Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to bring my bill, H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects, or HELP Act, to the floor today, and I thank Congressman Pappas, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for agreeing to move this bill forward. I am so proud of the HELP Act and all that it represents. It is bipartisan, commonsense, meaningful legislation, that was born out of a real partnership with local officials in my district in

Houston that will benefit all Americans.

As many in this body will recall, Hurricane Harvey hit my district in Houston and the entire Texas Gulf Coast in August of 2017, causing great devastation, dropping nearly 60 inches of rain, claiming 68 lives, and causing an estimated $125 billion in damages. It was the second-most expensive hurricane in the United States' history. Members of this body responded to Harvey's devastation with the speed and purpose we needed for our recovery, passing three supplemental appropriations bills, sending billions of dollars in aid to Texas through different programs. But our recovery was and still is slow, slower than many expected, and slower than any can afford.

Before I was sworn into Congress, I met with our local officials at home to talk about the impediments to our recovery. How could we speed it up? Where was recovery delayed? What could the Federal Government do? And one impediment that had significant impact on our recovery was the process for the award of mitigation project funding from FEMA.

Here is why. As Mr. Pappas noted, section 404 of the Stafford Act provides that FEMA may grant up to 75 percent of funds for cost- effective mitigation projects through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, HMGP. When States or municipalities apply through the HMGP program, projects, regardless of size or scope, require a comprehensive review to make sure all requirements of NEPA or other statutory requirements are met.

Importantly, these hazard mitigation grants do not allow for the reimbursement of costs incurred before a grant is approved. As a result, many areas recovering from disaster must wait for the FEMA review before purchasing land or starting construction on a project designed to mitigate damage. This FEMA review can go on for months or years at a critical time for decisionmaking and recovering.

In the case of natural disasters, local governments need to move quickly on projects like land acquisition; for example, buying land or buying out homes that have been damaged or other land acquisition projects. In Houston, this was true for us when we were looking to buy a golf course to create additional stormwater detention. The chief recovery officer for the city of Houston has told us that FEMA's pre- award cost policy--that is, not allowing reimbursement of costs incurred before grant approval--is a limiting factor in recovery, especially in cases of land acquisition.

Homeowners simply cannot afford to wait the months or years to make decisions about whether to repair their homes or participate in a buyout. The result is not only inefficiency, but real hardship.

For example, Harris County Flood Control District received $25 million from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to conduct buyouts to reduce flood damages in areas located deep in the floodplain where structural projects to reduce flooding aren't cost-effective. But that was nearly a year after Harvey. It took a year because of the review period required at FEMA for all HMGP applications. Most homeowners simply don't have the luxury of waiting a year or more to begin repairs or decide what to do.

So the quicker local governments are able to move, the more people they can help and the more resources they can leverage. Having a one- size-fits-all approach to reviewing projects through the HMGP is not efficient or effective. It needlessly delays critical mitigation work.

That is where the idea for the HELP Act came from. The HELP Act will allow land acquisition projects and simple construction projects that do not require an environmental impact statement under NEPA to commence immediately without the risk of losing potential Federal funds. This will allow State and local governments to respond more quickly to the needs of their communities and to plan disaster mitigation more efficiently and effectively by removing unnecessary delays and streamlining FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It is simple, it is straightforward, and it is needed.

At home, I continue to hear a consistent concern that these Federal disaster recovery projects move at a very slow pace. This bill addresses that and will be a real improvement for communities across the country.

I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. McCaul, for working with me on this bill. Disaster mitigation is not and should never be a partisan issue. There remains much work to do to prepare for future storms that we know will come, but I am hopeful that the HELP Act will aid State and local governments when they do.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and help our families, businesses, and communities recover from disasters.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1917) to modify eligibility requirements for certain hazard mitigation assistance programs, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on H.R. 1917.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1917, introduced and championed by Representative Fletcher. The Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects, or HELP Act, is designed to cut through red tape to unlock Federal assistance to State and local governments to complete some of the most basic mitigation projects more efficiently, such as buyouts of flood-prone properties. It represents a change to the current law's one-size-fits-all approach to reviewing projects that frequently delays mitigation work which will be welcome news to communities across my State in New Hampshire, and across our country as we deal with more frequent severe weather events that may require a Federal response.

The National Institute of Building Sciences has conducted significant analysis on the return on investment to taxpayers for investments in mitigation. Congress, under both Democratic and Republican majorities, has seen fit to bolster investments in mitigation to drive down future disaster response and recovery costs.

Just last week, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up the Resilient AMERICA Act which would align the calculation used to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency's pre-disaster mitigation program with the agency's post-disaster mitigation program.

FEMA's longest-running mitigation program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, or HMGP, began in 1989 and provides assistance after a disaster has struck. While there have been more than $5.2 billion obligated to HMGP projects, more than $1 billion in HMGP dollars have gone unobligated and will return to FEMA.

This bill will help disaster-impacted communities complete the land acquisition and simple construction projects that would otherwise be categorically exempt from a NEPA review, streamlining the process with FEMA. I want to commend Congresswoman Fletcher for her efforts to help disaster-vulnerable communities quicken the pace of recoveries and mitigate against future events.

I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Committtee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of

Representatives,

Washington, DC, November 1, 2021.

Hon. Maxine Waters,

Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairwoman Waters: Thank you for your letter regarding

H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act. I

appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this

legislation.

I acknowledge that by foregoing formal consideration on

H.R. 1917, the Committee on Financial Services does not waive

any future jurisdictional claims to provisions in this or

similar legislation, and that your Committee will be

consulted and involved on any matters in your Committee's

jurisdiction should this legislation move forward. In

addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I

would support your effort to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving provisions within this legislation on

which the Committee on Financial Services has a valid

jurisdictional claim.

I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation,

and I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in

the Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R.

1917.

Sincerely,

Peter A. DeFazio,

Chair.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher).

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Fletcher again for her leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to pass this commonsense piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act.

This bipartisan legislation will let communities recover from disasters more efficiently, and even more importantly, better prepare these communities for the next disaster.

H.R. 1917 provides assistance for certain mitigation projects that began before the grant was applied for. Last Congress, the House also worked in a bipartisan manner to pass this very practical bill under suspension of the rules. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time as I have no additional speakers.

In closing, H.R. 1917 benefits our communities by allowing them to be eligible for Federal disaster mitigation assistance for projects started prior to their request for assistance. I believe that this bill is a good bill, and I urge support of this bipartisan legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I was not present for rollcall Vote No. 359 on motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1917 Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 359.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Axne (Spanberger)

Babin (Nehls)

Bilirakis (Fleischmann)

Boebert (Van Drew)

Bowman (Tlaib)

Cardenas (Gomez)

Cawthorn (Nehls)

Doggett (Raskin)

Frankel, Lois (Clark (MA))

Gaetz (Greene (GA))

Gonzalez, Vicente (Gomez)

Gosar (Greene (GA))

Jayapal (Pocan)

Khanna (Auchincloss)

Kirkpatrick (Stanton)

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Long (McHenry)

Meeks (Kelly (IL))

Meng (Jeffries)

Payne (Pallone)

Pingree (Kuster)

Rush (Underwood)

Sires (Pallone)

Steube (Franklin, C. Scott)

Strickland (Jeffries)

Swalwell (Gomez)

Waltz (Salazar)

Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged and the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1917.

I ask unanimous consent that the Peters substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.