Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB1245 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 1245
5	5	To improve individual assistance provided by the Federal Emergency
6	6	Management Agency, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	FEBRUARY12, 2025
9	9	Mr. E
10	10	DWARDS(for himself, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CARTERof Louisiana, Ms.
11	11	T
12	12	OKUDA, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill;
13	13	which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
14	14	ture, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Small
15	15	Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
16	16	each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
17	17	tion of the committee concerned
18	18	A BILL
19	19	To improve individual assistance provided by the Federal
20	20	Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.
21	21	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
22	22	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
23	23	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
24	24	(a) S
25	25	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
26	26	‘‘Disaster Survivors Fairness Act of 2025’’. 5
27	27	(b) T
28	28	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6
29	29	this Act is as follows: 7
30	30	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
31	31	Sec. 2. Information sharing for federal agencies.
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34	34	•HR 1245 IH
35	35	Sec. 3. Universal application for individual assistance.
36	36	Sec. 4. Repair and rebuilding.
37	37	Sec. 5. Direct assistance.
38	38	Sec. 6. State-managed housing pilot authority.
39	39	Sec. 7. Management costs.
40	40	Sec. 8. Funding for online guides for post-disaster assistance.
41	41	Sec. 9. Individual assistance dashboard.
42	42	Sec. 10. FEMA reports.
43	43	Sec. 11. Sheltering of emergency response personnel.
44	44	Sec. 12. Improved rental assistance.
45	45	Sec. 13. GAO report on preliminary damage assessments.
46	46	Sec. 14. Applicability.
47	47	Sec. 15. GAO report to Congress on challenges under public assistance alter-
48	48	native procedures.
49	49	(c) DEFINITIONS.—Except as otherwise provided, the 1
50	50	terms used in this Act have the meanings given such terms 2
51	51	in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 3
52	52	and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 4
53	53	SEC. 2. INFORMATION SHARING FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES. 5
54	54	(a) E
55	55	STABLISHMENT OF UNIFIEDDISASTERAPPLI-6
56	56	CATIONSYSTEM.— 7
57	57	(1) I
58	58	N GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 8
59	59	Federal Emergency Management Agency shall estab-9
60	60	lish and maintain a web-based interagency electronic 10
61	61	information sharing system, to be known as the 11
62	62	‘‘unified disaster application system’’, to— 12
63	63	(A) facilitate the administration of the uni-13
64	64	versal application for direct Federal disaster as-14
65	65	sistance established under section 3; 15
66	66	(B) carry out the purposes of disaster as-16
67	67	sistance programs swiftly, efficiently, and in ac-17
68	68	cordance with applicable laws, regulations, and 18
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71	71	•HR 1245 IH
72	72	the privacy and data protections provided under 1
73	73	this section; and 2
74	74	(C) support the detection, prevention, and 3
75	75	investigation of waste, fraud, abuse, or discrimi-4
76	76	nation in the administration of disaster assist-5
77	77	ance programs. 6
78	78	(2) A
79	79	UTHORITIES OF ADMINISTRATOR .—In es-7
80	80	tablishing and maintaining the unified disaster ap-8
81	81	plication system under this subsection, the Adminis-9
82	82	trator may collect and maintain disaster assistance 10
83	83	information received from a disaster assistance 11
84	84	agency, a block grant recipient, or an applicant for 12
85	85	a disaster assistance program and share such infor-13
86	86	mation with any other disaster assistance agency or 14
87	87	block grant recipient using such system. 15
88	88	(3) R
89	89	EQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator shall 16
90	90	ensure that the unified disaster application system 17
91	91	established and maintained under this subsection— 18
92	92	(A) allows an applicant to receive status 19
93	93	updates on an application for disaster assist-20
94	94	ance programs submitted though such system; 21
95	95	(B) allows for applicants to update disaster 22
96	96	assistance information throughout the recovery 23
97	97	journeys of such applicants in accordance with 24
98	98	established application timeframes; 25
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101	101	•HR 1245 IH
102	102	(C) allows for the distribution to applicants 1
103	103	of information about additional recovery re-2
104	104	sources that may be available in a disaster 3
105	105	stricken area; 4
106	106	(D) provides an applicant with information 5
107	107	and documentation relating to an application 6
108	108	for a disaster assistance program submitted by 7
109	109	such applicant; and 8
110	110	(E) contains any other capabilities deter-9
111	111	mined necessary by the head of a disaster as-10
112	112	sistance agency. 11
113	113	(b) D
114	114	ATASECURITY.—The Administrator may facili-12
115	115	tate the collection of disaster assistance information into 13
116	116	the unified disaster application system established under 14
117	117	subsection (a) only after the following requirements have 15
118	118	been met: 16
119	119	(1) The Administrator certifies that the unified 17
120	120	disaster application system substantially complies 18
121	121	with the data security standards and best practices 19
122	122	established pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 35 20
123	123	of title 44, United States Code, and any other appli-21
124	124	cable Federal information security policy. 22
125	125	(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security pub-23
126	126	lishes a privacy impact assessment for the unified 24
127	127	disaster application system, in accordance with sec-25
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130	130	•HR 1245 IH
