[House Report 116-577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress }                                          { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  2d Session   }                                          { 116-577

======================================================================
 
                PREVENTING DISASTER REVICTIMIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

 November 16, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. DeFazio, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5953]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 5953) to amend the Disaster 
Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to require the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency to waive certain debts owed 
to the United States related to covered assistance provided to 
an individual or household, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     3
Legislative History and Consideration............................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     4
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Preemption Clarification.........................................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     6

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Disaster Revictimization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY.

  Section 1216(a) of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (42 
U.S.C. 5174a(a)) is amended--
          (1) by amending paragraph (2)(A) to read as follows:
                  ``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), shall--
                          ``(i) waive a debt owed to the United States 
                        related to covered assistance provided to an 
                        individual or household if the covered 
                        assistance was distributed based on an error by 
                        the Agency and such debt shall be construed as 
                        a hardship; and
                          ``(ii) waive a debt owed to the United States 
                        related to covered assistance provided to an 
                        individual or household if such assistance is 
                        subject to a claim or legal action, including 
                        in accordance with section 317 of the Robert T. 
                        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5160); and''; and
          (2) in paragraph (3)(B)--
                  (A) by striking ``Removal of'' and inserting ``Report 
                on''; and
                  (B) in clause (ii) by striking ``the authority of the 
                Administrator to waive debt under paragraph (2) shall 
                no longer be effective'' and inserting ``the 
                Administrator shall report to the Committee on 
                Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
                and Governmental Affairs of the Senate actions that the 
                Administrator will take to reduce the error rate''.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

  The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall 
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report containing a description of 
the internal processes used to make decisions regarding the 
distribution of covered assistance under section 1216 of the Disaster 
Recovery and Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. 5174a) and any changes made 
to such processes.

                         Purpose of Legislation

    The purpose of H.R. 5953, as amended, is to amend the 
Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA, Division D of P.L. 
115-254) to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to waive certain debts owed to the United 
States related to covered assistance provided to an individual 
or household.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as 
amended) authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) to provide financial assistance and services to 
individuals and households who have necessary expenses as a 
direct result of a major disaster. In some instances, Section 
408 assistance is erroneously provided to individuals and 
households and FEMA must recoup the funds from the recipient. 
Assistance is often spent by the recipient before an error is 
discovered, creating a debt to the Federal government.
    Section 1216(a) of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 
authorizes FEMA to waive debts owed to the United States 
related to assistance provided under Section 408 of the 
Stafford Act. Further, DRRA Section 1216(a) currently allows 
FEMA to waive a debt related to covered assistance if the debt 
was distributed in error by FEMA without fault by the debtor 
and collection would be ``against equity and good conscience.''
    H.R. 5953, as amended, amends DRRA Section 1216(a) by 
directing the Administrator of FEMA to waive debts owed by 
individuals and households to the United States when (1) 
disaster assistance was provided as a result of an Agency error 
(such debt is deemed to be a hardship); or (2) the disaster 
assistance provided might be subject to a claim or legal action 
taken by the Agency. The bill also requires FEMA to report to 
Congress detailing the number of errors the Agency has made in 
providing assistance to disaster victims and include proposed 
actions to reduce future errors.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 
116th Congress, the following hearing was used to develop or 
consider H.R. 5953:
    On October 22, 2020, the Subcommittee on Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a 
hearing titled, ``An Assessment of Federal Recovery Efforts 
from Recent Disasters.'' Witnesses included: Mr. Jeffrey Byard, 
Associate Administrator, Office of Response and Recovery, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency; Mr. Dennis Alvord, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Economic Development Administration; Mr. 
Chris Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, 
Government Accountability Office; Mr. Mike Sprayberry, 
Director, Emergency Management, North Carolina Department of 
Public Safety, testifying on behalf of the National Emergency 
Management Association; the Honorable Fernando Gil-Ensenat, 
Secretary, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Housing, 
Ms. Rhonda Wiley, Administrator, Emergency Management and Flood 
Plains, Atchison County, Missouri; Mr. Reese May, Chief 
Innovation Officer, SBP. Topics discussed included disaster 
losses and Federal disaster spending, FEMA workforce readiness, 
and administration of public assistance in the U.S. and its 
territories.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    H.R. 5953 was introduced in the House on February 25, 2020, 
by Mr. Graves of Missouri, Mr. Huffman, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. 
Thompson of California, and Ms. Plaskett, and referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the 
Committee, H.R. 5953 was referred to the Subcommittee on 
Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency 
Management.
    On February 26, 2020, the Chair discharged the Subcommittee 
on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency 
Management from further consideration of H.R. 5953.
    The Committee considered H.R. 5953 on February 26, 2020 and 
ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, as amended, by voice vote.
    The following amendment was offered:
    An amendment offered by Mr. Davis of Illinois (on behalf of 
Mr. Perry) (#1); Page 3, insert after line 8 a new section 
entitled ``Sec. 3. Report to Congress.''; was AGREED TO by 
voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against.
    No recorded votes were taken in connection with 
consideration of H.R. 5953.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of Congressional Budget Office. The Committee has 
requested but not received from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this bill 
contains any new budget authority, spending authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such 
estimate and statement to be printed in the Congressional 
Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, a cost 
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant 
to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not 
made available to the Committee in time for the filing of this 
report. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such estimate 
to be printed in the Congressional Record upon its receipt by 
the Committee.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
prevent undue hardship to disaster victims caused by Agency 
error or legal action.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 5953, as amended, establishes or reauthorizes a program 
of the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 5953, as amended, 
does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Sec. 1. Short title

    This section provides that this bill may be cited as the 
``Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act''.

