[House Report 117-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Rept. 117-61
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { Part 1
======================================================================
PREVENTING DISASTER REVICTIMIZATION ACT
_______
June 14, 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. 539]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 539) 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 without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2
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........................ 3
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
Purpose of Legislation
The purpose of H.R. 539 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 (FEMA) 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 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 DRRA 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. 539 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 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 rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6)(A) of the
117th Congress, the following hearing was used to development
or consider H.R. 539:
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 October 22, 2019, 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 Panel I: 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. Panel II: 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. 539 was introduced in the House on January 28, 2021,
by Mr. Graves of Missouri and six original cosponsors. It was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
and to the Committee on the Budget. Within the Committee, H.R.
539 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. 539 on March 24, 2021.
The Full Committee considered H.R. 539 on March 24, 2021
and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a
favorable recommendation, 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 record votes were requested during consideration of H.R.
539.
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. 539 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 14, 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. 539, the
Preventing Disaster Revictimization 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.
Except in cases involving fraud, H.R. 539 would require the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to waive the
collection of improper payments provided to individuals or
households after major disasters declared under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The bill
also would require FEMA to report on its processes for
determining the distribution of disaster assistance.
Under current law, FEMA must recoup improper payments,
which can stem from errors in processing or from duplicate
payments. Recouped amounts are deposited into the Disaster
Relief Fund and are available to spend without further
appropriation. The agency currently has limited discretion to
waive debts.
CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted late in fiscal
year 2021. Accordingly, the budgetary effects would begin in
2022. Using information from the agency, CBO estimates that, in
nearly all eligible cases under the bill, FEMA would waive
collections, which currently total $36 million. Those
collections are recorded as reductions in direct spending, so
waiving them would increase direct spending. However, those
amounts would have been available to spend, so the bill also
would reduce outlays. Because collections precede spending,
enacting the bill would increase direct spending by $2 million
over the 2021-2026 period but would have no net effect on
direct spending over the 2021-2031 period.
The bill would not change FEMA's authority to provide
disaster relief; therefore, in CBO's view H.R. 539 also would
implicitly authorize the appropriation of amounts equal to the
forgone recoveries. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would cost $36 million over the 2021-2031 period, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
CBO estimates that the cost to FEMA of reporting on the
distribution of disaster assistance to individuals and
households would not be significant.
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-
reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting
direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that
are subject to those procedures are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF H.R. 539, THE PREVENTING DISASTER REVICTIMIZATION ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE ON MARCH 24, 2021
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2021-2026 2021-2031
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit
Pay-As-You-Go Effect................................. 0 4 0 0 -1 -1 -2 0 0 0 0 2 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
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. 539 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. 539 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
``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
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the House and
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in
the Senate.
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.
Sec. 4. Determination of budgetary effects
This section ensures compliance of the bill with the
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (Title I of P.L. 111-139).
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.
* * * * * * *