131	131	tion 208(b)(1)(B) of the E-Government Act of 2002 1
132	132	(44 U.S.C. 3501 note). 2
133	133	(3) The Administrator, after consulting with 3
134	134	disaster assistance agencies, publishes standard 4
135	135	rules of behavior for disaster assistance agencies, 5
136	136	block grant recipients, and personnel granted access 6
137	137	to disaster assistance information to protect such in-7
138	138	formation from improper disclosure. 8
139	139	(c) C
140	140	OLLECTION AND SHARING OF ADDITIONAL 9
141	141	R
142	142	ECORDS ANDINFORMATION.— 10
143	143	(1) I
144	144	N GENERAL.—The Administrator may au-11
145	145	thorize the additional collection, maintenance, shar-12
146	146	ing, and use of disaster assistance information by 13
147	147	publishing a notice on the unified disaster applica-14
148	148	tion system established under subsection (a) that in-15
149	149	cludes a detailed description of— 16
150	150	(A) the specific amendments to the collec-17
151	151	tion, maintenance, and sharing of disaster as-18
152	152	sistance information authorized; 19
153	153	(B) why each such amendment to how dis-20
154	154	aster assistance information is collected, main-21
155	155	tained, or shared is necessary to carry out the 22
156	156	purposes of a disaster assistance program and 23
157	157	consistent with the fair information practice 24
158	158	principles; and 25
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161	161	•HR 1245 IH
162	162	(C) the disaster assistance agencies and 1
163	163	block grant recipients that will be granted ac-2
164	164	cess to the additional information to carry out 3
165	165	the purposes of any disaster assistance pro-4
166	166	gram. 5
167	167	(2) N
168	168	OTICE AND PUBLICATION REQUIRE -6
169	169	MENTS.—The publication of a notice under para-7
170	170	graph (1) of a revision to the unified disaster appli-8
171	171	cation system of records prior to any new collection, 9
172	172	or uses, of Privacy Act categories of records, to 10
173	173	carry out the purposes of a disaster assistance pro-11
174	174	gram with regard to a disaster declared by the 12
175	175	President under section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. 13
176	176	Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 14
177	177	Act (42 U.S.C. 5170; 5191), shall be deemed to sat-15
178	178	isfy the notice and publication requirements of sec-16
179	179	tion 552a(e)(4) of title 5, United States Code, for 17
180	180	the entire period of performance for any assistance 18
181	181	provided under a disaster assistance program. 19
182	182	(3) W
183	183	AIVER OF INFORMATION COLLECTION RE -20
184	184	QUIREMENTS.— 21
185	185	(A) I
186	186	N GENERAL.—Upon the declaration of 22
187	187	a major disaster or emergency pursuant to sec-23
188	188	tions 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-24
189	189	aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 25
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192	192	•HR 1245 IH
193	193	U.S.C. 5170; 5191) by the President, the Ad-1
194	194	ministrator may waive the requirements of sub-2
195	195	chapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United 3
196	196	States Code, with respect to voluntary collection 4
197	197	of information for the entire period of perform-5
198	198	ance for any assistance provided under a dis-6
199	199	aster assistance program. 7
200	200	(B) T
201	201	RANSPARENCY.—Upon exercising the 8
202	202	waiver authority under subparagraph (A), the 9
203	203	Administrator shall— 10
204	204	(i) promptly post on a website of the 11
205	205	Federal Emergency Management Agency a 12
206	206	brief justification for such waiver, the an-13
207	207	ticipated period of time such waiver will be 14
208	208	in effect, and the disaster assistance offices 15
209	209	within the Federal Emergency Manage-16
210	210	ment Agency to which such waiver shall 17
211	211	apply; and 18
212	212	(ii) update the information relating to 19
213	213	such waiver, as applicable. 20
214	214	(4) GAO
215	215	REVIEW OF WAIVER OF INFORMATION 21
216	216	COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS .— 22
217	217	(A) I
218	218	N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 23
219	219	after the date of enactment of this Act, the 24
220	220	Comptroller General of the United States shall 25
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223	223	•HR 1245 IH
224	224	issue a report describing the benefits and poten-1
225	225	tial risks associated with authorizing the waiver 2
226	226	of the information collection requirements de-3
227	227	scribed in paragraph (3). 4
228	228	(B) C
229	229	ONTENTS.—The report required 5
230	230	under subparagraph (A) shall include an assess-6
231	231	ment of the extent to which a waiver described 7
232	232	in paragraph (3) would— 8
233	233	(i) affect the paperwork burden for in-9
234	234	dividuals, small businesses, State, local and 10
235	235	tribal governments, and other persons; 11
236	236	(ii) affect the consistent application of 12
237	237	Federal laws relating to— 13
238	238	(I) privacy and confidentiality; 14
239	239	(II) security of information; and 15
240	240	(III) access to information; and 16
241	241	(iii) encourage or deter a State or 17
242	242	other entity from participating in the vol-18
243	243	untary collection of information for the du-19
244	244	ration of a major disaster or emergency. 20
245	245	(d) U
246	246	SE BYOTHERFEDERALAGENCIES.— 21
247	247	(1) I
248	248	N GENERAL.—The Administrator may per-22
249	249	mit a Federal agency other than a disaster assist-23
250	250	ance agency listed in subparagraphs (A) through 24
251	251	(D) of subsection (f)(3) to use the unified disaster 25
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254	254	•HR 1245 IH
255	255	application system established under subsection (a) 1
256	256	for the purpose of facilitating disaster-related assist-2
257	257	ance if such agency enters into an agreement con-3
258	258	taining the terms described in paragraph (2). 4
259	259	(2) A
260	260	GENCY AGREEMENT .—An agreement en-5
261	261	tered into under paragraph (1) shall contain the fol-6
262	262	lowing terms: 7
