
``(3) Other services that alleviate human suffering and
promote the well-being of disaster victims.
``(4) Economic and business activities (including food and
agriculture) after a disaster to implement post-disaster
economic recovery measures, including planning and technical
assistance for long-term economic recovery plans,
infrastructure improvements, business or infrastructure
financing, market or industry research, and other activities
authorized under a comprehensive economic development
strategy.
``(d) Accounting and Fiscal Controls.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after receipt of
funds and every 6 months thereafter until all such funds are
expended, a State shall submit a report to the Administrator
that includes--
``(A) the criteria established for determining how the
funds are spent;
[[Page H7754]]
``(B) the allocation of those funds; and
``(C) the process for public notice and comment.
``(2) Compliance.--Any individual who receives assistance
pursuant to this section shall comply with section 312(b).
``(3) Administrative costs.--A State that receives funds
under this section may expend not more than 5 percent of the
amount of such funds for the administrative costs of
providing financial assistance to individuals and households
in the State.''.
(b) Applicability.--This section and the amendments made by
this section shall apply to funds appropriated on or after
the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. REPAIR AND REBUILDING.
(a) In General.--Section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174)
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``to a safe and
sanitary living or functioning condition'';
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``A recipient of'' and
inserting ``(i) Evidence of other means of assistance.--A
recipient of''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) Coordination with other assistance.--Assistance
allowed under this paragraph may be used in coordination with
other sources for the repair and rebuilding of an owner-
occupied residence.''; and
(2) in paragraph (4) by striking ``in cases in which'' and
all that follows through the end of the paragraph and
inserting ``if the President considers it a cost effective
alternative to other housing solutions, including the costs
associated with temporary housing provided under this
section, and long-term rebuilding costs associated with
section 431.''.
(b) Applicability.--This section and the amendments made by
this section shall apply to funds appropriated on or after
the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a review on the fiscal controls by States that
receive funds under section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and shall make
recommendations to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 5. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.
Section 312(b)(4) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155(b)(4)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Limitation on use of income criteria.--In carrying
out subparagraph (A), the President may not impose additional
income criteria on a potential grant recipient who has
accepted a qualified disaster loan in determining eligibility
for duplications of benefit relief.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Louisiana
(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. 5774, 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 support H.R. 5774, the Expediting Disaster Recovery
Act, legislation introduced by Mr. Graves of Louisiana.
This legislation is designed to expedite the delivery of Federal
disaster assistance and address the unpaid, unmet needs of disaster
survivors.
The authorizations in this bill allow the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to estimate the total cost of disaster recovery and
provide States up to 10 percent of this estimate when a major disaster
is declared.
States would be able to use these funds to administer a broad range
of recovery solutions not covered by FEMA's individual assistance
program. Such activities could include home repair and support for
business activities.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5774 is designed to do two primary things. Number
one, it is to prevent the Federal Government from revictimizing
disaster victims. Number two, it is designed to save money.
In the aftermath of a disaster, we watch as countless Federal
agencies, the alphabet soup of Federal agencies, come rushing to the
aid of these disaster victims, offering everything from food
assistance, housing assistance, and you will see them having
organizations coming in and offering clothes, offering loans. You see
all of these uncoordinated activities.
Yet, we have one Federal agency that is responsible for disasters,
and that is FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA comes
in, and what happens with all of these other programs? You see
disjointed responses.
Let me give you an example, Mr. Speaker. In the aftermath of the 2016
1,000-year flood that we had in my hometown, FEMA came in and started
offering assistance. We saw disparate aid offered to different folks.
You had another recovery program come in and provide $1.7 billion,
Mr. Speaker. Here we are, 6 years after this disaster, and of the $1.7
billion, less than $700 million has actually been granted to flood
victims, granted to disaster victims.
Mr. Speaker, I know your home State of Texas got pounded by Hurricane
Harvey, some areas experiencing 42 inches of rain in 36 hours.
You have recovery and assistance programs that are disjointed among
the Federal agencies. They cause a bureaucracy. They actually
revictimize these people who have lost everything in these disasters.
This is designed to get recovery dollars where they are needed, to
expedite recovery, to save money because you are saving funds that are
being spent on long-term shelters; saving funds that are being spent,
in some cases, approaching $300,000 to provide a trailer for someone to
temporarily live in; saving money, again, on hotel rooms and getting
people back in their homes faster.
We still have people from our disaster 6 years ago who have homes
that have been mucked and gutted, stripped down to the studs, without
any additional recovery because they can't connect the dots.
So, as the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia said, this is
designed to, within 30 days of a disaster, estimate the impacts and
provide an initial payment to where States and local governments can
lead the charge in directing and prioritizing recovery dollars where
they need to go. This, importantly, has a 5 percent administrative cap.
