[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5689 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5689
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
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 ``Resilient Assistance for Mitigation
for Environmentally Resilient Infrastructure and Construction by
Americans Act'' or the ``Resilient AMERICA Act''.
SEC. 2. 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''.
SEC. 3. 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''.
SEC. 4. 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).
SEC. 5. 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.''.
SEC. 6. 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.
SEC. 7. 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.
SEC. 8. 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:
``SEC. 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.
SEC. 9. 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.''.
SEC. 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).
SEC. 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.
Attest:
Clerk.
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5689
_______________________________________________________________________
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.