H.R. 5689 – Reading Mode

IIB

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5689

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 6, 2022

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

AN ACT

To improve the provision of Federal resources to help build capacity and fund risk-reducing, cost-effective mitigation projects for eligible State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments and certain private nonprofit organizations, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Resilient Assistance for Mitigation for Environmentally Resilient Infrastructure and Construction by Americans Act or the Resilient AMERICA Act.

Predisaster hazard mitigation

Section 203(i) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended by striking equal to 6 percent and inserting equal to not more than 15 percent.

Nonprofit facilities

Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b) by striking and local governments and inserting , local governments, and private nonprofit facilities;

(2)

in subsection (c) by striking or local government in each place it appears and inserting , local government, or private nonprofit facility;

(3)

in subsection (d)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)(A) by striking local governments and inserting local governments and private nonprofit facilities;

(B)

in paragraph (2)—

(i)

by striking local governments in each place it appears and inserting local governments or private nonprofit facilities; and

(ii)

in subparagraph (B) by striking local government and inserting local government or private nonprofit facility; and

(C)

in paragraph (3) by inserting or private nonprofit facilities after any local governments of the State.

(4)

in subsection (e)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)(A) by striking and local governments and inserting , local governments, and private nonprofit facilities; and

(B)

in paragraph (2) by striking or local government in each place it appears and inserting , local government, or private nonprofit facility;

(5)

in subsection (f)—

(A)

in paragraph (2) by inserting or private nonprofit facilities located in the State after local governments of the State; and

(B)

in paragraph (3)(A) by inserting or private nonprofit facilities located in the State after local governments of a State; and

(6)

in subsection (g) by striking or local government in each place it appears and inserting , local government, or private nonprofit facility.

Building code implementation and enforcement set aside

(a)

In general

Section 203(f) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(m)) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and

(2)

by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

(3)

Building code implementation and enforcement set-aside

Of the amounts made available under this section for any given year, the Administrator may use not less than 10 percent to carry out eligible activities that further the implementation and enforcement of the latest published editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, including any amendments made by State, local, Tribal, or territorial governments to such codes, specifications, and standards, that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs and establish minimum acceptable criteria for the design, construction, and maintenance of facilities and residential structures that may be eligible for assistance under this Act. In any fiscal year in which requests for assistance for such activities do not total at least 10 percent of assistance under this section, any remaining funds may be used as additional assistance for the purposes of paragraph (1).

(b)

Latest published editions

Section 203(m) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(m)) is amended by inserting , (f)(3), after subsections (e)(1)(B)(iv).

(c)

Conforming amendment

Section 1234 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. 5133 note) is amended by striking subsection (d).

Resilient infrastructure

(a)

Use of assistance

Subsection (g) of section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(g)) (as redesignated by section 2) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (12)—

(A)

by inserting , wildfire, and ice storm after windstorm;

(B)

by striking including replacing and inserting the following:

including—

(A)

replacing

;

(C)

in subparagraph (A) (as so designated)—

(i)

by inserting , wildfire, after extreme wind; and

(ii)

by adding and after the semicolon at the end; and

(D)

by adding at the end the following:

(B)

the installation of fire-resistant wires and infrastructure and the undergrounding of wires;

;

(2)

in paragraph (13) by striking and; and

(3)

by striking paragraph (14) and inserting the following:

(14)

replacing water systems that have been burned, caused contamination, or are at risk from wildfire impacts with resilient, non-combustible materials;

(15)

repairing, replacing, or retrofitting infrastructure damaged by ice storms to be resilient to the impacts of such storms;

(16)

retrofitting or hardening electric grid infrastructure to comply with the latest published strength standards or industry best practices for resiliency, including standards and practices relating to the strength of utility poles in high wind areas, regardless of height; and

(17)

implementing technologies to improve infrastructure monitoring and distribution for the purpose of reducing risk and avoiding future disaster impacts and, notwithstanding other requirements related to cost-effectiveness, to avoid any unintended consequences under this section and section 203.

(b)

Use of assistance for earthquake hazards

Subsection (h) of section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(h)) (as redesignated by section 2) is amended—

(1)

by inserting and tsunami after earthquake each place it appears (including in the subsection heading);

(2)

in paragraph (2) by striking and at the end;

(3)

in paragraph (3) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and

(4)

by adding at the end the following:

(4)

planning, design, or construction of vertical evacuation structures in designated and mapped tsunami danger areas or hazard zones.

Residential retrofit and resilience pilot program

(a)

Establishment

The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall carry out a residential resilience pilot program through the program established under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) to make available assistance to State and local governments for the purpose of providing grants to individuals for residential resilience retrofits.

(b)

Amount of funds

The Administrator may use not more than 10 percent of the assistance made available to applicants on an annual basis under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) to provide assistance under this section.

(c)

Timeline

The Administrator shall establish the demonstration program under this section not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and the program shall terminate on September 30, 2025.

(d)

Report

Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that includes—

(1)

a summary of the grant awards and projects carried out under this section;

(2)

a detailed compilation of results achieved by the grant awards and projects carried out under this section, including the number of homes receiving retrofits, the types and average costs of retrofits, demographic information for participants in the program, and estimate avoidance in disaster impacts and Federal disaster payments as a result of the grant investments; and

(3)

any identified implementation challenges and recommendations for improvements to the pilot program.

(e)

Residential resilient retrofits defined

(1)

In general

In this section, the term residential resilient retrofits means a project that—

(A)

is designed to increase the resilience of an existing home or residence using mitigation measures which the administrator determines reduce damage and impacts from natural disaster hazards and risks that are most likely to occur in the area where the home is located; and

(B)

to the extent applicable, are consistent with the 2 most recently published editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, including any amendments made by State, local, tribal, or territorial governments to such codes, specifications, and standards that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs and establish criteria for the design, construction, and maintenance of residential structures and facilities that may be eligible for assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the buildings’ users against disasters.

