[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 182 (Monday, December 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6535-H6536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROMOTING OPPORTUNITIES TO WIDEN ELECTRICAL RESILIENCE ACT OF 2024

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 9541) to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize Federal agencies to 
provide certain essential assistance for hazard mitigation for electric 
utilities, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 9541

       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 ``Promoting Opportunities to 
     Widen Electrical Resilience Act of 2024'' or the ``POWER Act 
     of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE.

       (a) 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:
       ``(e) Electric Utilities.--
       ``(1) Hazard mitigation activities.--An electric utility 
     may carry out cost-effective hazard mitigation activities 
     jointly or otherwise in combination with activities for the 
     restoration of power carried out with assistance provided 
     under this section.
       ``(2) Eligibility for additional assistance.-- In any case 
     in which an electric utility facility receives assistance 
     under this section for the emergency restoration of power, 
     the receipt of such assistance shall not render such facility 
     ineligible for any hazard mitigation assistance under section 
     406 for which such facility is otherwise eligible.''.
       (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall only apply to amounts appropriated on or after the date 
     of enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Graves) and the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H6536]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 9541.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 9541, the POWER Act of 2024, addresses FEMA's 
problematic interpretation of section 403 of the Stafford Act by 
clarifying electric utilities are classified as essential assistance.
  This legislative fix allows electric utilities to work quickly to 
restore power following a disaster and maintain eligibility to later 
implement permanent fixes that include mitigation measures.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9541, the bill I cosponsored 
with Representative Ezell. This bill empowers publicly owned electric 
utilities to implement hazard mitigation improvements during disaster 
recovery.
  When disasters strike, they leave a trail of destruction, including 
damaged energy infrastructure that needs to be immediately repaired to 
restore power.
  At the same time, this can present an opportunity to improve the 
resilience of power infrastructure to reduce the risk of outages in the 
future. Unfortunately, current law prevents FEMA from reimbursing 
utilities for hazard mitigation as they make temporary disaster 
repairs. This leads to wasted opportunity, more frequent power outages, 
and higher costs passed on to ratepayers.
  Commonsense solutions like H.R. 9541 are more critical than ever to 
keep energy costs low for American families. This bill maximizes FEMA's 
resources and helps communities protect critical infrastructure, 
leading to lower costs for utilities and families in the wake of future 
disasters.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any more speakers, 
I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the cost of recovering from 
increasingly frequent severe weather events often raises the price of 
America's electric bills.
  This bill will help public power make their systems more resilient at 
the time of repair, increasing efficiency and cutting overall costs.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of a disaster, 
oftentimes communities will lose power. This legislation simply allows 
the utilities to come in and put temporary fixes in place so power can 
get stood back up and power can get turned back on for these recovering 
communities. It will help ensure that electric utilities are not 
penalized for those temporary, interim actions to act quickly to 
restore power for Americans impacted by natural disasters by clarifying 
their eligibility for mitigation assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 9541, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 9541.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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