Housing Opportunities and Mitigating Emergencies Act of 2005 - Amernds the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide temporary emergency assistance for primary residences damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Increases from 75% to 90% the amount the President may contribute toward the cost of cost-effective hazard mitigation measures which substantially reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a major disaster. Doubles from 7.5% to 15% of the estimated aggregate federal disaster relief grants to an area the limit on the total amount of such presidential contributions.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4266 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4266
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act to provide temporary emergency assistance for primary
residences damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 9, 2005
Mr. Pickering (for himself, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. Wicker, Mr.
Jindal, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Bonner, Mr. Boustany, and Mr. McCrery)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act to provide temporary emergency assistance for primary
residences damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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 ``Housing Opportunities and Mitigating
Emergencies Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Gulf Coast region of the United States was recently
decimated by twin natural disasters: Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita.
(2) Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast on August
29, 2005, as a category 4 storm.
(3) At the time of its landing, Hurricane Katrina was
recorded as the third strongest hurricane to ever make landfall
on the United States, with sustained winds over 140 miles per
hour.
(4) The damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina
along the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Alabama were unmatched in their breadth and scope.
(5) A 10- to 30-foot storm surge came ashore on over 200
continuous miles of coastline from southeast Louisiana,
including Mississippi and Alabama, through to the Florida
panhandle.
(6) The 30-foot storm surge recorded at Biloxi,
Mississippi, is the highest ever observed in the United States.
(7) Hurricane Katrina's storm surge quickly breached the
levee system that protected the city of New Orleans from Lake
Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, subsequently flooding
at least 80 percent of the city.
(8) The magnitude of Hurricane Katrina was of such an
unprecedented scale that the Federal disaster declarations
which followed its destructive path blanketed over 90,000
square miles of the United States, an area almost as large as
the United Kingdom, displacing more than 1,000,000 people--a
humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the United States
since the Great Depression.
(9) The storm has now become the most destructive and
costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States,
resulting in over 1,300 deaths and estimated damage between
$70,000,000,000 and $130,000,000,000.
(10) Less than one month later, on September 24, 2005, the
region was battered again, this time by the strongest-measured
hurricane to ever have entered the Gulf of Mexico--Hurricane
Rita.
(11) Hurricane Rita came ashore between Texas and Louisiana
as a category 3 hurricane, packing winds up to 120 miles per
hour and a storm surge of 10 feet.
(12) A day prior to landfall, the resultant storm surge
also reopened some of the levee breaches caused by Hurricane
Katrina a month earlier and re-flooded parts of New Orleans.
(13) Local storm surges of 15 to 20 feet in southwestern
Louisiana were reported, and damage was extensive in coastal
parishes.
(14) Thousands of residents and families in the effected
States, who lived outside the 100-year flood plain and were
told they did not need flood insurance, suffered significant
damage to their homes and in many cases total losses.
(15) These families are currently without any type of
permanent shelter or any means by which to acquire such shelter
or otherwise make themselves whole, thus crippling the Gulf
Coast region and its economy.
(16) Because of the unprecedented magnitude of the storm
and the impact that the devastation of such a large region will
have on the United States as a whole, the Federal Government
should play a role in providing emergency assistance to these
families to help them rebuild and get on with their lives.
SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR PRIMARY RESIDENCES DAMAGED
OR DESTROYED BY HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA.
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``SEC. 425. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR PRIMARY RESIDENCES
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED BY HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA.
``(a) In General.--The Director shall provide emergency assistance
to owners of eligible structures in accordance with this section.
``(b) Application.--The Director shall provide for owners of
eligible structures to submit applications for assistance under this
section in such form, containing such information, and in accordance
with such procedures, as the Director may require.
``(c) Use of Funds; Scope of Coverage.--
``(1) In general.--The amount of any assistance under this
section provided to an owner of an eligible structure in a
covered disaster area of a State may be used only for paying--
``(A) the costs of repair, reconstruction, or
replacement of such structure or construction or
purchase of any other structure (including a
manufactured home) to be used as the primary residence
of the owner in the covered disaster area of such
State; or
``(B) the amount remaining to be paid by the owner
on the mortgage of the eligible structure.
``(2) Replacement cost.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subsection (d), the
amount of any assistance provided under this section
shall be based on the replacement cost necessary for
repair, reconstruction, or replacement of the eligible
structure to its original specifications and standards
prior to--
``(i) August 29, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Katrina; or
``(ii) September 23, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Rita.