Mr. Speaker, 2 years after the disaster I mentioned in my home State,
we had more money that was paid to the program managers 2 years later
than we had actually given to the disaster victims. These programs
aren't designed to enrich contractors, to enrich program managers, to
enrich people that are running these programs. These dollars are
designed by Congress to get to the victims, to expedite recovery, to
allow for the community and the economy to recover as quickly as
possible.
I want to be very clear. My cosponsor, the cosponsor who worked very
closely with us on this legislation, Congresswoman Plaskett from the
Virgin Islands, who in 2018 was incredibly affected by Hurricanes Irma
and Maria, hosted us down there to see the devastation. Years later,
again, she still has her constituents that are adversely impacted,
unable to recover, and requiring additional Federal funds.
Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear: This legislation is intended to
reduce the expenditure of Federal funds. It is designed to expedite
recovery. It is designed to cap the bureaucracy and ensure no more than
5 percent of these funds are actually going to program management.
That way, the dollars can get immediately to the disaster victims, so
we stop seeing years and years of Federal Government dollars being
shelled out for temporary housing and temporary recovery efforts. We
need long-term recovery. We need our economy restored. We need our
communities restored.
There are two types of Members who are in this House: people who have
been through disasters, like the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands
and I, and those that will. Those that will are going to want to ensure
that they have supported legislation like this designed to reform, to
modernize, to apply lessons learned from disasters and make sure that
we are treating these victims
[[Page H7755]]
as true priorities, that we have Federal programs that reflect the
urgency of the situation that they are in when their homes have been
destroyed, when they have lost their vehicles, lost their clothes, lost
their possessions, lost all of these family heirlooms, making sure that
we are able to restore that family back in their community and,
importantly, get the economies restored again as quickly as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the legislation, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
{time} 1515
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to support
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5774, the
``Expediting Disaster Recovery Act of 2022'' which promotes swift
strategic implementation of resources by the president following
natural disasters.
After the declaration of a major disaster, the Expediting Disaster
Recovery Act of 2022 authorizes the President to direct the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance for unmet
needs of those impacted by the disaster.
The President may also provide financial or direct assistance to
individuals or households to construct permanent or semi-permanent
housing in areas outside the continental United States if the President
deems it a more cost-effective solution.
According to the National Center for Environmental Information, the
U.S. spent approximately $152 Billion just last year from various
environmental events such as the Deep Freeze in Texas and Hurricanes
across the Gulf Coast.
One of the most critical and unprecedented natural disaster
emergencies was the Deep Freeze in Texas, resulting in a number of
unforeseen complications for Texas residents.
Millions of households lost power during the Deep Freeze, disrupting
their heating, food and water supplies, and communication systems.
Based on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report for the Deep
Freeze, estimated costs for damages in Texas reached a staggering $80
Billion, with $35 Billion alone due to physical damages, of which
insurance only covered $20 Billion.
Texas residents will need to pay for a large portion of the damages,
putting their own lives on hold until they are financially stabilized.
Meanwhile, families who are unable to meet the expenses out of pocket
are stuck in bleak living conditions.
Alongside the unprecedented winter storms in Texas, were the
devastating effects of Hurricane Ida, which ravaged many coastal cities
and counties. The National Center for Environmental Information
estimated that there were $75 Billion in damage costs.
Unfortunately, most home insurance policies do not cover flood
damages, including damages caused by Hurricane Ida, This means that
individuals would have needed to purchase separate policies dedicated
for flood damages on top of the already rising home insurance prices.
Recent flood disasters, such as those in Kentucky, have once again
highlighted the dangers of inadequate planning and the overall expenses
incurred by its residents.
Outdated federal flood zone maps underestimate the occurrence of
floods within certain communities. Therefore, insurance companies,
which base their policies on federal flood zone maps, end up paying for
a small portion of damages to households.
For residents of some of the poorest counties in the U.S., this means
they will be forced to pay mostly out of pocket for all damage
expenses, further hindering their chances of recovery from future
disasters.
H.R. 5774 can help families with unmet needs, easing financial
burdens by distributing funds for the purpose of rebuilding homes and
communities. This can provide these families the opportunity to
dedicate their finances towards health concerns, exploring education,
and other basic living expenses.
Millions of families suffer from natural disaster events without the
ability to recover effectively. With the help of the Expediting
Disaster Recovery Act of 2022, families with unmet needs will be able
to recover more fully and more rapidly, allowing them to reinvest
themselves in their communities and return to their normal lifestyles.
The Expediting Disaster Recovery Act of 2022 sets forth the
requirements for the President to establish swift and effective
financial and technical assistance to aid in the recovery of families
who may be unable to cover financial costs for repair and rebuilding.
I urge my colleagues to support this very helpful legislation.
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. 5774, as amended.
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. ROY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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