263	263	(A) The Federal agency shall— 8
264	264	(i) collect, share, maintain, and use 9
265	265	disaster assistance information in compli-10
266	266	ance with this section and any policies of 11
267	267	the Federal Emergency Management 12
268	268	Agency and any information protection and 13
269	269	use policies of such Federal agency; and 14
270	270	(ii) train any personnel granted access 15
271	271	to disaster assistance information on the 16
272	272	rules of behavior established by the Admin-17
273	273	istrator under subsection (b)(3). 18
274	274	(B) In the event of any unauthorized dis-19
275	275	closure of disaster assistance information, the 20
276	276	Federal agency shall— 21
277	277	(i) notify the Administrator within 24 22
278	278	hours of discovering any such unauthorized 23
279	279	disclosure; 24
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282	282	•HR 1245 IH
283	283	(ii) cooperate fully with the Adminis-1
284	284	trator in the investigation and remediation 2
285	285	of any such disclosure; 3
286	286	(iii) cooperate fully in the prosecution 4
287	287	of a person responsible for such disclosure; 5
288	288	and 6
289	289	(iv) assume the responsibility for any 7
290	290	compensation, civil liability, or other reme-8
291	291	diation measures, whether awarded by a 9
292	292	judgment of a court or agreed as a com-10
293	293	promise of any potential claims by or on 11
294	294	behalf of an applicant, including by obtain-12
295	295	ing credit monitoring and remediation 13
296	296	services, for an improper disclosure that 14
297	297	is— 15
298	298	(I) caused, directly or indirectly, 16
299	299	by the acts or omissions of officers, 17
300	300	employees, and contractors of the 18
301	301	agency; or 19
302	302	(II) from any electronic system 20
303	303	of records that is created or main-21
304	304	tained by the agency pursuant to sec-22
305	305	tion 552a(e) of title 5, United States 23
306	306	Code. 24
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309	309	•HR 1245 IH
310	310	(3) PUBLICATION OF AGENCY AGREEMENT .— 1
311	311	The Administrator shall publish an agency agree-2
312	312	ment entered into under this subsection on the same 3
313	313	website as the unified disaster application system es-4
314	314	tablished under subsection (a). 5
315	315	(e) R
316	316	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—The sharing and use 6
317	317	of disaster assistance information that is subject to the 7
318	318	requirements of section 552a of title 5, United States 8
319	319	Code, by disaster assistance agencies and block grant re-9
320	320	cipients— 10
321	321	(1) shall not be— 11
322	322	(A) construed as a matching program for 12
323	323	purposes of section 552a(a)(8) of such title; or 13
324	324	(B) subject to the remaining computer 14
325	325	matching provisions of section 552a of such 15
326	326	title; and 16
327	327	(2) shall be in addition to any other law pro-17
328	328	viding for the sharing or use of such information. 18
329	329	(f) D
330	330	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 19
331	331	(1) A
332	332	PPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ 20
333	333	means— 21
334	334	(A) a person who applies for disaster as-22
335	335	sistance from a disaster assistance program; 23
336	336	and 24
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339	339	•HR 1245 IH
340	340	(B) a person on whose behalf a person de-1
341	341	scribed in subparagraph (A) has applied for dis-2
342	342	aster assistance. 3
343	343	(2) B
344	344	LOCK GRANT RECIPIENT .—The term 4
345	345	‘‘block grant recipient’’ means a State, local govern-5
346	346	ment, or Indian Tribe that receives assistance 6
347	347	through the disaster assistance program described in 7
348	348	paragraph (5)(B)(i). 8
349	349	(3) D
350	350	ISASTER ASSISTANCE AGENCY .—The term 9
351	351	‘‘disaster assistance agency’’ means— 10
352	352	(A) the Federal Emergency Management 11
353	353	Agency; 12
354	354	(B) the Department of Housing and 13
355	355	Urban Development; 14
356	356	(C) the Small Business Administration; 15
357	357	(D) the Department of Agriculture; and 16
358	358	(E) any other Federal agency that the Ad-17
359	359	ministrator permits to use the unified disaster 18
360	360	application system under subsection (d). 19
361	361	(4) D
362	362	ISASTER ASSISTANCE INFORMATION .—The 20
363	363	term ‘‘disaster assistance information’’ includes any 21
364	364	personal, demographic, biographical, geographical, 22
365	365	financial information, or other information that a 23
366	366	disaster assistance agency or block grant recipient is 24
367	367	authorized to collect, maintain, share, or use to proc-25
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370	370	•HR 1245 IH
371	371	ess an application for disaster assistance or other-1
372	372	wise carry out a disaster assistance program. 2
373	373	(5) D
374	374	ISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM .—The 3
375	375	term ‘‘disaster assistance program’’ means— 4
376	376	(A) any program that provides assistance 5
377	377	to individuals and households under title IV or 6
378	378	title V of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 7
379	379	and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 8
380	380	et seq.); or 9
381	381	(B) any other assistance program carried 10
382	382	out by a disaster assistance agency that pro-11
383	383	vides assistance to an individual, household, or 12
384	384	organization related to a major disaster or 13
385	385	emergency declared under sections 401 or 501 14
386	386	of such Act, including— 15
387	387	(i) assistance for activities related to 16
388	388	disaster relief, long-term recovery, restora-17
389	389	tion of infrastructure and housing, eco-18
390	390	nomic revitalization, and mitigation that 19
391	391	are authorized under title I of the Housing 20
392	392	and Community Development Act of 1974 21
393	393	(42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 22
394	394	(ii) any loan that is authorized under 23
395	395	section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 24
396	396	U.S.C. 636(b)); and 25
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399	399	•HR 1245 IH
