April 8, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 60 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H3111-H3112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM 
                              TASK FORCES

  Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 639) to amend section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that National Urban 
Search and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal 
employees.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 639

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND 
                   RESCUE RESPONSE SYSTEM TASK FORCES.

       Section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
     Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165f) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(p) Federal Employees.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to mean that a task force may not include Federal 
     employees. In the case of a Federal employee detailed to a 
     task force, the sponsoring agency shall enter into an 
     agreement with the relevant employing Federal agency.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Minnesota.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 639.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 639 introduced by the 
gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).
  H.R. 639 is a technical correction bill which will amend section 327 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
to explicitly clarify that Federal employees are able to participate in 
the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces 
coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
  FEMA has developed the National USAR Response System over the last 
several decades to act as a force multiplier for disaster rescue 
missions. The system is comprised of 28 task force teams from across 
the country and includes highly skilled volunteers who are constantly 
training for a variety of hazard scenarios, both man-made and natural.
  Task force teams have proven their effectiveness time and again 
across this Nation.
  Following enactment of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response 
System Act at the end of the 114th Congress, certain Federal agencies 
that employ members of some of these task forces have, unfortunately, 
been misinterpreting language that granted liability protections for 
non-Federal task force members equal to Federal first responders only 
when their task force was called into Federal service, resulting in an 
impediment to those Federal employees serving on a task force.
  This bill will simply clarify that nothing in section 327 of the 
Stafford Act shall be interpreted to mean that a task force cannot 
include Federal employees and that, in instances where a Federal 
employee is detailed to a National USAR Response System task force, the 
sponsoring agency shall enter into an agreement with the relevant 
employing Federal agency.
  The critical emergency services provided by the National USAR 
Response System and these highly skilled operators are too important 
for us to delay this fix any longer. I strongly support this bill and 
urge my colleagues to join me.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) 
for her leadership on this legislation. Nothing is so valuable as 
someone who looks at a problem, sees the problem, and then endeavors to 
fix it, and that is exactly what the gentlewoman has done.

[[Page H3112]]

  H.R. 639 clarifies language that was passed in the National Urban 
Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016 to ensure, as the 
gentlewoman was saying, that the Urban Search and Rescue Response Task 
Force can include Federal employees.
  FEMA's National Urban Search and Rescue Response System was 
established in 1989. The system is composed of some 28 task force 
teams, and the teams include members from the Federal, State, local, 
and private sector, all of those personnel responding together to meet 
the needs in times of disaster.
  The teams are locally supported but can be called up by FEMA when a 
disaster strikes. These men and women are the ones who head into 
collapsed buildings and conduct search and rescue missions to save 
disaster survivors.
  For a long time, the committee worked to clarify protections for 
these team members who put their lives literally on the line to serve 
their community; and, in 2016, Congress passed the National Urban 
Search and Rescue Response Systems Act to do just that. However, there 
was one technical fix that needed to happen to make sure that Federal 
participants in these teams can continue to be deployed as part of 
these task forces.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for her 
leadership there because this bill, indeed, does clarify this. I would 
suggest that it should have tremendous bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this, 
and I reserve the balance of my time as well.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for her explanation of 
what this bill does.
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 639, 
the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Task Forces Act.
  I want to thank the gentleman from the North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) 
and the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) for their kind remarks 
about this bill and their support.
  I also want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for 
bringing the bill to the floor today, as well as my colleagues Gerry 
Connolly and Blaine Luetkemeyer for cosponsoring this legislation and 
the International Association of Fire Chiefs for endorsing the bill.
  My bill, as has been said, is a commonsense technical correction that 
makes clear that Federal employees can serve on FEMA Urban Search and 
Rescue teams.
  Over the past three decades, FEMA has developed the National Urban 
Search and Rescue Response System, which consists of a network of task 
force teams of dedicated volunteers who respond quickly when disaster 
strikes.
  Currently, 28 task force teams across the country utilize their 
unique skills and resources of local volunteers to act as a force 
multiplier for disaster rescue missions. These teams train constantly 
for a variety of situations, including rescuing survivors from 
collapsed buildings or giving airlift rescue operations.
  They are ready to deploy within hours of being called up in response 
to floods or tornadoes, and they can be pre-positioned in advance of 
covering disasters, such as hurricanes.
  I am proud to represent Missouri Task Force 1, based out of Columbia, 
Missouri. In September, they received a call to deploy to North 
Carolina to pre-position search and rescue resources for Hurricane 
Florence.
  As the team prepared to deploy, one of their members, who had spent 
years training and working as a dog handler on the team, was forced to 
stay home not because of a physical inability or family conflict, but 
because he works out of a regional office for a Federal agency as his 
normal day job. Due to a new interpretation of Federal statute, a 
willing, able, and trained volunteer who could have helped save lives 
was forced to stay home.
  Unfortunately, FEMA has interpreted the National Urban Search and 
Rescue Response System Act of 2016 to mean that Federal employees are 
not allowed to serve on Federal task forces, despite the fact that they 
did for years.
  This goes against congressional intent. The 2016 legislation codified 
non-Federal employee benefits and liability protections, but failed to 
specifically list Federal employees. This was not intended to mean that 
FEMA should preclude Federal employees from participation.
  Since passage, FEMA has issued mixed guidance on several occasions on 
whether Federal employees can serve, and this has created confusion and 
frustration for our dedicated search and rescue volunteers.
  My legislation is a commonsense solution to resolve this problem by 
simply clarifying that Federal employees can serve on these vital task 
forces. Congress must resolve this issue swiftly so our dedicated 
volunteers can respond at full strength when the next disaster strikes.
  So once again, I want to thank my colleagues who have spoken in 
support of this, for those who have cosponsored it, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 639.
  Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. 
Hartzler) for her leadership.
  It is a good testimony for all of America when we see the efforts of 
our first responders coming from Missouri to North Carolina, coming 
from North Carolina to California, and in between.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to understand that they need our support. This 
is an important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Meadows), and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Craig) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 639.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________