[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2796 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2796
To expedite disaster assistance to States, insular areas, units of
general local government, and Indian tribes under a community
development block grant disaster recovery program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 6, 2019
Mr. Tillis (for himself and Mr. Burr) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expedite disaster assistance to States, insular areas, units of
general local government, and Indian tribes under a community
development block grant disaster recovery program, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Ensuring Disaster Recovery for Local
Communities Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 104(b) (42 U.S.C. 5304(b)), by inserting
``or 123'' after ``106'' each place that term appears; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 123. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE.
``(a) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, the term
`eligible entity' means--
``(1) a State;
``(2) an insular area;
``(3) a unit of general local government; and
``(4) an Indian tribe.
``(b) Authority; Use.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide assistance
under this section to eligible entities for necessary expenses
for activities authorized under this title related to disaster
relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of
infrastructure and housing, mitigation, and economic
revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas
resulting from a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
``(2) Other assistance.--The Secretary may provide an
appropriate amount of assistance to eligible entities outside
an area described in paragraph (1) that receives displaced
residents due to a major disaster declared pursuant to the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) for the purpose of carrying out
eligible activities to provide housing to and meet other
disaster recovery needs of those displaced residents.
``(3) Consideration.--In carrying out eligible activities
with assistance provided under this section, a grantee shall
prioritize activities that address housing recovery needs and
how to better recover from and withstand future disasters,
prolong the life of housing and infrastructure, use cost-
effective means of preventing harm to people and property,
incorporate protective features, redundancies, energy savings,
and other measures that will assure the continuation of
critical services during future disasters.
``(c) Timing.--
``(1) Deadlines for allocation of amounts.--Except as
provided in paragraph (2), after the enactment of an
appropriations Act making funds available for assistance under
this section, the Secretary shall allocate for grantees, based
on the best available data--
``(A) not less than one-third of funds provided for
assistance under this section, within 60 days of the
date of enactment of that Act; and
``(B) all remaining unallocated funds to be awarded
to grantees, within 180 days of such date of enactment.
``(2) Inapplicability of deadlines based on insufficient
information.--The deadlines under paragraph (1) for allocation
of funds shall not apply in the case of funds made available
for assistance under this section until sufficient information
has been made available to the Secretary to determine unmet
recovery needs and make allocations in accordance with those
deadlines.
``(3) Development of common application.--The Secretary,
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the
heads of other appropriate agencies shall develop a common
form--
``(A) for the purpose of applying for individual
disaster assistance from the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, or the Small Business Administration; and
``(B) that can be used and shared by all agencies
providing individual disaster assistance and by the
grantees and subgrantees as necessary.
``(d) Plan for Use of Assistance.--
``(1) Requirement.--Not later than 120 days after the
allocation pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(B) of the funds made
available by an appropriations Act for assistance under this
section, and before the Secretary obligates any of such funds
for a grantee, the grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary
for approval detailing the proposed use of all funds, which
shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) criteria for eligibility for each proposed
use of funds, including eligibility limits on income
and geography, and a description of how the use of such
funds will--
``(i) address unmet needs relating to
disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery
and restoration of infrastructure and housing,
and mitigation and economic revitalization in
the most impacted and distressed areas; and
``(ii) provide assistance to impacted
households experiencing homelessness or at risk
of homelessness;
``(B) identification of officials and offices
responsible for administering such funds and
identifying and recovering duplicative benefits;
``(C) an agreement to share data with Federal
agencies and other providers of disaster relief, which
shall include information the grantee has regarding the
matters described in subparagraph (B); and
``(D) a plan to provide case management services to
disaster-impacted residents in identifying,
understanding, and accessing available Federal
assistance.
``(2) Public consultation.--In developing the plan required
under paragraph (1), a grantee shall, at a minimum--
``(A) consult with affected residents,
stakeholders, local governments, and public housing
authorities to assess needs;
``(B) publish the plan in accordance with the
requirements set forth by the Secretary, including a
requirement to prominently post the plan on the website
of the grantee for not less than 14 days;
``(C) ensure equal access for individuals with
disabilities and individuals with limited English
proficiency; and
``(D) publish the plan in a manner that affords
residents, affected local governments, and other
interested parties a reasonable opportunity to examine
the contents of the plan and provide feedback.
``(3) Approval.--The Secretary shall, by regulation,
specify criteria for the approval of a plan submitted under
paragraph (1), including approval of substantial amendments to
the plan.
``(4) Disapproval.--The Secretary shall disapprove a plan
or substantial amendment to a plan submitted under paragraph
(1) if a plan or substantial amendment does not meet the
approval criteria.
