[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4557 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 870
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4557
[Report No. 115-1107, Part I]
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide
disaster assistance to States and units of general government under a
community development block grant disaster recovery program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 5, 2017
Mrs. Wagner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
December 22, 2018
Reported with an amendment and referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure for a period ending not later than
December 28, 2018, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and
amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to
clause 1(r) of rule X
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
December 28, 2018
Additional sponsors: Mr. Ross, Ms. Tenney, and Mr. Al Green of Texas
December 28, 2018
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered
to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
December 5, 2017]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide
disaster assistance to States and units of general government under a
community development block grant disaster recovery program, 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 ``Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of
2018''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DISASTER RECOVERY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 123. CDBG-DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE.
``(a) Authority; Use.--The Secretary may provide assistance under
this section to States, units of general local government, and Indian
tribes for necessary expenses for activities authorized under this
title related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery,
restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation, and economic
revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from
a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
``(b) Timing.--
``(1) Deadlines for allocation of amounts.--Except as
provided in paragraph (2), after the enactment of an Act making
funds available for assistance under this section, the
Secretary shall allocate for grantees, based on the best
available data--
``(A) not less than one-third of funds provided for
assistance under this section, within 60 days of the
date of the enactment of such Act; and
``(B) all remaining unallocated funds to be
provided to grantees, within 180 days of such date of
enactment.
``(2) Inapplicability of deadlines based on insufficient
information.--The deadlines under paragraph (1) for allocation
of funds shall not apply in the case of funds made available
for assistance under this section if Federal Emergency
Management Agency has not made sufficient information available
to the Secretary regarding relevant unmet recovery to make
allocations in accordance with such deadlines.
``(3) Disbursement of amounts.--Subject to subsection
(c)(1), the Secretary shall provide for the disbursement of the
amounts allocated for a grantee over time in accordance with
obligations of the grantee, but shall require the grantee to be
in substantial compliance with the requirements of this section
before each such disbursement.
``(4) Coordination of disaster benefits and data with other
federal agencies.--
``(A) Coordination of data.--The Secretary shall
coordinate with other agencies to obtain data on
recovery needs. The Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration shall share data with
the Secretary to coordinate disaster benefits.
``(B) Coordination with fema.--The Secretary and
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency shall share with each other, and make publicly
available, all data collected or analyzed during the
course of a disaster recovery for which assistance is
provided under this section, including--
``(i) all data on damage caused by the
disaster;
``(ii) information on how any Federal
assistance provided in connection with the
disaster is expended;
``(iii) information regarding the effect of
the disaster on education, transportation
capabilities and dependence, housing needs and
displacement.
``(C) Prohibition and requirements regarding small
business administration loans.--
``(i) Prohibition.--Funds made available
for use under this section may not be used to
repay Small Business Administration loans.
``(ii) Family eligibility.--Any family
having an income exceeding 120 percent of the
area median income shall not be eligible for
assistance provided from funds made available
for use under this section unless (i) the
family has applied for a Small Business
Administration loan for such purpose and has
agreed that if such a loan is made that it will
use the proceeds of such loan in lieu of
assistance from funds made available for use
under this section, or (ii) such loans are not
available at the time of application for
assistance from funds made available for use
under this section; except that the Secretary
may establish income ceilings higher or lower
than 120 percent of the median for the area on
the basis of the Secretary's findings that such
variations are necessary because of unusually
high or low family incomes.
``(D) Notice to sba applicants.--The Secretary
shall consult and coordinate with the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration as necessary to
ensure that applicants for Small Business
Administration disaster loans are provided clear
written notice regarding their potential eligibility
for assistance with funds made available under this
section and the affect of such Small Business
Administration loans on such eligibility.
``(E) Treatment of duplicative benefits.--In any
case in which a grantee provides assistance that
duplicates benefits available to a person for the same
purpose from another source, the grantee shall collect
any duplicative assistance that it provides and return
the amount of duplicative assistance to the grantees
funds available for use under this section, or to the
Secretary, or be subject to remedies for noncompliance
under section 111, unless the Secretary issues a public
determination that it is not in the best interest of
the Federal Government to pursue such remedies.
``(F) Protection of personally identifiable
information.--In carrying out this paragraph, the
Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary
to ensure that personally identifiable information
regarding recipients of assistance provided from funds
made available under this section is not made publicly
available by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development or any agency with which information is
shared pursuant to this paragraph.