400	400	(iii) the distribution of food benefit al-1
401	401	lotments as authorized under section 412 2
402	402	of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 3
403	403	and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4
404	404	5179) and section 5(h) of the Food Stamp 5
405	405	Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(h)). 6
406	406	SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL APPLICATION FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIST-7
407	407	ANCE. 8
408	408	(a) U
409	409	NIVERSALAPPLICATION.—The Administrator 9
410	410	of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall de-10
411	411	velop and establish a universal application for direct Fed-11
412	412	eral disaster assistance for individuals in areas impacted 12
413	413	by emergencies or disasters. 13
414	414	(b) C
415	415	ONSULTATION AND SUPPORT.— 14
416	416	(1) C
417	417	ONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sec-15
418	418	tion, the Administrator shall consult with the fol-16
419	419	lowing: 17
420	420	(A) The Director of the Office of Manage-18
421	421	ment and Budget. 19
422	422	(B) The Administrator of the Small Busi-20
423	423	ness Administration. 21
424	424	(C) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 22
425	425	Development. 23
426	426	(D) The Secretary of Agriculture. 24
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429	429	•HR 1245 IH
430	430	(2) SUPPORT.—The entities described in para-1
431	431	graph (1) shall provide prompt support to the Ad-2
432	432	ministrator. 3
433	433	(c) S
434	434	URVEY.—The application established under sub-4
435	435	section (a) shall include a voluntary survey to collect the 5
436	436	demographic data of an applicant. 6
437	437	(d) GAO A
438	438	SSESSMENT ON IDENTITYTHEFT AND 7
439	439	D
440	440	ISASTERFRAUD IN DISASTERASSISTANCEPRO-8
441	441	GRAMS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-9
442	442	ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 10
443	443	States shall— 11
444	444	(1) conduct an assessment of improper and po-12
445	445	tentially fraudulent Federal disaster assistance for 13
446	446	individuals made to survivors of major disasters de-14
447	447	clared in 2020 and 2021, including through identity 15
448	448	theft; and 16
449	449	(2) submit to the Committee on Transportation 17
450	450	and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 18
451	451	and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-19
452	452	ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report that de-20
453	453	scribes— 21
454	454	(A) the prevalence of improper and poten-22
455	455	tially fraudulent Federal disaster assistance for 23
456	456	individuals made to registrants who used invalid 24
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459	459	•HR 1245 IH
460	460	information to apply for disaster assistance, in-1
461	461	cluding through identity theft; 2
462	462	(B) the number of disaster survivors whose 3
463	463	claims for Federal disaster assistance for indi-4
464	464	viduals were denied due to another individual 5
465	465	filing a fraudulent application using their per-6
466	466	sonal identifying information; 7
467	467	(C) the adequacy of existing fraud preven-8
468	468	tion protocols in place on the Federal Emer-9
469	469	gency Management Agency’s online application 10
470	470	for Federal disaster assistance for individuals; 11
471	471	and 12
472	472	(D) recommendations for improving the 13
473	473	identity verification protocols in place for Fed-14
474	474	eral disaster assistance for individuals. 15
475	475	SEC. 4. REPAIR AND REBUILDING. 16
476	476	(a) I
477	477	NGENERAL.—Section 408(b)(1) of the Robert 17
478	478	T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 18
479	479	(42 U.S.C. 5174(b)(1)) is amended— 19
480	480	(1) by striking ‘‘rendered uninhabitable’’ and 20
481	481	inserting ‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’; and 21
482	482	(2) by striking ‘‘uninhabitable, as a result of 22
483	483	damage caused by a major disaster’’ and inserting 23
484	484	‘‘damaged by a major disaster’’. 24
485	485	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Mar 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1245.IH H1245
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487	487	•HR 1245 IH
488	488	(b) HAZARDMITIGATION.—Section 408 of the Rob-1
489	489	ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 2
490	490	Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 3
491	491	(1) in subsection (c) by adding at the end the 4
492	492	following: 5
493	493	‘‘(5) H
494	494	AZARD MITIGATION.— 6
495	495	‘‘(A) I
496	496	N GENERAL.—The President may 7
497	497	provide financial assistance to individuals and 8
498	498	households whose primary residence, utilities, or 9
499	499	residential infrastructure are damaged by a 10
500	500	major disaster, for cost-effective hazard mitiga-11
501	501	tion measures that reduce threats to life and 12
502	502	property, or future damage to such residence, 13
503	503	utilities, or infrastructure in future disasters. 14
504	504	‘‘(B) R
505	505	ELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASSIST -15
506	506	ANCE.—A recipient of assistance provided 16
507	507	under this paragraph shall not be required to 17
508	508	show that the assistance can be met through 18
509	509	other means, except insurance proceeds.’’; and 19
510	510	(2) in subsection (h)— 20
511	511	(A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, finan-21
512	512	cial assistance for hazard mitigation under sub-22
513	513	section (c)(5)(A),’’ after ‘‘subsection 23
514	514	(c)(1)(A)(i)’’; 24
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517	517	•HR 1245 IH
518	518	(B) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘para-1
519	519	graphs (1) and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 2
520	520	(1), (2), and (3)’’; and 3
521	521	(C) by adding at the end the following: 4
522	522	‘‘(5) H
523	523	AZARD MITIGATION.—The maximum fi-5
524	524	nancial assistance any individual or household may 6
525	525	receive under subsection (c)(5) shall be equivalent to 7
526	526	the amount set forth in paragraph (1) with respect 8
