[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3157 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. R. 3157
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2003
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for the designation of a Department of Agriculture disaster
liaison to assist State and local employees of the Department in
coordination with other disaster agencies in response to a federally
declared disaster area as a result of a disaster.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LIAISON FOR DISASTER EMERGENCIES.
(a) Deployment of Disaster Liaison.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall deploy disaster liaisons to State and local Department of
Agriculture Service Centers in a federally declared disaster area
whenever Federal Emergency Management Agency Personnel are deployed in
that area, to coordinate Department programs with the appropriate
disaster agencies designated under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
(b) Qualifications.--Disaster liaisons shall be selected from among
Department employees who have experience providing emergency disaster
relief in federally declared disaster areas.
(c) Duties.--A disaster liaison shall--
(1) serve as a liaison to State and Federal Emergency
Services;
(2) be deployed to a federally declared disaster area to
coordinate Department interagency programs in assistance to
agricultural producers in the declared disaster area;
(3) facilitate the claims and applications of agricultural
producers who are victims of the disaster that are forwarded to
the Department by the appropriate State Department of
Agriculture agency director; and
(4) coordinate with the Director of the State office of the
appropriate Department agency to assist with the application
for and distribution of economic assistance.
(d) Duration of Deployment.--The deployment of a disaster liaison
under subsection (a) may not exceed 30 days.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``federally declared disaster area'' means--
(1) an area covered by a Presidential declaration of major
disaster, including a disaster caused by a wildfire, issued
under section 301 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); or
(2) determined to be a disaster area, including a disaster
caused by a wildfire, by the Secretary
under subpart A of part 1945 of title 7, Code of Federal
Regulations.
Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 2003.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.