``(c) Plan for Use of Assistance.--
``(1) Requirement.--Not later than 120 days after the
allocation pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) of the funds made
available by an appropriations Act for assistance under this
section and before the Secretary obligates any of such funds
for a grantee, the grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary
for approval detailing the proposed use of all funds, which
shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) criteria for eligibility and a description of
how the use of such funds will address disaster relief,
resiliency, long-term recovery and restoration of
infrastructure and housing, and mitigation and economic
revitalization in the most impacted and distressed
areas;
``(B) identification of officials and offices
responsible for administering such funds and
identifying and recovering duplicate benefits;
``(C) an agreement to share data with Federal
agencies and other providers of disaster relief, which
shall include information the grantee has regarding the
matters described in subparagraph (B); and
``(D) a plan for ensuring compliance with the Fair
Housing Act, which may include providing for
partnerships with local fair housing organizations and
funding set-aside for local fair housing organizations
to handle complaints relating to assistance with
amounts made available for use under this section.
``(2) Approval.--The Secretary shall, by regulation,
specify criteria for approval of plans under paragraph (1),
including approval of substantial amendments to such plans.
``(3) Disapproval.--The Secretary shall disapprove a plan
or substantial amendment to a plan if--
``(A) the Secretary determines that a plan or
substantial amendment does not meet the approval
criteria;
``(B) the Secretary determines, based on damage and
unmet needs assessments of the Secretary and the
Federal Emergency Management Administration or such
other information as may be available, that the plan or
amendment does not provide for equitable allocation of
resources--
``(i) between infrastructure and housing
projects; or
``(ii) between homeowners, renters, and
persons experiencing homelessness;
``(C) the Secretary determines that the plan does
not provide a credible plan for ensuring compliance
with the Fair Housing Act; or
``(D) the Secretary determines that the plan does
not prioritize the one-for-one replacement of public
housing and other federally subsidized housing that
provides affordable housing for the lowest income
households.
``(4) Resubmission.--The Secretary shall permit a grantee
to revise and resubmit disapproved plans.
``(5) Timing.--The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a
plan not later than 120 days after submission of the plan to
the Secretary.
``(d) Financial Controls.--
``(1) Compliance system.--The Secretary shall develop and
maintain a system to ensure that each grantee has in place--
``(A) proficient financial controls and procurement
processes;
``(B) adequate procedures to ensure that all
eligible families and individuals are approved for
assistance with amounts made available under this
section and that recipients are provided the full
amount of assistance for which they are eligible;
``(C) adequate procedures to prevent any
duplication of benefits, as defined by section 312 of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), to ensure timely
expenditure of funds, and to detect and prevent waste,
fraud, and abuse of funds; and
``(D) adequate procedure to ensure the grantee will
maintain comprehensive and publicly accessible websites
that make available information regarding all disaster
recovery activities assisted with such funds, which
information shall include--
``(i) full and unredacted copies of all
requests for qualification for assistance or
for procurement with such funds, however
styled;
``(ii) all responses to such requests;
``(iii) the identity of any individual or
entity that reviews, evaluates, scores, or
otherwise influences or determines the
disposition of such requests;
``(iv) all reports, however styled,
containing the reviewing individual or entity's
scores, findings; and conclusions regarding
such requests; and
``(v) any resulting contract, agreement, or
other disposition of such requests;
except that such procedures shall ensure that
personally identifiable information regarding
recipients of assistance provided from funds made
available under this section shall not be made
publically available.
``(2) Certification.--As a condition of making any grant,
the Secretary shall certify in advance that the grantee has in
place the processes and procedures required under subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (1).
``(e) Use of Funds.--
``(1) Administrative costs.--
``(A) In general.--A State, unit of general local
government, or Indian tribe receiving a grant under
this section may use not more than 10 percent of the
amount of grant funds received, or not more than such
other percentage as may be established pursuant to
subparagraph (B), for administrative costs and shall
document the use of funds for such purpose in
accordance with such requirements as the Secretary
shall establish.
``(B) Discretion to establish sliding scale.--The
Secretary may establish a series of percentage
limitations on the amount of grant funds received that
may be used by a grantee for administrative costs, but
only if--
``(i) such percentage limitations are based
on the amount of grant funds received by a
grantee;
``(ii) such series provides that the
percentage that may be so used is lower for
grantees receiving a greater amount of grant
funds and such percentage that may be so used
is higher for grantees receiving a lesser
amount of grant funds; and
``(iii) in no case may a grantee so use
more than 10 percent of grant funds received.
``(2) Limitation on use.--Amounts from a grant under this
section may not be used for activities reimbursable by, or for
which funds are made available by--
``(A) the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
including under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act or the National Flood
Insurance Program; or
``(B) the Army Corps of Engineers.
``(3) HUD administrative costs.--
``(A) Limitation.--Of any funds made available for
use under this section by any single appropriations
Act, the Secretary may use 0.5 percent of any such
amount exceeding $1,000,000,000 for necessary costs,
including information technology costs, of
administering and overseeing the obligation and
expenditure of amounts made available for use under
this section.