527	527	to a single major disaster.’’. 9
528	528	SEC. 5. DIRECT ASSISTANCE. 10
529	529	(a) I
530	530	NGENERAL.—Section 408(c) of the Robert T. 11
531	531	Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 12
532	532	(42 U.S.C. 5174(c)) is further amended by striking para-13
533	533	graph (2) and inserting the following: 14
534	534	‘‘(2) R
535	535	EPAIRS.— 15
536	536	‘‘(A) F
537	537	INANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR RE -16
538	538	PAIRS.—The President may provide financial 17
539	539	assistance for the repair of owner-occupied pri-18
540	540	vate residences, utilities, and residential infra-19
541	541	structure (such as a private access route) dam-20
542	542	aged by a major disaster, or with respect to in-21
543	543	dividuals with disabilities, rendered inaccessible 22
544	544	by a major disaster. 23
545	545	‘‘(B) D
546	546	IRECT ASSISTANCE FOR REPAIRS .— 24
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549	549	•HR 1245 IH
550	550	‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President 1
551	551	may provide direct assistance to individuals 2
552	552	and households who are unable to make 3
553	553	use of financial assistance under subpara-4
554	554	graph (A) and when there is a lack of 5
555	555	available resources, for— 6
556	556	‘‘(I) the repair of owner-occupied 7
557	557	private residences, utilities, and resi-8
558	558	dential infrastructure (such as a pri-9
559	559	vate access route) damaged by a 10
560	560	major disaster, or with respect to indi-11
561	561	viduals with disabilities, rendered in-12
562	562	accessible by a disaster; and 13
563	563	‘‘(II) eligible hazard mitigation 14
564	564	measures that reduce the likelihood 15
565	565	and future damage to such residences, 16
566	566	utilities, and infrastructure. 17
567	567	‘‘(ii) E
568	568	LIGIBILITY.—A recipient of as-18
569	569	sistance under this subparagraph shall not 19
570	570	be eligible for assistance under paragraph 20
571	571	(1), unless otherwise determined by the 21
572	572	Administrator. 22
573	573	‘‘(C) R
574	574	ELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASSIST -23
575	575	ANCE.—A recipient of assistance provided 24
576	576	under this paragraph shall not be required to 25
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579	579	•HR 1245 IH
580	580	show that the assistance can be met through 1
581	581	other means, except insurance proceeds.’’. 2
582	582	(b) S
583	583	TATE- ORINDIANTRIBALGOVERNMENT-AD-3
584	584	MINISTEREDASSISTANCE AND OTHERNEEDSASSIST-4
585	585	ANCE.—Section 408(f) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 5
586	586	Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(f)) 6
587	587	is amended— 7
588	588	(1) by striking ‘‘subsections (c)(1)(B), (c)(4), 8
589	589	and (e)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘para-9
590	590	graphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (4) of subsection (c) and 10
591	591	subsection (e)’’; and 11
592	592	(2) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking ‘‘subsection 12
593	593	(c)(1)(B), (c)(4), or (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 13
594	594	(1)(B), (2)(B), or (4) of subsection (c) or subsection 14
595	595	(e)’’. 15
596	596	SEC. 6. STATE-MANAGED HOUSING PILOT AUTHORITY. 16
597	597	(a) I
598	598	NGENERAL.—Section 408 of the Robert T. 17
599	599	Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 18
600	600	(42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended— 19
601	601	(1) in subsection (f)(3)— 20
602	602	(A) in subparagraph (A)— 21
603	603	(i) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and insert-22
604	604	ing the following: 23
605	605	‘‘(i) I
606	606	N GENERAL.—A State’’; and 24
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609	609	•HR 1245 IH
610	610	(ii) by adding at the end the fol-1
611	611	lowing: 2
612	612	‘‘(ii) T
613	613	RANSPARENCY.—The President 3
614	614	shall make public the criteria used to 4
615	615	evaluate applications under clause (i) and 5
616	616	determine if a State or Indian tribal gov-6
617	617	ernment meets the criteria described in 7
618	618	subparagraph (B) to administer grants de-8
619	619	scribed in paragraph (1)(A).’’; 9
620	620	(B) in subparagraph (C)(ii)— 10
621	621	(i) in subclause (I) by striking ‘‘; 11
622	622	and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 12
623	623	(ii) in subclause (II) by striking the 13
624	624	period at the end and inserting a semi-14
625	625	colon; and 15
626	626	(iii) by adding at the end the fol-16
627	627	lowing: 17
628	628	‘‘(III) outline the approach of the 18
629	629	State to help disaster survivors create 19
630	630	a permanent housing plan; and 20
631	631	‘‘(IV) outline the approach of the 21
632	632	State to provide individual disaster 22
633	633	survivors some choice of communities 23
634	634	and properties, as practicable.’’; 24
635	635	(C) by striking subparagraph (F); 25
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638	638	•HR 1245 IH
639	639	(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (G), 1
640	640	(H), (I), and (J) as subparagraphs (F), (G), 2
641	641	(H), and (I), respectively; and 3
642	642	(E) in subparagraph (I), as so redesig-4
643	643	nated— 5
644	644	(i) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘Not later 6
645	645	than 2 years after the date of enactment 7
646	646	of this paragraph, the’’ and inserting 8
647	647	‘‘The’’; and 9
648	648	(ii) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘2 10
649	649	years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and 11
650	650	(2) in subsection (g)— 12
651	651	(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘para-13
652	652	graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 14
653	653	(3)’’; and 15
654	654	(B) by adding at the end the following: 16
655	655	‘‘(3) D
656	656	ISASTER ASSISTANCE.—In the case of as-17
657	657	sistance provided under subsections (c)(1)(B), 18
658	658	(c)(2)(B), and (c)(4), the Federal share shall be not 19
659	659	less than 75 percent.’’. 20
660	660	(b) GAO A
661	661	SSESSMENT.—Upon the expiration of the 21
662	662	authority to carry out section 408(f) of the Robert T. 22
