[Senate Report 118-74]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 157

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                           { 118-74

======================================================================
 
              DISASTER ASSISTANCE DEADLINES ALIGNMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                                S. 1858

                TO AMEND THE ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER
                 RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT TO
                 ESTABLISH A DEADLINE FOR APPLYING FOR
                    DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                 July 25, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                 __________
					    
                               
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                           WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


     
       COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

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

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
           Naveed Jazayeri, Senior Professional Staff Member
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
          Kendal B. Tigner, Minority Professional Staff Member
          Megan M. Krynen, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                                                  Calendar No. 157

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                           { 118-74

======================================================================             
                
               DISASTER ASSISTANCE DEADLINES ALIGNMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                 July 25, 2023.--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 S. 1858]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1858) to amend the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
to establish a deadline for applying for disaster unemployment 
assistance, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 1858, the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act, 
would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance (Stafford) Act to match the deadline for 
applying for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) to the 
Individuals and Households Program (IHP) deadline in declared 
disasters where both are authorized for survivors. Currently, 
the DUA application deadline is 30 days after the date the 
state announces availability of DUA benefits. For IHP, the 
deadline for applications is generally 60 days from the 
authorization of the Individual Assistance (IA) program. This 
bill would align them to both be 60 days from the date on which 
assistance is approved.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    FEMA authorizes various types of assistance to help 
individuals after a disaster. FEMA addresses the issue of 
disaster unemployment though the DUA program, which is 
administered by state Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs, 
and offers unemployment benefits to individuals who have become 
unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster and 
are not eligible for state UC. For instance, state UC programs 
generally do not provide UC benefits to the self-employed or to 
those who are unable to work. State UC programs also generally 
have a shorter benefit period than DUA, which is available for 
up to 26 weeks. Therefore, when the President declares a major 
disaster, some individuals who would not typically be eligible 
for state UC (or who have exhausted state UC benefits because 
of shorter state benefit periods) may be eligible for DUA.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Congressional Research Service, Disaster Unemployment Assistance 
(DUA) (RS22022) (Sept. 20, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The deadline for filing an application for DUA is 30 days 
after the program first becomes available to applicants in a 
disaster area.\2\ This deadline does not match FEMA's IHP 
application deadline, which is 60 days after FEMA authorizes 
the program.\3\ IHP provides financial and/or direct services 
to individuals and households affected by disasters, who have 
uninsured or under-insured expenses and serious needs.\4\ 
Examples of this include funding for temporary housing, the 
repair or replacement of owner-occupied homes, hazard 
mitigation assistance, and various uninsured expenses. FEMA's 
IHP assistance helps bridge that gap for individuals in need of 
aid after disaster.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Id.
    \3\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Individual Assistance 
Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG) (FP 104-009-03) (May 2021).
    \4\Congressional Research Service, A Brief Overview of FEMA's 
Individual Assistance Program (IF11298) (Jan. 3, 2023).
    \5\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Individuals and Households 
Program (https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program) (accessed 
June 26, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Disaster survivors, who may be eligible for both DUA and 
IHP if those programs are activated, face different deadlines 
for applications for assistance following a disaster. Having 
separate deadlines to keep track of can be confusing for 
disaster survivors and leads to unnecessary complexity. The 
mismatched deadlines can also lead to ineffective public 
messaging and may cause survivors to miss out on aid they would 
otherwise be eligible for receiving if they were not aware that 
these two federal programs have separate deadlines and assumed 
they were matched. In aligning the deadlines of these two 
programs, the unnecessary burden is reduced on disaster 
survivors leading to the federal government having a more 
survivor focused approach.
    This bill would amend the Stafford Act to change the 
deadline for applying for DUA so it matches the IHP deadline in 
disasters where both are authorized for disaster survivors.

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 1858, the Disaster 
Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act, on June 7, 2023, with 
original cosponsor Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Senator Rand 
Paul (R-KY) joined as a cosponsor on June 13, 2023. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 1858 at a business meeting on 
June 14, 2023. At the business meeting, the bill was ordered 
reported favorably by roll call vote of 12 yeas to 0 nays, with 
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, 
Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Marshall voting 
in the affirmative. Senators Carper, Johnson, and Hawley voted 
yea by proxy, for the record only.

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


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act.''

Section 2. Disaster Unemployment Assistance application deadline

    This section establishes that the deadline for applying for 
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is required to be the 
same deadline as for the Individuals and Households Program 
(IHP). This section also provides that the President may accept 
an application submitted after the deadline, if the applicant 
has good cause for late submission and submits the application 
prior to the date on which the benefits would expire.

                   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. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 1858 would extend the application deadline from 30 days 
to 60 days for people to apply for assistance under the 
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program. That program 
provides assistance to people who are not eligible for 
unemployment insurance benefits and are unemployed because of a 
major disaster.
    DUA benefits are funded from the Disaster Relief Fund, 
which is funded through annual appropriations. Under current 
law, DUA applications must be filed within 30 days of a state 
announcing the availability of those benefits, but states may 
extend the deadline following large disasters or for applicants 
with good cause. Accordingly, CBO expects that the change in 
the bill would not affect most applicants because many states 
regularly extend the deadline under current law.
    Using information from the Department of Labor about the 
number of DUA beneficiaries in recent years and average benefit 
amounts (and accounting for anticipated inflation), CBO 
estimates that under the bill, roughly 1,000 people would newly 
receive benefits each year at a cost of $30 million over the 
2023-2033 period. Because S. 1858 would expand the use of 
previously appropriated balances from that fund, some of which 
CBO estimates would be unspent over the 2023-2033 period, the 
bill would increase direct spending. That higher spending would 
be offset by reductions in spending after 2033.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 450 (community and regional 
development).


                                                    TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF S. 1858
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029   2030   2031   2032   2033  2023-2028  2023-2033
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Increases in Direct Spending Estimated Budget              0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0         0          0
 Authority...........................................
Estimated Outlays....................................      0      3      3      3      3      3      3      3      3      3      3        15         30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Meredith 
Decker and Jon Sperl. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel 
Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       VII. 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 IV--MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                        UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE


SEC. 410.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) Application Deadline.--
          (1) In general.--With respect to a major disaster for 
        which assistance is provided under this section and 
        section 408, the application deadline for an individual 
        seeking assistance under this section shall match the 
        application deadline for individuals and households 
        seeking assistance under section 408.
          (2) Extension.--The President may accept an 
        application from an individual described in paragraph 
        (1) that is submitted after the deadline described in 
        paragraph (1) if--
                  (A) the individual has good cause for the 
                late submission; and
                  (B) the individual submits the application 
                before the date on which the period during 
                which assistance is provided under this section 
                for the applicable major disaster expires.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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