[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7211 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 650
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7211
[Report No. 117-259]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 15, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
December 14, 2022
Reported by Mr. Peters, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, review a final rule of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, 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 ``Small State and Rural Rescue Act''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF SMALL STATE AND RURAL ADVOCATE.
Section 326(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165d (c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (2);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) assist States in the collection and presentation of
material in the disaster or emergency declaration request
relevant to demonstrate severe localized impacts within the
State for a specific incident, including--
``(A) the per capita personal income by local area,
as calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis;
``(B) the disaster impacted population profile, as
reported by the Bureau of the Census, including--
``(i) the percentage of the population for
whom poverty status is determined;
``(ii) the percentage of the population
already receiving Government assistance such as
Supplemental Security Income and Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program benefits;
``(iii) the pre-disaster unemployment rate;
``(iv) the percentage of the population
that is 65 years old and older;
``(v) the percentage of the population 18
years old and younger;
``(vi) the percentage of the population
with a disability;
``(vii) the percentage of the population
who speak a language other than English and
speak English less than `very well'; and
``(viii) any unique considerations
regarding American Indian and Alaskan Native
Tribal populations raised in the State's
request for a major disaster declaration that
may not be reflected in the data points
referenced in this subparagraph;
``(C) the impact to community infrastructure,
including--
``(i) disruptions to community life-saving
and life-sustaining services;
``(ii) disruptions or increased demand for
essential community services; and
``(iii) disruptions to transportation,
infrastructure, and utilities; and
``(D) any other information relevant to demonstrate
severe local impacts.; and''.
SEC. 3. GAO REVIEW OF A FINAL RULE.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a review of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency's implementation of its final
rule, published on March 21, 2019, amending section 206.48(b) of title
44, Code of Federal Regulations (regarding factors considered when
evaluating a Governor's request for a major disaster declaration),
which revised the factors that the Agency considers when evaluating a
Governor's request for a major disaster declaration authorizing
individual assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq).
(b) Scope.--The review required under subsection (a) shall include
the following:
(1) An assessment of the criteria used by the Agency to
assess individual assistance requests following a major
disaster declaration authorizing individual assistance.
(2) An assessment of the consistency with which the Agency
uses the updated Individual Assistance Declaration Factors when
assessing the impact of individual communities after a major
disaster declaration.
(3) An assessment of the impact, if any, of using the
updated Individual Assistance Declaration Factors has had on
equity in disaster recovery outcomes.
(4) Recommendations to improve the use of the Individual
Assistance Declaration Factors to increase equity in disaster
recovery outcomes.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General 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 on the review required under this section.
Calendar No. 650
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7211
[Report No. 117-259]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, review a final rule of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 14, 2022
Reported with amendments