[Senate Report 117-259]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 650
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                    {     117-259
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


                    SMALL STATE AND RURAL RESCUE ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 7211

                TO AMEND THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER
             RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT, REVIEW A
             FINAL RULE OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
                     AGENCY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES








[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]







               December 14, 2022.--Ordered to be printed  
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-010                   WASHINGTON : 2023
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
           Naveed Jazayeri, Senior Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Clyde E. Hicks Jr., Minority Director of Homeland Security
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk

















                                                      Calendar No. 650
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                    {     117-259

======================================================================



 
                    SMALL STATE AND RURAL RESCUE ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 14, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7211]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 7211) to amend 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act, review a final rule of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................  1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................  2
III. Legislative History..............................................  2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............  3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................  3
 VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............  3

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 7211, the Small State and Rural Rescue Act, expands 
the duties of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 
Small State and Rural Advocate to include assistance for states 
in the collection and presentation of material in the disaster 
or emergency declaration request relevant to demonstrate severe 
localized impacts within the state for a specific incident. 
Additionally, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) must 
review FEMA's implementation of its final rule regarding 
factors considered when evaluating a governor's request for 
individual assistance in a disaster declaration.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    Federal disaster aid programs are crucial to facilitating 
recovery efforts in urban and rural communities alike, 
particularly in response to historic flooding and other 
catastrophic natural disasters. FEMA is charged with the 
oversight and execution of essential post-disaster recovery 
assistance by providing affected individuals with access to 
life-saving and life-sustaining resources, providing aid to 
individuals to repair housing or rental assistance, and 
providing grants to repair municipal infrastructure. However, 
rural communities are often faced with a shortage of emergency 
management staff and have struggled to collect and present 
information that is vital to receiving a disaster 
declaration.\1\ As a result, smaller rural communities may not 
receive a federal disaster declaration to help their recovery 
process if the information that is filed with FEMA is 
deficient. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act of 2007 established the Small State and Rural Advocate 
position within FEMA to help small states participate in the 
disaster declaration process and ensure that community needs 
are addressed.\2\ In addition, the legislation provided 
authority for the Small State and Rural Advocate to prepare 
disaster declarations and to conduct other activities, as the 
Administrator of FEMA considers appropriate.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, National Advisory Council Report to the FEMA Administration 
(November 30, 2020).
    \2\Pub. L. No. 109-295 (2006).
    \3\42 U.S.C. Sec. 5189d.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This legislation will help government officials in small 
states and rural communities navigate the complex bureaucratic 
processes to help demonstrate the toll of a natural disaster's 
localized impact by expanding the responsibilities of FEMA's 
Small State and Rural Advocate. Furthermore, this bill also 
directs GAO to conduct a review of how FEMA mobilizes 
individualized assistance to disaster zones, a critical step 
that will assess whether Federal disaster aid programs are 
matching the demands of disaster-stricken areas.

                        III. Legislative History

    Representatives Katko (R-NY-24), Titus (D-NV-01), Pappas 
(D-NH-01), Delgado (D-NY-19), Gimenez (R-FL-26), and Guest (R-
MS-03) introduced H.R. 7211 on March 24, 2022. The bill was 
referred to the House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. The Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure considered H.R. 7211 on April 28, 2022 and 
favorably reported the bill. On June 14, 2022 the House of 
Representatives passed the bill under a suspension of the rules 
by a vote of 396 to 14. The bill was referred to the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs considered H.R. 7211 at a business meeting on September 
28, 2022. The Committee ordered the bill to be favorably 
reported without amendment by voice vote en bloc. Senators 
present for the vote were: Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, 
Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Paul, Lankford, 
Romney, Scott, and Hawley.
    Consistent with Committee Rule 3(G), the Committee reports 
the bill with a technical amendment by mutual agreement of the 
Chairman and Ranking Member.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the ``Small 
State and Rural Rescue Act.''

Section 2. Designation of small state and rural advocate

    This section amends Section 326(c) of the Stafford Act to 
expand the duties of the Small State and Rural Advocate to help 
small states demonstrate severe localized impact in requests to 
receive federal disaster assistance.

Section 3. GAO review of a final rule

    This section orders GAO to conduct a review of the factors 
that FEMA considers when evaluating a governor's request for 
individual assistance in the aftermath of a disaster.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

       VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE III--MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 326. DESIGNATION OF SMALL STATE AND RURAL ADVOCATE.

    (a) In General.--The President shall designate in the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency a Small State and Rural 
Advocate.
    (b) Responsibilities.--The Small State and Rural Advocate 
shall be an advocate for the fair treatment of small States and 
rural communities in the provision of assistance under this 
Act.
    (c) Duties.--The Small State and Rural Advocate shall--
          (1) participate in the disaster declaration process 
        under section 401 and the emergency declaration process 
        under section 501, to ensure that the needs of rural 
        communities are being addressed;
          (2) assist small population States in the preparation 
        of requests for major disaster or emergency 
        declarations; and
          (3) assist States in the collection and presentation 
        of material in the disaster or emergency declaration 
        request relevant to demonstrate severe localized 
        impacts within the State for a specific incident, 
        including--
                  (A) the per capita personal income by local 
                area, as calculated by the Bureau of Economic 
                Analysis;
                  (B) the disaster impacted population profile, 
                as reported by the Bureau of the Census, 
                including--
                          (i) the percentage of the population 
                        for whom poverty status is determined;
                          (ii) the percentage of the population 
                        already receiving Government assistance 
                        such as Supplemental Security Income 
                        and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
                        Program benefits;
                          (iii) the pre-disaster unemployment 
                        rate;
                          (iv) the percentage of the population 
                        that is 65 years old and older;
                          (v) the percentage of the population 
                        18 years old and younger;
                          (vi) the percentage of the population 
                        with a disability;
                          (vii) the percentage of the 
                        population who speak a language other 
                        than English and speak English less 
                        than ``very well''; and
                          (viii) any unique considerations 
                        regarding American Indian and Alaskan 
                        Native Tribal populations raised in the 
                        State's request for a major disaster 
                        declaration that may not be reflected 
                        in the data points referenced in this 
                        subparagraph;
                  (C) the impact to community infrastructure, 
                including--
                          (i) disruptions to community life-
                        saving and life-sustaining services;
                          (ii) disruptions or increased demand 
                        for essential community services; and
                          (iii) disruptions to transportation, 
                        infrastructure, and utilities; and
                  (D) any other information relevant to 
                demonstrate severe local impacts; and
          [(3)] (4) conduct such other activities as the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency considers appropriate.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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