[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5175 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5175
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
to establish a pilot grant program for mobile pet shelters during
emergencies and major disasters.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 8, 2023
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Titus, Mr. Mast, Mr. Davis of North
Carolina, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Carson, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Ms. Ross, and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
to establish a pilot grant program for mobile pet shelters during
emergencies and major disasters.
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 ``Providing Essential Temporary
Shelter Assistance For Emergencies Act of 2023'' or the ``PETSAFE Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2) Emergency.--The term ``emergency'' means an emergency
declared by the President under title V of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5191 et seq.).
(3) Major disaster.--The term ``major disaster'' means a
major disaster declared by the President under title IV of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.).
(4) Common household pet.--The term ``common household
pet'' means an animal, including a dog, cat, bird, rodent,
rabbit, or turtle, that is kept in the home as a companion
animal rather than for commercial purposes.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The President, acting through the Administrator,
in coordination with State, local, and Tribal governments, shall
establish and conduct a pilot program to provide grants for equipping
mobile pet shelter sites for use during emergencies and major
disasters.
(b) Administration.--
(1) In general.--For the purposes of the pilot program
under this section, the Administrator may provide funds to
State, local, and Tribal governments to establish a new pet
shelter site that is a mobile unit, which may be a companion
animal mobile equipment trailer, to be used in the case of
evacuation due to emergencies and major disasters.
(2) Duties.--The duties of such mobile unit shall be to--
(A) provide--
(i) immediate and temporary shelter to
common household pets in the case of government
directed or ordered evacuation at embarkation
sites in the impacted jurisdiction or shelters
or reception sites within the impacted
jurisdiction or a host jurisdiction; or
(ii) provide safe transport of common
household pets that require shelter during
evacuations and relocate pets to a safe
location; and
(B) facilitate the reunification of common
household pets, including return transport, if
necessary, with the owners of such pets not later than
3 weeks after all evacuation warnings are lifted and
disaster-caused congregate shelters operation
transition and close.
(3) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of the
pilot program.
(B) Contents.--The Administrator shall include in
the report required under subparagraph (A)--
(i) an assessment of the effectiveness of
the pilot program under this section, including
consultation with State, local, and Tribal
governments and private nonprofit organizations
with responsibility for care and sheltering of
household pets;
(ii) an assessment of cost savings to
State, local, and Tribal governments and any
benefits to individuals and households who
housed a common household pet with a mobile
shelter under the pilot program;
(iii) findings and conclusions of the
Administrator with respect to the pilot
program;
(iv) an assessment of additional
authorities needed to aid the Agency in its
mission of providing disaster assistance to
individuals and households with pets, either
under the pilot program under this section or
other potential programs; and
(v) any recommendations of the
Administrator for additional authority to
continue or make permanent the pilot program.
SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM PROJECT APPROVAL.
The authority of the Administrator to approve a project under this
section shall cease on January 1, 2029.
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