Sec. 2. Flexibility

    This section amends section 1216(a) of the Disaster 
Recovery Reform Act of 2018 by waiving debts owed to the United 
States related to covered assistance provided to an individual 
or household if the assistance was distributed based on an 
error by FEMA or is subject to a claim or legal action. The 
section also removes language eliminating the Administrator's 
authority to waive debt and replaces it with a requirement to 
report proposed actions to reduce the error rate to the House 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sec. 3. Report to Congress

    This section requires FEMA to submit to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure in the House and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the 
Senate a report containing a description of the internal 
processes used to make decisions regarding the distribution of 
assistance and any change made to such processes.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                  DISASTER RECOVERY REFORM ACT OF 2018


DIVISION D--DISASTER RECOVERY REFORM

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 1216. FLEXIBILITY.

  (a) Waiver Authority.--
          (1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``covered assistance'' means assistance provided--
                  (A) under section 408 of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); and
                  (B) in relation to a major disaster or 
                emergency declared by the President under 
                section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert 
                T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) on or 
                after October 28, 2012.
          (2) Authority.--Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of 
        title 31, United States Code, the Administrator--
                  [(A) subject to subparagraph (B), may waive a 
                debt owed to the United States related to 
                covered assistance provided to an individual or 
                household if--
                          [(i) the covered assistance was 
                        distributed based on an error by the 
                        Agency;
                          [(ii) there was no fault on behalf of 
                        the debtor; and
                          [(iii) the collection of the debt 
                        would be against equity and good 
                        conscience; and]
                  (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
                shall--
                          (i) waive a debt owed to the United 
                        States related to covered assistance 
                        provided to an individual or household 
                        if the covered assistance was 
                        distributed based on an error by the 
                        Agency and such debt shall be construed 
                        as a hardship; and
                          (ii) waive a debt owed to the United 
                        States related to covered assistance 
                        provided to an individual or household 
                        if such assistance is subject to a 
                        claim or legal action, including in 
                        accordance with section 317 of the 
                        Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
                        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        5160); and
                  (B) may not waive a debt under subparagraph 
                (A) if the debt involves fraud, the 
                presentation of a false claim, or 
                misrepresentation by the debtor or any party 
                having an interest in the claim.
          (3) Monitoring of covered assistance distributed 
        based on error.--
                  (A) In general.--The Inspector General of the 
                Department of Homeland Security shall monitor 
                the distribution of covered assistance to 
                individuals and households to determine the 
                percentage of such assistance distributed based 
                on an error.
                  (B)  [Removal of] Report on waiver authority 
                based on excessive error rate.--If the 
                Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 
                Security determines, with respect to any 12-
                month period, that the amount of covered 
                assistance distributed based on an error by the 
                Agency exceeds 4 percent of the total amount of 
                covered assistance distributed--
                          (i) the Inspector General shall 
                        notify the Administrator and publish 
                        the determination in the Federal 
                        Register; and
                          (ii) with respect to any major 
                        disaster or emergency declared by the 
                        President under section 401 or section 
                        501, respectively, of the Robert T. 
                        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 
                        U.S.C. 5191) after the date on which 
                        the determination is published under 
                        subparagraph (A), [the authority of the 
                        Administrator to waive debt under 
                        paragraph (2) shall no longer be 
                        effective] the Administrator shall 
                        report to the Committee on 
                        Transportation and Infrastructure of 
                        the House of Representatives and the 
                        Committee on Homeland Security and 
                        Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
                        actions that the Administrator will 
                        take to reduce the error rate.
  (b) Recoupment of Certain Assistance Prohibited.--
          (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of 
        title 31, United States Code, and unless there is 
        evidence of civil or criminal fraud, the Agency may not 
        take any action to recoup covered assistance from the 
        recipient of such assistance if the receipt of such 
        assistance occurred on a date that is more than 3 years 
        before the date on which the Agency first provides to 
        the recipient written notification of an intent to 
        recoup.
          (2) Covered assistance defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term ``covered assistance'' means assistance 
        provided--
                  (A) under section 408 of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); and
                  (B) in relation to a major disaster or 
                emergency declared by the President under 
                section 401 or 501, respectively, of such Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5170; 42 U.S.C. 5191) on or after 
                January 1, 2012.
  (c) Statute of Limitations.--
          (1) In general.--Section 705 of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5205) is amended--
                  (A) in subsection (a)(1)--
                          (i) by striking ``Except'' and 
                        inserting ``Notwithstanding section 
                        3716(e) of title 31, United States 
                        Code, and except''; and
                          (ii) by striking ``report for the 
                        disaster or emergency'' and inserting 
                        ``report for project completion as 
                        certified by the grantee''; and
                  (B) in subsection (b)--
                          (i) in paragraph (1) by striking 
                        ``report for the disaster or 
                        emergency'' and inserting ``report for 
                        project completion as certified by the 
                        grantee''; and
                          (ii) in paragraph (3) by inserting 
                        ``for project completion as certified 
                        by the grantee'' after ``final 
                        expenditure report''.
          (2) Applicability.--
                  (A) In general.--With respect to disaster or 
                emergency assistance provided to a State or 
                local government on or after January 1, 2004--
                          (i) no administrative action may be 
                        taken to recover a payment of such 
                        assistance after the date of enactment 
                        of this Act if the action is prohibited 
                        under section 705(a)(1) of the Robert 
                        T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
                        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        5205(a)(1)), as amended by paragraph 
                        (1); and
                          (ii) any administrative action to 
                        recover a payment of such assistance 
                        that is pending on such date of 
                        enactment shall be terminated if the 
                        action is prohibited under section 
                        705(a)(1) of that Act, as amended by 
                        paragraph (1).
                  (B) Limitation.--This section, including the 
                amendments made by this section, may not be 
                construed to invalidate or otherwise affect any 
                administration action completed before the date 
                of enactment of this Act.

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