``(5) Resubmission.--The Secretary shall permit a grantee
to revise and resubmit a plan that the Secretary disapproves
under paragraph (4).
``(6) Timing.--The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a
plan submitted under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after
the date on which the plan is submitted to the Secretary.
``(e) Financial Controls.--
``(1) Compliance system.--The Secretary shall develop and
maintain a system to ensure that each grantee has in place--
``(A) proficient financial controls and procurement
processes;
``(B) adequate procedures to ensure that amounts
made available under this section provide the broadest
benefit possible to eligible families and individuals
that are approved for assistance;
``(C) adequate procedures to--
``(i) ensure timely expenditure of funds;
and
``(ii) detect and prevent waste, fraud, and
abuse of funds; and
``(D) adequate procedures to ensure the grantee
will maintain comprehensive and publicly accessible
websites that make available information regarding all
disaster recovery activities assisted with such funds,
which information shall include any resulting contract,
agreement, or other disposition of requests for
qualification of assistance or for procurement with
such funds.
``(2) Requirement.--The procedures described in paragraph
(1)(D) shall ensure that personally identifiable information
regarding recipients of assistance provided from funds made
available under this section shall not be made publicly
available.
``(3) Certification.--As a condition of making any grant,
the Secretary shall certify in advance that the grantee has in
place the processes and procedures required under paragraph
(1).
``(f) Use of Funds.--
``(1) Administrative costs.--An eligible entity receiving a
grant under this section--
``(A) may use not more than 5 percent of the amount
of grant funds received for administrative costs; and
``(B) shall document the use of funds for the
purpose described in subparagraph (A) in accordance
with such requirements as the Secretary shall
establish.
``(2) HUD administrative costs.--
``(A) Limitation.--Of any funds made available for
use under this section by any single appropriations
Act, the Secretary may use 0.5 percent of any such
amount for necessary costs, including information
technology costs, of administering and overseeing the
obligation and expenditure of amounts made available
for use under this section.
``(B) Transfer of funds.--Any amounts made
available for use in accordance with subparagraph (A)--
``(i) shall be transferred to the account
for `Program Office Salaries and Expenses--
Community Planning and Development' for the
Department of Housing and Urban Development;
``(ii) shall remain available until
expended; and
``(iii) may be used for such administrative
costs for administering any funds appropriated
to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development for any disaster and related
purposes in any prior or future Act making
funds available for use under this section,
notwithstanding the disaster for which such
funds were appropriated.
``(3) Inspector general.--Of any funds made available for
use in accordance with paragraph (2)(A), 10 percent shall be
transferred to the Office of the Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development for necessary costs
of audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations
relating to amounts made available for use under this section.
``(4) Capacity building.--Of any funds made available for
use under this section, 2 percent may be made available for
capacity building and technical assistance to support grantees
and subgrantees receiving funds under this section.
``(g) Procurement Processes and Procedures for Grantees.--
``(1) Grantee processes and procedures.--In procuring
property or services to be paid for in whole or in part with
amounts from a grant under this section, a grantee shall--
``(A) follow the procurement processes and
procedures of the grantee, but only if the Secretary
makes a determination that those processes and
procedures comply with the requirements under paragraph
(2); or
``(B) comply with such processes and procedures as
the Secretary shall, by regulation, establish for
purposes of this section.
``(2) Requirements.--The requirements under this paragraph
with respect to the procurement processes and procedures of a
grantee are that the processes and procedures shall--
``(A) provide for full and open competition and
require cost or price analysis;
``(B) include requirements for procurement policies
and procedures for subgrantees, based on full and open
competition;
``(C) specify methods of procurement and their
applicability, but not allow for cost-plus-a-
percentage-of cost or percentage-of-construction-cost
methods of procurement;
``(D) include standards of conduct governing
employees engaged in the award or administration of
contracts; and
``(E) ensure that all purchase orders and contracts
include any clauses required by statute or implementing
regulation.
``(3) Noncompliance.--In the case of a grantee for which
the Secretary finds pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) that the
procurement processes and procedures of the grantee do not
comply with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide the grantee with specific written
notice of the elements of noncompliance and the changes
necessary to those processes and procedures to provide
for compliance;
``(B) provide the grantee a reasonable period of
time to come into compliance; and
``(C) during the period of time described in
subparagraph (B), allow the grantee to proceed with
procuring property and services paid for in whole or in
part with amounts from a grant under this section in
compliance with the procurement processes and
procedures of the grantee, but only if the Secretary
periodically affirmatively determines that the grantee
is making a good faith effort to effectuate compliance
with the requirements of paragraph (2).
