H.R. 403

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To enhance predisaster mitigation to prevent future natural disasters, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · January 14, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Swalwell · Committee: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

SEC. 1. Short title

Section 203(g) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act () is amended— 42 U.S.C. 5133(g)
- by striking and at the end of paragraph (11);
- by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (13); and
  - and prioritize communities that are in high hazard risk communities, environmental justice communities, communities with low tax revenue base per capita, and communities with a low rate of code adoption and enforcement and infrastructure maintenance expenditures (the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish guidelines to develop measurable criteria to determine such priority for high hazard risk communities and integrate the data into a tool such as the National Risk Index and use the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool to help target the communities with the greatest need of assistance); and
- by inserting after paragraph (11) the following:

Section 203(h)(2)) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act () is amended to read as follows: 42 U.S.C. 5133(h)(2)
- (2) Small impoverished communities and environment justice communities
  - Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the President may contribute up to 90 percent of the total cost of a mitigation activity carried out in a small impoverished community or an environmental justice community.

Section 203(i)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act () is amended— 42 U.S.C. 5133(i)(1)
- by striking 6 percentand inserting 15 percent; and
- by adding at the end the following: . From such total amount made available from the Disaster Relief Fund, with respect to each major disaster, the President may set aside 2 percent of the estimated aggregate amount of the grants to be made pursuant to sections 403, 406, 407, 408, 410, 416, and 428 for the major disaster for community planning and capacity building assistance.

Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act () is amended by adding at the end the following: 42 U.S.C. 5133
- (m) Community outreach assistance
  - The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in collaboration with organizations, such as the United States Cooperative Extension System and the Extension Disaster Education Network, shall provide community outreach to communities under this section, with a goal of increasing applications from communities with high hazard risk, environmental justice communities, communities with low tax revenue base per capita, and communities with a low rate of code adoption and enforcement and infrastructure maintenance expenditures, regarding how to plan and prioritize projects based on current climate conditions, future hazard risk, and social vulnerability assessments as well as how to successfully develop, submit, and administer a grant under this section.

Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a central Federal database at the Agency, in coordination with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environment Protection Agency, the Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and any other relevant agencies the Administrator chooses to include, to consolidate funding data collected by all local, State, and Federal agencies involved in post-disaster response and predisaster mitigation spending and categorize the data by type of project, funding source, and hazard types using an user friendly database and interactive map. Such database shall also include—
- the collection and posting of census track data and post aggregate demographic data, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act () as well as any future guidance by such office on data equity on the impact of natural disaster and Federal recovery efforts to better allocate and trace funds; and 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
- post-project evaluations by the Agency to analyze disaster spending and report findings on what may have been saved by proper predisaster mitigation.