663	663	Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 23
664	664	(42 U.S.C. 5174(f)) as a pilot program, the Comptroller 24
665	665	General of the United States shall issue a report on the 25
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668	668	•HR 1245 IH
669	669	effectiveness, successes, and challenges of any pilot pro-1
670	670	gram carried out pursuant to such section and make rec-2
671	671	ommendations on how to improve the provision of assist-3
672	672	ance under such section. 4
673	673	SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT COSTS. 5
674	674	(a) I
675	675	NGENERAL.—Section 324(b)(2) of the Robert 6
676	676	T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 7
677	677	(42 U.S.C. 5165b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 8
678	678	the following: 9
679	679	‘‘(C) I
680	680	NDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE.—A grantee 10
681	681	under section 408(f) may be reimbursed not 11
682	682	more than 12 percent of the total award 12
683	683	amount under each such section. 13
684	684	‘‘(D) C
685	685	RISIS COUNSELING ASSISTANCE , 14
686	686	TRAINING, AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERV -15
687	687	ICES.—A grantee and subgrantee, cumulatively, 16
688	688	may be reimbursed not more than 15 percent of 17
689	689	the total amount of the grant award under ei-18
690	690	ther section 416 or 426.’’. 19
691	691	(b) A
692	692	DMINISTRATIVECOSTS.—Section 408(f)(1) of 20
693	693	the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As-21
694	694	sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174), as amended by section 5(b) 22
695	695	of this Act, is amended— 23
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698	698	•HR 1245 IH
699	699	(1) by striking ‘‘(A) GRANT TO STATE.—’’ and 1
700	700	all that follows through ‘‘subsection (g),’’ and insert-2
701	701	ing ‘‘Subject to subsection (g),’’; and 3
702	702	(2) by striking subparagraph (B). 4
703	703	SEC. 8. FUNDING FOR ONLINE GUIDES FOR POST-DISASTER 5
704	704	ASSISTANCE. 6
705	705	(a) U
706	706	SE OFSERVICES OFOTHERAGENCIES.—Sec-7
707	707	tion 201(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 8
708	708	Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131(a)) is amend-9
709	709	ed— 10
710	710	(1) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 11
711	711	the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 12
712	712	(2) by adding at the end the following: 13
713	713	‘‘(8) post-disaster assistance.’’. 14
714	714	(b) G
715	715	RANTS FOR ONLINEGUIDES FOR ASSIST-15
716	716	ANCE.—Section 201 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 16
717	717	Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131) 17
718	718	is amended by adding at the end the following: 18
719	719	‘‘(e) F
720	720	UNDING FOR ONLINEGUIDES FORASSIST-19
721	721	ANCE.— 20
722	722	‘‘(1) I
723	723	N GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 21
724	724	Federal Emergency Management Agency may pro-22
725	725	vide funding to a State agency established under 23
726	726	subsection (c) to establish, update, or operate a 24
727	727	website to provide information relating to post-dis-25
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730	730	•HR 1245 IH
731	731	aster recovery funding and resources to a community 1
732	732	or an individual impacted by a major disaster or 2
733	733	emergency. 3
734	734	‘‘(2) M
735	735	ANAGEMENT.—A website created under 4
736	736	this subsection shall be— 5
737	737	‘‘(A) managed by the State agency; and 6
738	738	‘‘(B) suitable for the residents of the State 7
739	739	of the State agency. 8
740	740	‘‘(3) C
741	741	ONTENT.—The Administrator may pro-9
742	742	vide funding to a State agency under this subsection 10
743	743	to establish a website that contains only 1 or more 11
744	744	of the following: 12
745	745	‘‘(A) A list of Federal, State, and local 13
746	746	sources of post-disaster recovery funding or as-14
747	747	sistance that may be available to a community 15
748	748	after a major disaster or emergency. 16
749	749	‘‘(B) A list of Federal, State, and local 17
750	750	sources of post-disaster recovery funding or as-18
751	751	sistance that may be available to an individual 19
752	752	impacted by a major disaster or emergency. 20
753	753	‘‘(C) A technical guide that lists and ex-21
754	754	plains the costs and benefits of alternatives 22
755	755	available to a community to mitigate the im-23
756	756	pacts of a major disaster or emergency and pre-24
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759	759	•HR 1245 IH
760	760	pare for sequential hazards such as flooding 1
761	761	after a wildfire. 2
762	762	‘‘(4) C
763	763	OOPERATION.—A State agency that re-3
764	764	ceives funding under this subsection shall cooperate 4
765	765	with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 5
766	766	Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 6
767	767	Development, the Administrator of the Small Busi-7
768	768	ness Administration, and the Administrator of the 8
769	769	Federal Emergency Management Agency in devel-9
770	770	oping a website under this subsection. 10
771	771	‘‘(5) U
772	772	PDATES.—A State agency that receives 11
773	773	funding to establish a website under this subsection 12
774	774	shall update the website not less than once every 6 13
775	775	months.’’. 14
776	776	SEC. 9. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE DASHBOARD. 15
777	777	Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 16
778	778	Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is 17
779	779	amended by adding at the end the following: 18
780	780	‘‘SEC. 431. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE DASHBOARD. 19
781	781	‘‘(a) I
782	782	NGENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after a 20
783	783	declaration by the President that a major disaster exists 21
784	784	under section 401, the Administrator of the Federal 22
785	785	Emergency Management Agency shall publish on a 23
786	786	website of the Agency an interactive web tool displaying 24
787	787	the following information with respect to such disaster: 25
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790	790	•HR 1245 IH