``(h) Treatment of CDBG Allocations.--Amounts made available for
use under this section shall not be considered relevant to the non-
disaster formula allocations made pursuant to section 106.
``(i) Waivers.--
``(1) Authority.--Subject to the other provisions of this
section, in administering amounts made available for use under
this section, the Secretary may waive, or specify alternative
requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation
that the Secretary administers in connection with the
obligation by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of
those funds (except for requirements related to fair housing,
nondiscrimination, labor standards, flood risk management, and
the environment and except for the requirements of this
section), if the Secretary makes a public finding that good
cause exists for the waiver or alternative requirement and the
waiver or alternative requirement would not be inconsistent
with the overall purpose of this title.
``(2) Notice and publication.--Any waiver of or alternative
requirement pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect
before the expiration of the 15-day period beginning upon the
publication of notice in the Federal Register of such waiver or
alternative requirement.
``(3) Low- and moderate-income use.--A waiver pursuant to
paragraph (1) may not reduce the percentage of funds that is
required to be used for activities that benefit persons of low-
and moderate-income to less than 70 percent of the total
allocation, unless the Secretary specifically finds that there
is compelling need to further reduce the percentage requirement
and that funds are not necessary to address the housing needs
of low- and moderate-income residents.
``(4) Prohibition.--The Secretary may not waive any
provision of this section pursuant to the authority under
paragraph (1).
``(j) Environmental Review.--
``(1) Adoption.--Notwithstanding subsection (k)(1),
recipients of funds provided under this section that use the
funds to supplement Federal assistance provided under section
402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 5170c, 5172, 5173, 5174(c)(4), 5189f,
5192) may adopt, without review or public comment, any
environmental review, approval, or permit performed by a
Federal agency, and that adoption shall satisfy the
responsibilities of the recipient with respect to the
environmental review, approval, or permit under section
104(g)(1).
``(2) Release of funds.--Notwithstanding section 104(g)(2),
the Secretary may, upon receipt of a request for release of
funds and certification, immediately approve the release of
funds for an activity or project assisted with amounts made
available for use under this section if the recipient has
adopted an environmental review, approval, or permit under
paragraph (1) or the activity or project is categorically
excluded from review under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
``(k) Pre-Certification for Units of General Local Government.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may carry out a program
under this subsection to provide for units of general local
government to pre-certify as eligible grantees for assistance
under this section.
``(2) Requirements.--To be eligible for pre-certification
under the program under this subsection, a unit of general
local government shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
Secretary the capacity to comply with the requirements of this
section.
``(3) Approval of plans.--
``(A) Expedited approval processes.--The Secretary
shall establish and maintain processes for expediting
approval of plans for units of general local government
that are pre-certified under this subsection.
``(B) Effect of pre-certification.--Pre-
certification pursuant to this subsection shall not--
``(i) establish any entitlement to, or
priority or preference for, allocation of funds
made available under this section; or
``(ii) exempt any grantee from complying
with any of the requirements under, or
established pursuant to, subsection (c) or (d).
``(4) Duration.--Pre-certification under the program under
this subsection shall be effective for a term of 5 years.
``(l) Deposit of Unused Amounts in Fund.--
``(1) In general.--If any amounts made available for
assistance under this section to grantees remain unexpended
upon the earlier of--
``(A) the date that the grantee of such amounts
notifies the Secretary that the grantee has completed
all activities identified in the grantee's plan for use
of such amounts that was approved by the Secretary in
connection with the grant;
``(B) recapture of funds from the grantee or
repayment of funds by the grantee; or
``(C) the expiration of the 10-year period
beginning upon the Secretary obligating such amounts to
the grantee, as such period may be extended pursuant to
paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall transfer such unexpended amounts to the
Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Community
Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund
established under section 124, except that the Secretary may,
by regulation, permit the grantee to retain amounts needed to
close out the grant.
``(2) Extension of period for use of funds.--The period
under paragraph (1)(C) shall be extended by not more than 3
years if the Secretary waives this requirement and submits a
written justification for the waiver to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
that specifies the period of that extension.
``(m) Thresholds and Reporting for Disaster Relief.--
``(1) Definition of covered grantee.--In this subsection,
the term `covered grantee' means a grantee under this title
that receives funds from an appropriations Act to carry out the
purposes of this section to address the damage in an area for
which the President has declared a major disaster under section
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170).