``(B) Transfer of funds.--Any amounts made
available for use in accordance with subparagraph (A)
shall--
``(i) be transferred to the account for
`Program Office Salaries and Expenses--
Community Planning and Development' for the
Department;
``(ii) shall remain available until
expended; and
``(iii) may be used for such administrative
costs for administering any funds appropriated
to the Department for any disaster and related
purposes in any prior or future Act making
funds available for use under this section,
notwithstanding the disaster for which such
funds were appropriated.
``(4) Inspector general.--Of any funds made available for
use in accordance with paragraph (3)(A), 10 percent shall be
transferred to the Office of the Inspector General for
necessary costs of audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and
investigations relating to amounts made available for use under
this section.
``(5) Capacity building.--Of any funds made available for
use under this section, not more than 0.1 percent or
$15,000,000, whichever is less, shall be made available for
capacity building and technical assistance, including
assistance regarding contracting and procurement processes, to
support grantees and subgrantees receiving funds under this
section.
``(6) Compliance with storm water protections.--The
Secretary shall provide that no funds made available under this
section may be used for construction, repair, or rehabilitation
of any infrastructure unless the infrastructure assisted
complies with any minimum standards for protection from floods
and stormwaters, including the Federal Flood Risk Management
Standards of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``(7) Flood risk mitigation.--
``(A) Requirements.--Subject to subparagraph (B),
the Secretary shall require that any structure that is
located in an area having special flood hazards and
that is newly constructed, for which substantial damage
is repaired, or that is substantially improved, using
amounts made available under this section, shall be
elevated with the lowest floor, including the basement,
at least two feet above the base flood level.
``(B) Multifamily housing.--In the case of
structures consisting of multifamily housing, the
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall provide
for alternative forms of mitigation (in addition to
elevation) and shall exempt from the requirement under
subparagraph (A) any such structure that meets the
standards for such an alternative form of mitigation.
``(C) Definitions.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A), the terms `area having special flood hazards',
`newly constructed', `substantial damage', `substantial
improvement', and `base flood level' have the same
meanings as under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of
1973 and the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42
U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).
``(f) Administration.--In administering any amounts made available
for assistance under this section, the Secretary--
``(1) may not allow a grantee to use any such amounts for
any purpose other than the purpose approved by the Secretary in
the plan submitted under subsection (c)(1) to the Secretary for
use of such amounts;
``(2) may not permit a grantee to amend a plan to
retroactively approve a beneficiary's use of funds for an
eligible activity other than an activity for which the funds
were originally approved in the plan; and
``(3) shall prohibit a grantee from delegating, by contract
or otherwise, the responsibility for inherent government
functions.
``(g) Training for Grant Management for Subgrantees.--The Secretary
shall require each grantee to provide ongoing training to all staff and
subgrantees.
``(h) Procurement Processes and Procedures for States.--
``(1) State processes and procedures.--In procuring
property or services to be paid for in whole or in part with
amounts from a grant under this section, a State shall--
``(A) follow its own procurement processes and
procedures, but only if the Secretary makes a
determination that such processes and procedures comply
with the requirements under paragraph (2); or
``(B) comply with such processes and procedures as
the Secretary shall, by regulation, establish for
purposes of this section.
``(2) Requirements.--The requirements under this paragraph
with respect to the procurement processes and procedures of a
State are that such processes and procedures shall--
``(A) provide for full and open competition and
require cost or price analysis;
``(B) include requirements for procurement policies
and procedures for subgrantees, based on full and open
competition;
``(C) specify methods of procurement and their
applicability, but not allow for cost-plus-a-
percentage-of cost or percentage-of-construction-cost
methods of procurement;
``(D) include standards of conduct governing
employees engaged in the award or administration of
contracts;
``(E) ensure that all purchase orders and contracts
include any clauses required by Federal Statute,
Executive Order, or implementing regulation.
``(3) Noncompliance.--In the case of a State for which the
Secretary finds pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) that its
procurement processes and procedures do not comply with
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide the State with specific written
notice of the elements of noncompliance and the changes
necessary to such processes and procedures to provide
for compliance;
``(B) provide the State a reasonable period of time
to come into compliance; and
``(C) during such period allow the State to proceed
with procuring property and services paid for in whole
or in part with amounts from a grant under this section
in compliance with the procurement processes and
procedures of the State, but only if the Secretary
determines the State is making a good faith effort to
effectuate compliance with the requirements of
paragraph (2).
``(i) Treatment of CDBG Allocations.--Amounts made available for
use under this section shall not be considered relevant to the non-
disaster formula allocations made pursuant to section 106 of this title
(42 U.S.C. 5306).
