[House Report 117-170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Rept. 117-170
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { Part 1
======================================================================
HAZARD ELIGIBILITY AND LOCAL PROJECTS ACT
_______
November 2, 2021.--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. 1917]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 1917) to modify eligibility
requirements for certain hazard mitigation assistance programs,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits....................................................... 6
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 6
Preemption Clarification......................................... 6
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 6
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 7
Committee Correspondence......................................... 8
PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 1917 is to modify eligibility
requirements for certain hazard mitigation assistance programs.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Under current federal law, local and state agencies
applying for federal funding to begin certain Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program (HMGP)-funded projects must wait until they
receive approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) before purchasing land or beginning construction on
these projects. Purchasing land or beginning construction
absent full approval from FEMA will disqualify a project from
receiving HMGP assistance. This process prevents simple land
acquisition and mitigation projects from starting, further
delaying the recovery of disaster-impacted communities and
improvements in community resilience. This legislation will
expedite the start of certain types of projects following
Presidentially-declared disasters while awaiting FEMA's full
approval.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6)(A) of the
117th Congress, the following hearing was used to develop or
consider H.R. 1917:
On March 18, 2021, the Subcommittee held a hearing titled
``Building Smarter: The Benefits of Investing in Resilience and
Mitigation.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from Mr.
Russell ``Russ''' Strickland, Executive Director, Maryland
Emergency Management Agency, State of Maryland, testifying on
behalf of the National Emergency Management Association; Mr.
Roy E. Wright, President and Chief Executive Officer, Insurance
Institute for Business and Home Safety; Ms. Velma Smith, Senior
Government Relations Officer, Flood Prepared Communities
Initiative, Pew Charitable Trusts; Mr. Ben Harper, Head of
Corporate Sustainability, Zurich North America Insurance
Company; and Mr. John ``Chuck'' Fowke, Chairman, National
Association of Home Builders. This hearing examined the current
and future capacities in emergency management, mitigation and
resilience, insurance, and construction.
In the 116th Congress, the following hearing was used to
develop or consider the legislation:
On May 22, 2019, the Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing
titled ``Disaster Preparedness: DRRA Implementation and FEMA
Readiness.'' Witnesses included: Dr. Daniel Kaniewski, Deputy
Administrator for Resilience, FEMA; Ms. Sima Merick, Executive
Director, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, testifying on
behalf of the National Emergency Management Association; Mr.
Nick Crossley, Director, Hamilton County Ohio Emergency
Management and Homeland Security Agency, testifying on behalf
of the International Association of Emergency Managers; Mr.
James Gore, Supervisor, County of Sonoma, California,
testifying on behalf of the National Association of Counties;
Mr. Al Davis, Deputy Director, Texas A&M Engineering Extension
Service, testifying on behalf of the National Domestic
Preparedness Consortium; and Mr. Randy Noel, President, Reve,
Inc., testifying on behalf of the National Association of Home
Builders. Topics discussed included the state of federal
disaster preparedness and mitigation programs since the
enactment of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (Division
D of P.L. 115-254) and the status of federal disaster recovery
assistance funding authorized in the wake of significant
disaster activity in 2017 and 2018.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION
H.R. 1917 was introduced in the House on March 16, 2021, by
Ms. Fletcher and Mr. McCaul and referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the
Committee on Financial Services. Within the Committee, H.R.
1917 was referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings,
and Emergency Management was discharged from further
consideration of H.R. 1917 on March 24, 2021.
The Committee considered H.R. 1917 on March 24, 2021, and
ordered the measure to be favorably reported to the House of
Representatives, by voice vote.
The following amendment was offered:
An amendment offered by Mr. Graves of Louisiana (#1); was
WITHDRAWN.
Page 2, line 3, strike ``assistance program'' and all that
follows through ``if the entity'' on line 4 and insert
``assistance program or other project shall be eligible to
receive emergency disaster assistance for a covered project''.
Page 2, line 6, insert ``if the entity'' before
``complies'''.
Page 2, line 8, after ``program'' insert ``or disaster
recovery program''.
Page 2, line 10, strike ``and''.
Page 2, line 11, insert ``if the entity'' before
``complies'''.
Page 2, line 12, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 2, after line 12, insert the following:
(C) if the project was in compliance with applicable base
flood elevation standards in place at the time that
construction on such project was initiated.
Page 2, line 15, insert ``or disaster recovery program''
before ``shall be responsible''.
Page 3, line 2, after ``program'' insert ``or disaster
recovery program''.
Page 3, line 6, after ``program'' insert ``or disaster
recovery program''.
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 record votes were requested during consideration of H.R.
1917.
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
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in this report.
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 and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1917 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 17, 2021.
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1917, the Hazard
Eligibility and Local Projects Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
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H.R. 1917 would make additional projects eligible for
funding under programs administered by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) that assist state and local
governments and owners of residential and commercial property
with averting damage from future disasters. In fiscal year
2020, FEMA awarded about $1.3 billion in such grants through
three programs:
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program ($595
million),
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities program ($500 million), and
The Flood Mitigation Assistance program
($200 million).
Under the bill, FEMA could approve future applications to
acquire property or relocate structures if the project's
planning or construction begins before the grant is awarded and
the project is exempt from environmental review under the
National Environmental Policy Act. (Under current law, grant
money cannot cover costs incurred before an application is
awarded.)
Over the 2016-2020 period, FEMA awarded an average of 1,700
grants each year under the three programs. Fewer than 2 percent
of those grants (about 25 projects each year) were awarded for
acquisition or relocation projects that were exempt from
environmental review. Using information from FEMA, CBO
estimated that an average of three applications were denied
each year because work began before the application was
approved.
As a result, CBO expects that under H.R. 1917 those
additional projects would be approved each year, at an
estimated average cost of $1 million per project. In total, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would cost a total of $15
million over the 2021-2026 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts. CBO assumes that the bill will be
enacted late in fiscal year 2021 and that there would be no
budgetary effects in 2021 because of the time needed to prepare
applications for grants.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 450 (community and regional
development).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER H.R. 1917
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-2026
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitigation Grants:
Estimated Authorization.................... 0 3 3 3 3 3 15
Estimated Outlays.......................... 0 3 3 3 3 3 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
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
expedite the commencement of post-disaster mitigation projects.
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. 1917 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
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (Public Law 104-4).
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. 1917 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
Section. 1. Short title
This section provides that this bill may be cited as the
``Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act''.
Sec. 2. Authority to begin planning and construction of certain hazard
mitigation projects
Subsection (a). Eligibility for Assistance for Initiated
Projects
This subsection describes the requirements for eligibility
for assistance under the act, which include compliance with the
requirements of the hazard mitigation assistance program and
other federal requirements.
Subsection (b). Definitions
This section provides definitions for the terms ``covered
project'' and ``hazard mitigation assistance program''.
Subsection (c). Applicability
This section clarifies that the authorities provided by
this bill will not be retroactive for previously appropriated
disaster relief dollars.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
As reported by the Committee, H.R. 1917 makes no changes in
existing law.
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