791	791	‘‘(1) The number of applications for assistance 1
792	792	under section 408, including a description of the 2
793	793	number of applications for assistance related to 3
794	794	housing under such section and the number of appli-4
795	795	cations for assistance to address other needs under 5
796	796	section 408(e). 6
797	797	‘‘(2) The number of applications for such as-7
798	798	sistance that are approved. 8
799	799	‘‘(3) The number of applications for such as-9
800	800	sistance that are denied. 10
801	801	‘‘(4) A ranked list of the reasons for the denial 11
802	802	of such applications, including the number of appli-12
803	803	cations for each reason for denial. 13
804	804	‘‘(5) If available, the dollar amount of assist-14
805	805	ance provided pursuant to section 408 to applicants 15
806	806	who are— 16
807	807	‘‘(A) property owners with a household an-17
808	808	nual income— 18
809	809	‘‘(i) above the national median house-19
810	810	hold income; and 20
811	811	‘‘(ii) below the national median house-21
812	812	hold income; and 22
813	813	‘‘(B) renters with a household annual in-23
814	814	come— 24
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817	817	•HR 1245 IH
818	818	‘‘(i) above the national median house-1
819	819	hold income; and 2
820	820	‘‘(ii) below the national median house-3
821	821	hold income. 4
822	822	‘‘(6) The estimated percentage of residential 5
823	823	property that was destroyed as a result of the major 6
824	824	disaster, if available. 7
825	825	‘‘(7) Any other information that the Adminis-8
826	826	trator determines to be relevant. 9
827	827	‘‘(b) P
828	828	ERSONALLYIDENTIFIABLEINFORMATION.— 10
829	829	The Administrator shall ensure that none of the informa-11
830	830	tion published under subsection (a) contains the personally 12
831	831	identifiable information of an applicant.’’. 13
832	832	SEC. 10. FEMA REPORTS. 14
833	833	(a) I
834	834	NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 15
835	835	date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 16
836	836	Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit to 17
837	837	the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 18
838	838	the House of Representatives and the Committee on 19
839	839	Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate 20
840	840	a report with respect to fiscal year 2016 through the most 21
841	841	recent fiscal year ending before the date of enactment of 22
842	842	this Act, and an annual report for any fiscal year begin-23
843	843	ning on or after the date of enactment of this Act, describ-24
844	844	ing— 25
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847	847	•HR 1245 IH
848	848	(1) the average amount of individual assistance 1
849	849	and individual and household assistance provided 2
850	850	under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 3
851	851	Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4
852	852	5121 et seq.) to, and the rate of denial of individual 5
853	853	assistance and individual and household assistance 6
854	854	provided under such section for— 7
855	855	(A) all individuals; 8
856	856	(B) households; 9
857	857	(C) individuals and households with a re-10
858	858	ported annual income under 75 percent of the 11
859	859	national median household income; 12
860	860	(D) individuals with a reported annual in-13
861	861	come over 125 percent of the national median 14
862	862	household income; and 15
863	863	(E) individuals with a reported annual in-16
864	864	come between 75 percent and 125 percent of 17
865	865	the national median household income; and 18
866	866	(2) an explanation for any factors causing an 19
867	867	increase in the rate of denial of the assistance de-20
868	868	scribed in paragraph (1), if applicable. 21
869	869	(b) I
870	870	NFORMATION REQUIRED.—In the report sub-22
871	871	mitted under subsection (a), the Administrator shall de-23
872	872	scribe the number of homeowners and the number of rent-24
873	873	ers for each category of individuals and households de-25
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876	876	•HR 1245 IH
877	877	scribed in subparagraphs (C) through (E) of subsection 1
878	878	(a)(1). 2
879	879	SEC. 11. SHELTERING OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE PER-3
880	880	SONNEL. 4
881	881	Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 5
882	882	and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) is 6
883	883	amended by adding at the end the following: 7
884	884	‘‘(e) S
885	885	HELTERING OFEMERGENCYRESPONSEPER-8
886	886	SONNEL.— 9
887	887	‘‘(1) I
888	888	N GENERAL.—For any major disaster for 10
889	889	which the President has authorized emergency pro-11
890	890	tective measures for an area within the jurisdiction 12
891	891	of a State, tribal, or local government, the Adminis-13
892	892	trator may reimburse the State, tribal, or local gov-14
893	893	ernment for costs relating to sheltering emergency 15
894	894	response personnel, including individuals that are a 16
895	895	part of the same predisaster household as such per-17
896	896	sonnel, in exclusive-use congregate or non-con-18
897	897	gregate settings if the Governor of the State or chief 19
898	898	executive of the tribal or local government deter-20
899	899	mines that the damage or disruption to such area is 21
900	900	of such a magnitude as to disrupt the provision of 22
901	901	emergency protective measures within such area. 23
902	902	‘‘(2) L
903	903	IMITATION OF ASSISTANCE.— 24
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906	906	•HR 1245 IH
907	907	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 1
908	908	may only reimburse a State, tribal, or local gov-2
909	909	ernment for the costs of sheltering emergency 3
910	910	response personnel under paragraph (1) for 4
911	911	such a period of time as the Administrator de-5
912	912	termines reasonable based in the individual 6
913	913	characteristics of and impacts to the affected 7
914	914	area, including the extent of damage, the avail-8
915	915	ability of alternative housing options, the avail-9
916	916	ability of utilities, and disruptions to transpor-10
917	917	tation infrastructure. 11
