118 HR 6567 IH: Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-12-01
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EN
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6567
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 1, 2023
Ms. Velázquez (for herself, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Meng, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Titus, Mrs. González-Colón, and Ms. Plaskett) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program to continuously identify, monitor, and address factors and capability gaps that hinder the execution and completion of recovery activities relating to major disasters by eligible entities located in the territories of the United States.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act”.
2.

Findings and purpose
(a)

Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
(1)
The United States territories are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which have become more frequent and stronger in recent years.
(2)
Category-5 Hurricane María, which made its landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017, is considered to be the second deadliest storm recorded in United States history.
(3)
Category-5 Hurricane Irma, which struck the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on September 6th, 2017, is considered to be the second-most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2017.
(4)
Typhoon Mawar, which struck Guam on May 19th, 2023, and the south of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands on May 24th, 2023, is considered to be the strongest to hit Guam since 2002.
(5)
Super Typhoon Yutu, which struck the Northern Mariana Islands on October 24th, 2018, is considered to be the strongest typhoon recorded to impact the Mariana Islands.
(6)
Hurricane Fiona made its landfall as a Category-1 Hurricane in Puerto Rico on September 18th, 2022, causing severe flooding and compounding the damage left by Hurricanes Irma and María.
(7)
A major disaster declaration was issued for the territory of American Samoa on September 16th, 2022, due to high surf, high winds, and flooding.
(8)
Rising sea levels, caused by ocean warming, contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, and the fragile condition of coastal environments in the United States territories. This translates to disrupted economic activity, such as tourism, agriculture and fishing, damaged dwellings, and limited drinking water supplies.
(9)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (hereinafter referred to as “FEMA”) has obligated significant amounts of funding to address multiple natural disasters in the United States territories.
(10)
As of October 2023, FEMA had obligated an estimated $40,980,000,000 in Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, Power Reconstruction and Permanent Work to address damages caused by Hurricane María in Puerto Rico. In addition, as of September 2023, FEMA had obligated an estimated $328,000,000 in Public Assistance to address damages caused by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico.
(11)
As of April 2023, FEMA had obligated an estimated $2,900,000,000 in Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation to address damages caused by Hurricane María in the Virgin Islands. In addition, as of December 2022, FEMA had obligated an estimated $89,000,000 in Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation to address damages caused by Hurricane Irma in the Virgin Islands.
(12)
After the passage of Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu in Guam and the Northen Mariana Islands, FEMA obligated a total of $677,200,000 between 2018 and 2020 to aid response and recovery efforts related to both disasters.
(13)
The United States territories have similar vulnerabilities that result in long and difficult recovery processes.
(14)
The economies of the United States territories depend heavily on tourism to create revenue. Such dependency undermines disaster resiliency, given the industry’s susceptibility to external shocks, such as atmospheric conditions, financial crises, and global pandemics. Any of this phenomenon can reduce the number of visitors and trigger the closure of businesses and lay-offs.
(15)
The United States territories struggle with high levels of public debt, which impact their ability to provide cash advances to initiate disaster recovery projects. Notably—
(A)
Puerto Rico is in the midst of debt restructuring proceedings that, as of 2023, have reduced Puerto Rico's public debt from over $70 billion to $37 billion and pension liabilities from $55 billion to $7 billion;
(B)
as of 2019, Virgin Islands’ public debt stood at $2,600,000,000, representing 65 percent of its Gross Domestic Product; and
(C)
as of 2021, Guam’s public debt stood at $2,600,000,000, representing 43 percent of its Gross Domestic Product.
(16)
The physical infrastructure of the United States territories, including electricity grids and water plants, is outdated, and has lacked appropriate maintenance and hardening.
(17)
The United States territories face housing affordability and availability challenges that impact their ability to absorb the influx of the recovery workforce after a disaster occurs.
(18)
The United States territories are situated in remote locations, which results in higher import costs, significant delays in the shipping and transportation of construction materials necessary to carry out recovery projects, and barriers for staff seeking to travel to the continental United States to receive recovery training.
(19)
The United States territories have limited specialized staff to adequately navigate and manage recovery programs, including developing projects for obligation, using Public Assistance to cover administrative and managerial costs, and procuring goods and services according to Federal standards.
(20)
The United States territories hurdle to find and procure specialized personnel to advance recovery efforts, such as engineers and construction contractors, given the high demand for these professionals by public agencies and large corporations in the aftermath of disasters.
(21)
The United States territories struggle with dangerous demographic patterns that exacerbate social, financial, and economic fragilities. From 2010 to 2020, the populations of the territories shrunk, and at a faster pace than any other continental state. In such period, Puerto Rico’s population was reduced by 11.8 percent, U.S. Virgin Islands’ population by 18.1 percent, Northen Mariana Islands’ population by 12.2 percent, American Samoa’s population by 10.5 percent, and Guam’s population by 3.5 percent. Additionally, the islands are experiencing lower birthrates and higher death rates.
(22)
The postal addresses used in the United States territories have not been recognized and registered by the United States Postal Service, which can result in additional obstacles for recovery, primarily for individuals and households seeking to obtain FEMA assistance.
(23)
The United States territories have endured consecutive major disasters, which has made it more difficult for FEMA to correctly assess recent and older damages, and therefore obligate funding for Public Assistance projects.
(24)
The United States territories encompass a variety of languages, political sensitivities, and cultural differences that Federal authorities like FEMA have not traditionally considered, thereby impacting the territories’ full and equal participation in Federal disaster recovery programs.
(b)

