[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8525 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8525
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a Disaster
Equity and Justice Subcommittee, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2022
Mr. Carter of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Gimenez, and Mr. Neguse)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a Disaster
Equity and Justice Subcommittee, 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 ``Delivering Equity and Justice for
Disaster Survivors Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. DISASTER EQUITY AND JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE.
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 318) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of the Delivering Equity and Justice for
Disaster Survivors Act of 2022, the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish, as a
subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the Disaster
Equity and Justice Subcommittee.
``(2) Membership.--The members of the Disaster Equity and
Justice Subcommittee shall be appointed by the Administrator,
in consultation with members of the National Advisory Council
and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (or
any relevant successor organization focused on environmental
justice), and shall be composed of the following:
``(A) Individuals that have the requisite technical
knowledge and expertise to address disaster equity and
justice issues, including--
``(i) emergency management and emergency
response providers, including those with direct
experience serving underrepresented and
underserved communities; and
``(ii) State, local, and Tribal government
officials, particularly officials from
communities that are underrepresented and
underserved, communities of color, and
communities that have been disadvantaged by
inequitable Federal disaster assistance in the
past.
``(B) Individuals who have the requisite technical
or experiential knowledge and expertise to serve on the
Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee, including--
``(i) at least 1 academic expert who has
studied equity implications of disaster
response and recovery efforts; and
``(ii) at least 1 representative from each
of the following:
``(I) A civil rights organization.
``(II) A fair or affordable housing
organization.
``(III) A Tribal and Indigenous
community rights organization.
``(IV) An environmental justice
organization.
``(V) A community-based and faith-
based organization that aids in
disaster recovery and response.
``(VI) An equity, justice, bias,
and non-discrimination training
provider.
``(C) Representatives of other stakeholders and
interested and affected parties as the Chair considers
appropriate.
``(3) Chair.--The Chair of the subcommittee shall be the
Administrator.
``(4) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the Disaster
Equity and Justice Subcommittee shall take place not later than
90 days after the date of enactment of the Delivering Equity
and Justice for Disaster Survivors Act of 2022.
``(5) Consultation with nonmembers.--The Disaster Equity
and Justice Subcommittee shall consult with other relevant
agencies and groups which are not represented on the Disaster
Equity and Justice Subcommittee to consider new and developing
practices and methods that may be beneficial to ensure the
equitable and just delivery of programs and aid through the
preparedness, response, and recovery cycles to communities and
individuals across the United States.
``(6) Recommendations.--The Disaster Equity and Justice
Subcommittee shall develop recommendations, as appropriate, for
improving equitable and just policy and program delivery
before, during, and after disasters, including recommendations
relating to the following topics:
``(A) The accessibility, utilization, and receipt
of Agency grants and assistance by underserved, under-
resourced, and underrepresented populations and
communities including--
``(i) subpopulations and communities of
color;
``(ii) rural and remote communities;
``(iii) small communities;
``(iv) low-capacity communities;
``(v) Tribal and Indigenous communities;
and
``(vi) environmental justice communities.
``(B) Strategies and policy recommendations to
address the inequitable delivery of disaster
assistance, grant programs, technical assistance, and
training.
``(C) Effective strategies to prioritize and direct
additional preparedness and mitigation funding to
improve planning, preparedness, mitigation, and
recovery outcomes as well as overall resilience in
culturally, economically, and socially vulnerable
communities.
``(D) The capability and capacity of the workforce
of the Agency to deliver equitable and culturally
competent assistance to underrepresented communities
and the most effective training solutions to increase
cultural and equity competencies.
``(E) The capacity and effectiveness of
consultation from Tribal and Indigenous communities to
the Agency and liaison roles in communicating and
addressing needs of all Tribal and Indigenous
communities and solutions to address existing
deficiencies, including regionally specific
recommendations.
``(F) Any gaps in current State emergency
management resources and program delivery resulting in
inequitable access to Agency resources across different
States.
``(G) Opportunities and strategies to ensure a
portion of Federal contracting and subcontracting
agreements are awarded equitably to minority-owned
businesses.
``(H) Identification of opportunities to update and
further integrate the National Risk Index into equity
considerations across the Agency.
``(I) Strategies to address any disparate impacts
climate change will have on culturally, socially,
economically vulnerable communities, with particular
consideration given to hazard mitigation, preparedness,
and planning resource delivery.
``(J) The implementation of the Justice40
initiative across relevant Agency programs, as well as
recommendations on the data utilized in the
identification of eligible recipients of resources from
such initiative.
``(7) Report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of the Delivering Equity and
Justice for Disaster Survivors Act of 2022, the
Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee shall submit a
report to the National Advisory Council that--
``(i) includes the recommendations
developed under paragraph (6);
``(ii) specifies the time frames for
implementing any such recommendations that do
not require congressional action; and
``(iii) identifies any such recommendations
that do require congressional action.
``(B) Review.--Not later than 30 days after
receiving the report under subparagraph (A), the
National Advisory Council shall begin a review of such
report. The National Advisory Council may ask for
additional clarification, changes, or other information
from the Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee to
assist in the approval of such report.
``(C) Recommendation.--Upon approval of the report
of the Disaster Equity and Justice Subcommittee under
subparagraph (B), the National Advisory Council shall
submit such report to--
``(i) the Administrator;
``(ii) the heads of other Federal agencies
with a role in disaster response and recovery,
including the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Environmental Protection Agency,
Department of Transportation, Department of
Health and Human Services, Department of the
Interior, Department of Agriculture, Small
Business Administration, Economic Development
Administration, United States Coast Guard,
National Guard, and Department of Homeland
Security;
``(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate; and
``(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security,
the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives.
``(8) Interim updates and oversight.--After the submission
of the report by the National Advisory Council under paragraph
(7), the Administrator shall--
``(A) provide annual updates to the congressional
committees referred to in clauses (ii) and (iii) of
paragraph (7)(C) regarding the status of the
implementation of the recommendations contained in such
report; and
``(B) coordinate the implementation of such
recommendations, as appropriate.
``(9) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has
the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 5304).
``(B) Tribal and indigenous community.--The term
`Tribal and Indigenous community' means a population of
people who are members of--
``(i) a federally recognized Indian Tribe;
``(ii) a State-recognized Indian Tribe;
``(iii) an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian
community or organization; or
``(iv) any other community of Indigenous
people located in a State.
``(C) Tribal government.--The term `Tribal
government' means the governing body of an Indian
Tribe.''.
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