918	918	‘‘(B) M
919	919	AXIMUM DURATION OF REIMBURSE -12
920	920	MENT.—The period of reimbursement under 13
921	921	subparagraph (A) may not exceed the 6-month 14
922	922	period beginning on the date on which the inci-15
923	923	dent period ends. 16
924	924	‘‘(3) D
925	925	EFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 17
926	926	‘emergency response personnel’ means— 18
927	927	‘‘(A) employees or contracted employees 19
928	928	providing law enforcement, fire suppression, 20
929	929	rescue, emergency medical, emergency manage-21
930	930	ment, or emergency communications services; 22
931	931	and 23
932	932	‘‘(B) elected officials, except members of 24
933	933	Congress, responsible for the overseeing or di-25
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936	936	•HR 1245 IH
937	937	recting emergency response operations or recov-1
938	938	ery activities.’’. 2
939	939	SEC. 12. IMPROVED RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 3
940	940	(a) I
941	941	NGENERAL.—Section 408(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the 4
942	942	Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-5
943	943	ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(c)(1)(A)(ii)) is amended by in-6
944	944	serting ‘‘, including local post-disaster rent increases,’’ 7
945	945	after ‘‘accommodation provided’’. 8
946	946	(b) S
947	947	TUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 9
948	948	enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 10
949	949	Emergency Management Agency shall conduct a study to 11
950	950	examine the unique challenges of renters when seeking 12
951	951	Federal disaster assistance and any disparities of assist-13
952	952	ance provided to homeowners and renters pursuant to sec-14
953	953	tion 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 15
954	954	Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) and develop 16
955	955	a plan that addresses any identified challenges and dis-17
956	956	parities, including any recommendations for legislative ac-18
957	957	tion. 19
958	958	(c) R
959	959	EPORT TOCONGRESS.—Upon completion of the 20
960	960	activities carried out under subsection (b), the Adminis-21
961	961	trator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 22
962	962	and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 23
963	963	the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 24
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967	967	Affairs of the Senate a report containing the study and 1
968	968	recommendations required under subsection (b). 2
969	969	(d) C
970	970	ONSULTATION.—In completing the study and 3
971	971	report required under subsections (b) and (c), the Admin-4
972	972	istrator shall consult with appropriate Federal entities and 5
973	973	stakeholders involved in disaster housing. 6
974	974	SEC. 13. GAO REPORT ON PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESS-7
975	975	MENTS. 8
976	976	(a) I
977	977	NGENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 9
978	978	United States shall conduct a study on the practices, in-10
979	979	cluding the accuracy of such practices, that the Federal 11
980	980	Emergency Management Agency uses when conducting 12
981	981	preliminary damage assessments for the purposes of pro-13
982	982	viding assistance under section 408 of the Robert T. Staf-14
983	983	ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42. 15
984	984	U.S.C. 5174). 16
985	985	(b) C
986	986	ONTENTS.—The Comptroller General shall in-17
987	987	clude in the study conducted under subsection (a) the fol-18
988	988	lowing: 19
989	989	(1) A comparison of the process and procedures 20
990	990	used by the Federal Emergency Management Agen-21
991	991	cy to complete preliminary damage assessments to 22
992	992	the process and procedures used by private insur-23
993	993	ance companies following a major disaster. 24
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997	997	(2) A review of training provided to individuals 1
998	998	conducting preliminary damage assessments. 2
999	999	(3) A comparison of damage estimates for 3
1000	1000	homes owned by individuals above the national me-4
1001	1001	dian income to homes owned by individuals at or 5
1002	1002	below the national median income. 6
1003	1003	SEC. 14. APPLICABILITY. 7
1004	1004	The amendments made by sections 4, 5, 7, 8, and 8
1005	1005	11 shall only apply to amounts appropriated on or after 9
1006	1006	the date of enactment of this Act. 10
1007	1007	SEC. 15. GAO REPORT TO CONGRESS ON CHALLENGES 11
1008	1008	UNDER PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ALTERNATIVE 12
1009	1009	PROCEDURES. 13
1010	1010	(a) I
1011	1011	NGENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 14
1012	1012	United States shall conduct a study on the challenges to 15
1013	1013	States and Territories of the United States in obtaining 16
1014	1014	assistance under section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford 17
1015	1015	Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 18
1016	1016	5189f). 19
1017	1017	(b) C
1018	1018	ONTENTS.—In conducting the study described 20
1019	1019	in subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall study the 21
1020	1020	challenges for assistance described in subsection (a) faced 22
1021	1021	by the following: 23
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1025	1025	(1) Rural areas, as such term is defined in sec-1
1026	1026	tion 423 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 2
1027	1027	and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a). 3
1028	1028	(2) Small impoverished communities, as such 4
1029	1029	term is defined in section 203 of such Act. 5
1030	1030	(3) Other communities, areas, or individuals 6
1031	1031	that the Comptroller General determines pertinent. 7
1032	1032	(c) R
1033	1033	EPORT TOCONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 8
1034	1034	after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 9
1035	1035	General shall submit to Congress a report describing the 10
1036	1036	results of the study required under subsection (a). 11
1037	1037	Æ
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