[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 114-326
114th Congress

An Act


 
To authorize the National Urban Search and Rescue Response
System. <>

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
SECTION 1. <> SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``National Urban Search and Rescue
Response System Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM.

(a) In General.--Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 327. <> NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND
RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM.

``(a) <> Definitions.--In this section, the
following definitions shall apply:
``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``(2) Agency.--The term `Agency' means the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
``(3) Hazard.--The term `hazard' has the meaning given the
term in section 602.
``(4) Nonemployee system member.--The term `nonemployee
System member' means a System member not employed by a
sponsoring agency or participating agency.
``(5) Participating agency.--The term `participating agency'
means a State or local government, nonprofit organization, or
private organization that has executed an agreement with a
sponsoring agency to participate in the System.
``(6) Sponsoring agency.--The term `sponsoring agency' means
a State or local government that is the sponsor of a task force
designated by the Administrator to participate in the System.
``(7) System.--The term `System' means the National Urban
Search and Rescue Response System to be administered under this
section.
``(8) System member.--The term `System member' means an
individual who is not a full-time employee of the Federal
Government and who serves on a task force or on a System
management or other technical team.
``(9) Task force.--The term `task force' means an urban
search and rescue team designated by the Administrator to
participate in the System.

[[Page 1969]]

``(b) General Authority.--Subject to the requirements of this
section, the Administrator shall continue to administer the emergency
response system known as the National Urban Search and Rescue Response
System.
``(c) Functions.--In administering the System, the Administrator
shall provide for a national network of standardized search and rescue
resources to assist States and local governments in responding to
hazards.
``(d) <> Task Forces.--
``(1) Designation.--The Administrator shall designate task
forces to participate in the
System. <> The Administration
shall determine the criteria for such participation.
``(2) Sponsoring agencies.--Each task force shall have a
sponsoring agency. The Administrator shall enter into an
agreement with the sponsoring agency with respect to the
participation of each task force in the System.
``(3) Composition.--
``(A) Participating agencies.--A task force may
include, at the discretion of the sponsoring agency, one
or more participating agencies. The sponsoring agency
shall enter into an agreement with each participating
agency with respect to the participation of the
participating agency on the task force.
``(B) Other individuals.--A task force may also
include, at the discretion of the sponsoring agency,
other individuals not otherwise associated with the
sponsoring agency or a participating agency. The
sponsoring agency of a task force may enter into a
separate agreement with each such individual with
respect to the participation of the individual on the
task force.

``(e) Management and Technical Teams.--The Administrator shall
maintain such management teams and other technical teams as the
Administrator determines are necessary to administer the System.
``(f) Appointment of System Members Into Federal Service.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator may appoint a System
member into Federal service for a period of service to provide
for the participation of the System member in exercises,
preincident staging, major disaster and emergency response
activities, and training events sponsored or sanctioned by the
Administrator.
``(2) Nonapplicability of certain civil service laws.--The
Administrator may make appointments under paragraph (1) without
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive service.
``(3) Relationship to other authorities.--The authority of
the Administrator to make appointments under this subsection
shall not affect any other authority of the Administrator under
this Act.
``(4) Limitation.--A System member who is appointed into
Federal service under paragraph (1) shall not be considered an
employee of the United States for purposes other than those
specifically set forth in this section.

``(g) Compensation.--
``(1) Pay of system members.--Subject to such terms and
conditions as the Administrator may impose by regulation,

[[Page 1970]]

the Administrator shall make payments to the sponsoring agency
of a task force--
``(A) <> to reimburse each
employer of a System member on the task force for
compensation paid by the employer to the System member
for any period during which the System member is
appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1);
and
``(B) to make payments directly to a nonemployee
System member on the task force for any period during
which the nonemployee System member is appointed into
Federal service under subsection (f)(1).
``(2) Reimbursement for employees filling positions of
system members.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to such terms and
conditions as the Administrator may impose by
regulation, the Administrator shall make payments to the
sponsoring agency of a task force to be used to
reimburse each employer of a System member on the task
force for compensation paid by the employer to an
employee filling a position normally filled by the
System member for any period during which the System
member is appointed into Federal service under
subsection (f)(1).
``(B) Limitation.--Costs incurred by an employer
shall be eligible for reimbursement under subparagraph
(A) only to the extent that the costs are in excess of
the costs that would have been incurred by the employer
had the System member not been appointed into Federal
service under subsection (f)(1).
``(3) Method of payment.--A System member shall not be
entitled to pay directly from the Agency for a period during
which the System member is appointed into Federal Service under
subsection (f)(1).