Statement of purpose
It is the purpose of this Act to establish a program within FEMA to continuously identify, monitor, and address factors and capability gaps that hinder the execution and completion of recovery activities by eligible entities located in the territories of the United States under sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
3.

Definitions
In this Act:
(1)

Administrator
The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2)

Community
The term “community” means a network of individuals and families, businesses, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and other civic organizations that reside or operate within a shared geographical boundary and may be represented by a common political leadership at a regional, county, municipal, or neighborhood level.
(3)

Eligible entity
The term “eligible entity” means an entity eligible for a grant under section 403, 404, 406, 407, or 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (5121 U.S.C. et seq.).
(4)

Recovery
The term “recovery” means the capabilities and actions necessary to recover effectively from a major disaster declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), including—
(A)
rebuilding infrastructure systems;
(B)
providing adequate interim and long-term housing for individuals impacted by such incident;
(C)
restoring health, social, and community services;
(D)
promoting economic development; and
(E)
restoring natural and cultural resources.
(5)

Territory of the United States
The term “territory of the United States” means American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northen Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.
4.

Territorial Disaster Recovery Program
(a)

In general
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program (in this section referred to as the “Program”) to continuously identify, monitor, and address factors and capability gaps of local emergency managers, or other applicable emergency response coordinators, and eligible entities located in the territories of the United States in carrying out recovery activities relating to major disasters declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
(b)

Duties
In carrying out the Program, the Administrator shall—
(1)
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, identify and analyze gaps in identifying, applying and receiving assistance, and carrying out recovery activities described in subsection (a) that are specific to eligible entities located in the territories of the United States;
(2)
provide technical assistance to the entities described in paragraph (1) in applying for grants under sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of such Act that—
(A)
is tailored to meet the needs of applicants at each stage of the administration of projects for which grants are made under such sections; and
(B)
takes into account the challenges of—
(i)
applicants who are located in remote or difficult-to-access areas;
(ii)
applicants who are part of a minority cultural group;
(iii)
applicants with limited English language proficiency; and
(iv)
applicants with slow internet speeds or limited broadband access;
(3)
design online and in-person training courses that are specific to the entities described in paragraph (1) and that address the capability gaps identified under this section;
(4)
develop best practices regarding the administration of projects in the territories of the United States for which grants are made under sections 403, 404, 406, 407, and 502 of such Act;
(5)
develop feedback mechanisms for entities receiving technical assistance or training under this section; and
(6)
foster meaningful collaboration with local experts, community leaders, and other members of the community, that leads to the performance of activities under this section that are locally informed and relevant to local needs.
(c)

Report to Congress
(1)

In general
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter for the duration of the Program, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on—
(A)
any capability gaps identified under subsection (b)(1);
(B)
the nature of any technical assistance provided under the Program;
(C)
any online or in-person training courses developed, or planned to be developed under the Program;
(D)
any best practices identified under subsection (b)(4); and
(E)
an analysis of, responses to, and any activities carried out as a result of feedback received by applicants for assistance under the Program and entities receiving such assistance.
(2)

Final report
In the report required to be submitted in the final year for which the Program is authorized, the Administrator shall include recommendations on—
(A)
whether to continue the Program;
(B)
if a continuation of the program is recommended, the suggested duration of such continuation; and
(C)
the necessary funding to carry out the Program.
(d)

Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.