(2)

Inclusion

In this section, the term residential resilient retrofits includes—

(A)

elevations of homes and elevations of utilities within and around structures to mitigate damages;

(B)

floodproofing measures;

(C)

the construction of tornado safe rooms;

(D)

seismic retrofits;

(E)

wildfire retrofit and mitigation measures;

(F)

wind retrofits, including roof replacements, hurricane straps, and tie-downs; and

(G)

any other measures that meet the requirements of paragraph (1), as determined by the Administrator.

Buy America for nonemergency projects

(a)

In general

For the purposes of this rulemaking, to ensure that the United States has the productive capability to respond quickly to emergencies and natural disasters with a strong domestic industrial base being in the public interest, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall require, as a condition of any financial assistance provided by the Agency on a nonemergency basis after promulgation of regulations pursuant to subsection (c) for a construction project with a cost of at least $1,000,000, that the steel and iron used in the project be produced in the United States.

(b)

Waiver

(1)

In general

The Administrator may provide a waiver of the requirements in subsection (a) if the Administrator finds—

(A)

that the application of such subsection would be inconsistent with the public interest, including causing unreasonable project delays;

(B)

that such steel and iron are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or

(C)

that inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 percent.

(2)

Public input

If the Administrator receives a request for a waiver under this subsection, the Administrator shall make available to the public, on an informal basis, a copy of the request and information available to the Administrator concerning the request, and shall allow for informal public input on the request for at least 15 days prior to making a finding based on the request.

(3)

Publication of request

The Administrator shall make the request and accompanying information available by electronic means, including on the official public website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(c)

Rulemaking

Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall conduct and complete a rulemaking to establish what considerations shall be used by the Administrator to assess whether a waiver request made pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) is in the public interest. Such criteria shall include both a calculation considering domestically produced steel and iron and a calculation with non-domestically produced steel and iron for construction projects which require a Benefit-Cost Analysis in order to qualify for financial assistance.

(d)

Adjustment

The amount in subsection (a) shall be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor.

Reimbursement of interest payments related to public assistance

(a)

In general

Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

431.

Reimbursement of interest payments related to public assistance

(a)

In general

For purposes of assistance under this title, the President shall provide financial assistance at the applicable Federal share to a State or local government, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization as reimbursement for qualifying interest.

(b)

Definitions

In this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)

Qualifying interest

The term qualifying interest means, with respect to a qualifying loan, the lesser of—

(A)

the actual interest paid to a lender for such qualifying loan; and

(B)

the interest that would have been paid to a lender if such qualifying loan had an interest rate equal to the prime rate most recently published on the Federal Reserve Statistical Release on selected interest rates.

(2)

Qualifying loan

The term qualifying loan means a loan—

(A)

obtained by a State or local government, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization; and

(B)

of which not less than 90 percent of the proceeds are used to fund activities for which such State or local government, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization receives assistance under this Act after the date on which such loan is disbursed.

(b)

Rule of applicability

Any qualifying interest (as such term is defined in section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as added by this section) incurred by a State or local government, electric cooperative, or nonprofit organization in the 5 years preceding the date of enactment of this Act shall be treated as eligible for financial assistance for purposes of such section 431.

Funding of a Federally Authorized Water Resources Development Project

Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is further amended by adding at the end the following:

(n)

Funding of a federally authorized water resources development project

(1)

In general

Notwithstanding section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) and its implementing regulations, assistance provided under this section may be used to fund activities authorized for construction within the scope of a federally authorized water resources development project of the Army Corps of Engineers if such activities are also eligible activities under this section.

(2)

Federal funding

All Federal funding provided pursuant to this section shall be applied toward the Federal share of a federally authorized water resources development project described in paragraph (1).

(3)

Non-Federal match

All non-Federal matching funds required pursuant to this section shall be applied toward the non-Federal share of a federally authorized water resources development project described in paragraph (1).

(4)

Total Federal share

Funding provided pursuant to this section may not exceed the total Federal share for a federally authorized water resources development project described in paragraph (1).

(5)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this subsection may be construed to affect—

(A)

the cost-share requirement of a hazard mitigation measure under this section;

(B)

the eligibility criteria for a hazard mitigation measure under this section;

(C)

the cost share requirements of a federally authorized water resources development project described in paragraph (1); and

(D)

the responsibilities of a non-Federal interest with respect to such project, including those related to the provision of lands, easements, rights-of-way, dredge material disposal areas, and necessary relocations.

(6)

Limitation

If a federally authorized water resources development project of the Army Corps of Engineers is constructed with funding provided under this subsection, no further Federal funding shall be provided for construction of such a project.

10.

GAO report to Congress on challenges under public assistance alternative procedures

(a)

In general

The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the challenges to States and Territories of the United States in obtaining assistance under section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189f).

(b)

Contents

In conducting the study described in subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall study the challenges for assistance described in subsection (a) faced by the following:

(1)

Rural areas, as such term is defined in section 423 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a).

(2)

Small impoverished communities, as such term is defined in section 203 of such Act.

(3)

Other communities, areas, or individuals that the Comptroller General determines pertinent.

(c)

Report to Congress

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report describing the results of the study required under subsection (a).

11.

Applicability

The amendments made by sections 2, 4(a), 8, and 9, and the provisions under section 6, shall only apply to amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives April 5, 2022.

Cheryl L. Johnson,

Clerk.