``(2) Setting thresholds.--The Secretary shall establish
and make publicly available spending thresholds that a covered
grantee shall be required--
``(A) to meet on the date that is 6 months after
the date on which funds have been obligated by the
covered grantee; and
``(B) to meet every 6 months thereafter until all
funds have been expended by the covered grantee.
``(3) Failure to meet thresholds.--
``(A) In general.--A covered grantee that fails to
meet the spending thresholds established under
paragraph (2) shall submit to the Secretary, the
appropriate committees of Congress, and each member of
Congress who represents a district or State of the
covered grantee a written report identifying technical
capacity, funding, or other Federal or State
impediments affecting the ability of the covered
grantee to meet the spending thresholds.
``(B) Publication.--Not later than 30 days after
the date on which the Secretary receives a report under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make the report
publicly available on the website of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
``(n) Subgrantee Eligibility.--
``(1) In general.--Upon request, the Secretary may allow
counties, municipalities, Indian tribes, or other local
subdivisions with a demonstrated record of administering funds
under this title to become a subgrantee of the covered grantee.
``(2) Capacity building.--A county, municipality, Indian
tribe, or other local subdivision lacking a demonstrated record
of administrating funds under this title may request technical
assistance and training, including by detailing a sufficient
number of employees from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, from the Secretary to work directly with the
subgrantee in order to become an eligible subgrantee for
purposes of paragraph (1).
``(3) Transfer of plan.--A subgrantee described in
paragraph (1) may transfer and adopt a community development
plan described in section 104(m) that has been previously
approved by the Secretary.
``(4) Technical assistance.--Upon request of a subgrantee
described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may provide
additional technical assistance to the subgrantee to assist the
subgrantee in administering and expediting the delivery of
funds, including by detailing an employee of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to work with the subgrantee.
``(5) Notice.--A subgrantee described in paragraph (1)
shall notify the covered grantee of its intent to become a
subgrantee.
``(6) Assuming duties of subgrantee.--If a subgrantee
described in paragraph (1) fails to expend funds in a
reasonable timeframe, the Secretary or the covered grantee may
assume the duties of the subgrantee to administer recovery
funding, provided that the subgrantee is given adequate notice
and an opportunity to remedy the slow expenditure of funds.
``(7) Community recovery support systems.--
``(A) In general.--At the request of any covered
grantee or any subgrantee described in paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall designate and deploy community
recovery support teams to provide the technical
assistance and capacity building described in paragraph
(2).
``(B) Composition.--Each community recovery support
team deployed under subparagraph (A) shall consist of
employees of the regional offices of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development with expertise in
disaster relief assistance provided under this title.
``(C) Training.--The Secretary may provide
additional employee training as needed to fulfill the
requirements of this paragraph.
``(8) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate
regulations to carry out this subsection.
``SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DISASTER RECOVERY RESERVE
FUND.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the
United States an account to be known as the Community Development Block
Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as
the `Fund').
``(b) Amounts.--
``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Fund such sums as may be necessary to carry out the
activities authorized under this Act, to remain available until
expended, except that not more than $50,000,000 is authorized
to be appropriated for the first fiscal year beginning after
the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this
section, and each fiscal year thereafter.
``(2) Transfer.--Amounts made available through section
106(c)(4) by actions taken under section 104(e) or 111 may be
transferred to the Fund, to remain available until expended.
``(c) Use.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available only for
providing assistance under section 123, but only to the extent provided
in advance in appropriations Acts.''.
(b) Regulations.--
(1) Proposed rules.--Not later than 6 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall issue proposed rules to carry out
sections 123 and 124 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a)
of this section, and shall provide a 90-day period for
submission of public comments on those proposed rules.
(2) Final rules.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall issue final regulations to carry out sections
123 and 124 of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this
section.
SEC. 3. GAO REPORT.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report on the hazard mitigation grant program authorized under section
404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) (in this section referred to as the ``program''),
which shall include--
(1) an assessment of the utilization of the program for
acquisition of flood-prone properties for hazard mitigation,
including an analysis of the average length of time between the
initial disaster and completion of the property acquisition;
(2) an assessment of the ability of the program to reduce
exposure of Federal funds in future natural disasters;
(3) an assessment of how funds are tracked and monitored by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(4) recommendations on how to streamline the program to
enhance resilience, expedite delivery of funds to program
recipients, and increase transparency and accountability of the
program; and
(5) an assessment of the potential to leverage private
industry expertise in expediting property acquisitions.
SEC. 4. HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION APPROVALS.
Section 404(c)(3) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(c)(3)) is amended by
inserting ``not later than 60 days after the date on which the
application is submitted'' before the period at the end.
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