[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2779
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to
direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Disaster
Recovery and Resilience, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 13, 2023
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to
direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Disaster
Recovery and Resilience, 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 ``Office of Disaster Recovery and
Resilience Act''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF DISASTER RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE.
(a) In General.--Title V of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3191 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``SEC. 508. OFFICE OF DISASTER RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an Office of
Disaster Recovery and Resilience--
``(1) to direct and implement the post-disaster economic
recovery responsibilities of the Economic Development
Administration pursuant to subsections (c)(2) and (e) of
section 209;
``(2) to direct and implement economic recovery support
function activities as directed under the National Disaster
Recovery Framework; and
``(3) to administer disaster appropriations made available
to carry out activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
``(b) Appointment and Compensation Authorities.--
``(1) Appointment.--The Secretary is authorized to appoint
such temporary personnel as may be necessary to carry out the
responsibilities of the Office of Disaster Recovery and
Resilience, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of
chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service and compensation of
personnel.
``(2) Conversion of employees.--Notwithstanding chapter 33
of title 5, United States Code, or any other provision of law
relating to the examination, certification, and appointment of
individuals in the competitive service, the Secretary is
authorized to convert a temporary employee appointed under this
subsection to a permanent appointment in the competitive
service in the Economic Development Administration under merit
promotion procedures if--
``(A) the employee has served continuously for at
least 2 years under one or more appointments under this
subsection; and
``(B) the employee's performance has been at an
acceptable level of performance throughout the period
or periods referred to in subparagraph (A).
``(3) Compensation.--An individual converted under this
subsection shall become a career-conditional employee, unless
the employee has already completed the service requirements for
career tenure.
``(c) Disaster Team.--
``(1) Establishment.--As soon as practicable after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a
disaster team (referred to in this section as the `disaster
team') for the deployment of individuals to carry out
responsibilities of the Office of Disaster Recovery and
Resilience after a major disaster or emergency has been
declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and the
Department has been activated by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
``(2) Membership.--
``(A) Designation of staff.--As soon as practicable
after the date of enactment of this section, the
Secretary shall designate to serve on the disaster
team--
``(i) employees of the Office of Disaster
Recovery and Resilience;
``(ii) employees of the Department who are
not employees of the Economic Development
Administration; and
``(iii) in consultation with the heads of
other Federal agencies, employees of those
agencies, as appropriate.
``(B) Capabilities.--In designating individuals
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ensure that
the disaster team includes a sufficient quantity of--
``(i) individuals who are capable of
deploying rapidly and efficiently to respond to
major disasters and emergencies; and
``(ii) highly trained full-time employees
who will lead and manage the disaster team.
``(3) Training.--The Secretary shall ensure that
appropriate and ongoing training is provided to members of the
disaster team to ensure that the members are adequately trained
regarding the programs and policies of the Economic Development
Administration relating to post-disaster economic recovery
efforts.
``(4) Expenses.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary may--
``(A) use, with or without reimbursement, any
service, equipment, personnel, or facility of any
Federal agency with the explicit support of that
agency, to the extent such use does not impair or
conflict with the authority of the President or the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to
direct Federal agencies in any major disaster or
emergency declared under that Act; and
``(B) provide members of the disaster team with
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee of an
agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5,
United States Code, while away from the home or regular
place of business of the member in the performance of
services for, or relating to, the disaster team.''.
(b) Cost-Share.--Section 204(c) of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144(c)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(4) Disaster recovery.--In the case of a grant provided
under section 209 for a project for economic recovery in
response to a major disaster or emergency declared under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), the Federal share of the cost of the
project shall be 100 percent.''.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations for Disaster Economic Recovery
Activities.--Section 703 of the Public Works and Economic Development
Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3233) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 703. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR POST-DISASTER ECONOMIC
RECOVERY ACTIVITIES.
``In addition to amounts made available under section 701, there
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry
out subsections (c)(2) and (e) of section 209 and for other activities
of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience established under
section 508(a), to remain available until expended.''.
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