[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2362 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2362
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for
public and individual disaster assistance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2021
Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for
public and individual disaster assistance, 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 ``Fairness in Federal Disaster
Declarations Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. REGULATORY ACTION REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (in this Act referred to as the ``Administrator'' and
``FEMA'', respectively) shall amend the rules of the Administrator
under section 206.48 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance with the
provisions of this Act.
(b) New Criteria Required.--The amended rules issued under
subsection (a) shall provide for the following:
(1) Public assistance program.--Such rules shall provide
that, with respect to the evaluation of the need for public
assistance--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned
to each criterion, as follows--
(i) estimated cost of the assistance, 10
percent;
(ii) localized impacts, 40 percent;
(iii) insurance coverage in force, 10
percent;
(iv) hazard mitigation, 10 percent;
(v) recent multiple disasters, 10 percent;
(vi) programs of other Federal assistance,
10 percent; and
(vii) economic circumstances described in
subparagraph (B), 10 percent; and
(B) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances
of--
(i) the local economy of the affected area,
including factors such as the local assessable
tax base and local sales tax, the median income
as it compares to that of the State, and the
poverty rate as it compares to that of the
State; and
(ii) the economy of the State, including
factors such as the unemployment rate of the
State, as compared to the national unemployment
rate.
(2) Individual assistance program.--Such rules shall
provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the severity,
magnitude, and impact of the disaster and the evaluation of the
need for assistance to individuals--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned
to each criterion, as follows--
(i) concentration of damages, 20 percent;
(ii) trauma, 20 percent;
(iii) special populations, 20 percent;
(iv) voluntary agency assistance, 10
percent;
(v) insurance, 20 percent;
(vi) average amount of individual
assistance by State, 5 percent; and
(vii) economic considerations described in
subparagraph (B), 5 percent; and
(B) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances
of the affected area, including factors such as the
local assessable tax base and local sales tax, the
median income as it compares to that of the State, and
the poverty rate as it compares to that of the State.
(c) Effective Date.--The amended rules issued under subsection (a)
shall apply to any disaster for which a Governor requested a major
disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and was denied on or
after January 1, 2012.
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