``(j) Waivers.--
``(1) Authority.--Subject to the other provisions of this
section, in administering amounts made available for use under
this section, the Secretary may waive, or specify alternative
requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation
that the Secretary administers in connection with the
obligation by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of such
funds (except for requirements related to fair housing,
nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment and
except for the requirements of this section), if the Secretary
makes a public finding that good cause exists for the waiver or
alternative requirement and such waiver or alternative
requirement would not be inconsistent with the overall purpose
of this title.
``(2) Notice and publication.--Any waiver of or alternative
requirement pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect
before the expiration of the 5-day period beginning upon the
publication of notice in the Federal Register of such waiver or
alternative requirement.
``(3) Low- and moderate-income use.--A waiver pursuant to
paragraph (1) may not reduce the percentage of funds that must
be used for activities that benefit persons of low and moderate
income to less than 70 percent, unless the Secretary
specifically finds that there is compelling need to further
reduce the percentage requirement.
``(4) Prohibition.--The Secretary may not waive any
provision of this section pursuant to the authority under
paragraph (1).
``(k) Environmental Review.--
``(1) Adoption.--Notwithstanding subsection (j)(1),
recipients of funds provided under this section that use such
funds to supplement Federal assistance provided under section
402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) may adopt, without review or public
comment, any environmental review, approval, or permit
performed by a Federal agency, and such adoption shall satisfy
the responsibilities of the recipient with respect to such
environmental review, approval, or permit under section
104(g)(1) of this title (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)).
``(2) Release of funds.--Notwithstanding section 104(g)(2)
of this title (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2)), the Secretary may, upon
receipt of a request for release of funds and certification,
immediately approve the release of funds for an activity or
project assisted with amounts made available for use under this
section if the recipient has adopted an environmental review,
approval or permit under paragraph (1) or the activity or
project is categorically excluded from review under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
``(l) Collection of Information; Audits and Oversight.--
``(1) Collection of information.--For each major disaster
for which assistance is made available under this section, the
Secretary shall collect information regarding all recovery
efforts so assisted and shall make such information available
to the public and to the Inspector General for the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, and shall report to the
Congress regarding such efforts. Information collected and
reported shall be disaggregated by race, geography, and all
protected classes of individuals under the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, and other civil rights and
nondiscrimination protections. In carrying out this paragraph,
the Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to
ensure that personally identifiable information regarding
recipients of assistance provided from funds made available
under this section shall not made publicly available.
``(2) Audits and oversight.--In conducting audits, reviews,
oversight, evaluation, and investigations, in addition to
activities designed to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and
abuse, the Inspector General shall review programs of grantees
under this section for providing disaster relief and recovery
assistance to ensure such programs fulfill their purposes and
serve all eligible applicants for disaster relief or recovery
assistance.
``(m) Pre-certification for Units of General Local Government.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program
under this subsection to provide for units of general local
government to pre-certify as eligible grantees for assistance
under this section.
``(2) Requirements.--To be eligible for pre-certification
under the program under this subsection a unit of general local
government shall--
``(A) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
Secretary compliance with the requirements of this
section; and
``(B) have previously received assistance as a
grantee or subgrantee under this section, or with
amounts made available for the Community Development
Block Grant--Disaster Recovery account, in connection
with two or more major disasters declared pursuant to
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
``(3) Duration.--Pre-certification under the program under
this subsection shall be effective for a term of 10 years.
``(n) Deposit of Unused Amounts in Fund.--
``(1) In general.--If any amounts made available for
assistance under this section to grantees remain unexpended
upon the earlier of--
``(A) the date that the grantee of such amounts
notifies the Secretary that the grantee has completed
all activities identified in the grantee's plan for use
of such amounts that was approved by the Secretary in
connection with such grant; or
``(B) the expiration of the 6-year period beginning
upon the Secretary obligating such amounts to the
grantee, as such period may be extended pursuant to
paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall transfer such unexpended amounts to the
Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Community
Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund
established under section 124, except that the Secretary may,
by regulation, permit the grantee to retain amounts needed to
close out the grant.
``(2) Extension of period for use of funds.--The period
under paragraph (1)(B) shall be extended by not more than 3
years if, before the expiration of such 6-year period, the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, upon a request
by the Secretary, waives this requirement and submits a written
justification for such waiver to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
that specifies the period of such extension.
``SEC. 124. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT DISASTER RECOVERY RESERVE
FUND.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the
United States an account to be known as the Community Development Block
Grant Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund (in this section referred to as
the `Fund').
``(b) Amounts.--The Fund shall consist of any amounts appropriated
to or deposited into the Fund, including amounts deposited into the
Fund pursuant to section 123(n).
``(c) Use.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available only for
providing assistance under section 123, but only to the extent provided
in advance in appropriations Acts.''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 12-month
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue regulations to
carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this
section.
Union Calendar No. 870
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4557
[Report No. 115-1107, Part I]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide
disaster assistance to States and units of general government under a
community development block grant disaster recovery program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 28, 2018
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered
to be printed