``(h) Personal Injury, Illness, Disability, or Death.--
``(1) In general.--A System member who is appointed into
Federal service under subsection (f)(1) and who suffers personal
injury, illness, disability, or death as a result of a personal
injury sustained while acting in the scope of such appointment,
shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title
5, United States Code, be treated as though the member were an
employee (as defined by section 8101 of that title) who had
sustained the injury in the performance of duty.
``(2) Election of benefits.--
``(A) In general.--A System member (or, in the case
of the death of the System member, the System member's
dependent) who is entitled under paragraph (1) to
receive benefits under subchapter I of chapter 81 of
title 5, United States Code, by reason of personal
injury, illness, disability, or death, and to receive
benefits from a State or local government by reason of
the same personal injury, illness, disability or death
shall elect to--
``(i) receive benefits under such subchapter;
or
``(ii) receive benefits from the State or
local government.
``(B) Deadline.--A System member or dependent shall
make an election of benefits under subparagraph (A) not
later than 1 year after the date of the personal injury,

[[Page 1971]]

illness, disability, or death that is the reason for the
benefits, or until such later date as the Secretary of
Labor may allow for reasonable cause shown.
``(C) Effect of election.--An election of benefits
made under this paragraph is irrevocable unless
otherwise provided by law.
``(3) Reimbursement for state or local benefits.--Subject to
such terms and conditions as the Administrator may impose by
regulation, if a System member or dependent elects to receive
benefits from a State or local government under paragraph
(2)(A), the Administrator shall reimburse the State or local
government for the value of the benefits.
``(4) Public safety officer claims.--Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to bar any claim by, or with
respect to, any System member who is a public safety officer, as
defined in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b), for any benefits
authorized under part L of title I of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3796
et seq.).

``(i) Liability.--A System member appointed into Federal service
under subsection (f)(1), while acting within the scope of the
appointment, shall be considered to be an employee of the Federal
Government under section 1346(b) of title 28, United States Code, and
chapter 171 of that title, relating to tort claims procedure.
``(j) <> Employment and Reemployment Rights.--
With respect to a System member who is not a regular full-time employee
of a sponsoring agency or participating agency, the following terms and
conditions apply:
``(1) Service.--Service as a System member shall be
considered to be `service in the uniformed services' for
purposes of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, relating
to employment and reemployment rights of individuals who have
performed service in the uniformed services (regardless of
whether the individual receives compensation for such
participation). All rights and obligations of such persons and
procedures for assistance, enforcement, and investigation shall
be as provided for in such chapter.
``(2) Preclusion.--Preclusion of giving notice of service by
necessity of appointment under this section shall be considered
to be preclusion by `military necessity' for purposes of section
4312(b) of title 38, United States Code, pertaining to giving
notice of absence from a position of
employment. <> A determination of such
necessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall not be
subject to judicial review.

``(k) Licenses and Permits.--If a System member holds a valid
license, certificate, or other permit issued by any State or other
governmental jurisdiction evidencing the member's qualifications in any
professional, mechanical, or other skill or type of assistance required
by the System, the System member is deemed to be performing a Federal
activity when rendering aid involving such skill or assistance during a
period of appointment into Federal service under subsection (f)(1).
``(l) Preparedness Cooperative Agreements.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Administrator shall
enter into an annual preparedness cooperative agreement

[[Page 1972]]

with each sponsoring agency. Amounts made available to a sponsoring
agency under such a preparedness cooperative agreement shall be for the
following purposes:
``(1) Training and exercises, including training and
exercises with other Federal, State, and local government
response entities.
``(2) Acquisition and maintenance of equipment, including
interoperable communications and personal protective equipment.
``(3) Medical monitoring required for responder safety and
health in anticipation of and following a major disaster,
emergency, or other hazard, as determined by the Administrator.

``(m) Response Cooperative Agreements.--The Administrator shall
enter into a response cooperative agreement with each sponsoring agency,
as appropriate, under which the Administrator agrees to reimburse the
sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring agency in
responding to a major disaster or emergency.
``(n) Obligations.--The Administrator may incur all necessary
obligations consistent with this section in order to ensure the
effectiveness of the System.
``(o) <> Equipment
Maintenance and Replacement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees (as defined in section 2 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a report on the
development of a plan, including implementation steps and timeframes, to
finance, maintain, and replace System equipment.''.

(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Applicability of title 5, united states code.--Section
8101(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by transferring subparagraph (F) to between
subparagraph (E) and the matter following subparagraph
(E);
(C) in subparagraph (F)--
(i) by striking ``United States Code,''; and
(ii) by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the
following:
``(G) an individual who is a System member of the
National Urban Search and Rescue Response System during
a period of appointment into Federal service pursuant to
section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act;''.
(2) Inclusion as part of uniformed services for purposes of
userra.--Section 4303 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in paragraph (13), by inserting ``, a period for
which a System member of the National Urban Search and
Rescue Response System is absent from a position of
employment due to an appointment into Federal service
under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act'' before ``, and a
period''; and
(B) in paragraph (16), by inserting ``System members
of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System
during a period of appointment into Federal service
under

[[Page 1973]]

section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act,'' after ``Public Health
Service,''.

(c) Technical Amendment.--Section 1086(d) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 <>  is
amended as follows (which amendments shall take effect as if enacted on
January 2, 2013)--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting
``paragraph (2)''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``filed or'' and
inserting ``filed (consistent with pre-existing
effective dates) or''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``amendments made by
this Act'' and inserting ``amendments made to section 1204 of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42
U.S.C. 3796b) by this Act''.

Approved December 16, 2016.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2971:
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SENATE REPORTS: No. 114-307 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 162 (2016):
Nov. 30, considered and passed Senate.
Dec. 7, considered and passed House, amended.
Dec. 9, Senate concurred in House amendment.