Such costs shall include adjustments as necessary for
compliance with the requirements of subsection
(e)(1)(B).
``(B) Documentation.--An owner of an eligible
structure applying for assistance under paragraph (1)
shall submit to the Director documentation and such
other evidence (including a report completed by a
State-licensed, nationally-certified home inspector) as
the Director may require to establish the replacement
cost of the eligible structure under subparagraph (A).
``(d) Cost Sharing.--
``(1) Federal share.--Subject to subsection (f) and
paragraph (2), the Federal share of the cost of assistance
provided under this section for an eligible structure that the
Director shall pay to the owner of the eligible structure shall
be 80 percent of the replacement cost of the eligible structure
as determined under subsection (c)(2).
``(2) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount of assistance
that may be provided to an owner of an eligible structure under
this section for such structure may not exceed $150,000.
``(3) Optional state share.--If the owner of an eligible
structure in a State is provided assistance under this section,
the State may provide to the owner 10 percent of the
replacement cost of the eligible structure as determined under
subsection (c)(2), but not to exceed $15,000.
``(e) Requirements Regarding Future Flood Insurance Coverage and
Mitigation Actions.--
``(1) In general.--The Director may not provide assistance
under this section for an eligible structure unless--
``(A) the owner of the property upon which the
eligible structure is located has entered into a
legally binding agreement with the Director, including
such deed restrictions as the Director considers
appropriate, to ensure that such owner, and any future
owners, will at all times after such assistance is
provided under this section with respect to the
property, purchase and maintain flood insurance, in
perpetuity, for any structures located at any time on
the same property on which, at the time of purchase,
such eligible structure is located, in an amount at
least equal to the lesser of--
``(i) the value of the structure, as
determined by the Director; or
``(ii) the maximum limit of coverage made
available with respect to the particular type
of property under the National Flood Insurance
Program, if such coverage is available; and
``(B) the owner of the property certifies to the
Director that any structure constructed, repaired, or
reconstructed with such assistance will be constructed,
repaired, or reconstructed in accordance with--
``(i) standards established by the
International Code Council in effect at the
time the building permit is issued by the local
government to the owner of the eligible
structure; and
``(ii) any final flood elevations or flood
maps in effect for purposes of the National
Flood Insurance Program at the time the
building permit is issued by the local
government to the owner of the eligible
structure and any advisory flood elevations or
advisory flood insurance rate maps issued by
the Director for purposes of such program
before such building permit is issued.
``(2) Waiver authority.--The Director may waive the
requirements of paragraph (1)(B) with respect to the repair of
an eligible structure if the Director determines that the cost
of compliance with such requirements by the owner in repairing
the eligible structure outweigh the benefit derived from such
compliance pursuant to a substantial damage analysis.
``(f) Prohibition on Duplicative Benefits in Excess of Replacement
Costs.--Notwithstanding section 312, the Director shall assure that no
owner of an eligible structure will receive assistance under this
section that, when combined with other financial assistance received by
the owner under any program, including section 404 or 408, or from
insurance or any other source for the purpose of repair,
reconstruction, or replacement of the eligible structure, is in excess
of the replacement cost of the eligible structure as determined under
subsection (c)(2). Before receipt of any assistance for which an owner
is eligible under this section for an eligible structure, the owner
shall enter into a legally binding agreement with the Director to repay
any and all of such assistance that is in excess of the replacement
cost of the eligible structure as determined under subsection (c)(2).
``(g) Verification of Use of Funds and Compliance.--
``(1) Documentation; reports.--Within 6 months after the
date on which an owner of an eligible structure receives
assistance under this section, and every 6 months thereafter
until all such assistance is accounted for, the owner shall
submit to the Director--
``(A) all receipts and documentation verifying the
use of such assistance for the purpose for which it was
provided; and
``(B) reports completed by a State-licensed,
nationally-certified home inspector verifying
compliance by the owner with the requirements of
subsection (e)(1)(B) if such requirements are not
waived by the Director.
``(2) Enforcement.--The Director may suspend assistance
under this section, and take any additional action which the
Director deems appropriate, with respect to an owner of an
eligible structure if the Director determines that the owner is
not complying with paragraph (1).
``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
apply:
``(1) Covered disaster area.--The term `covered disaster
area' means an area--
``(A) for which a major disaster was declared by
the Director pursuant to title IV of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in
2005; and
``(B) in which the sale of flood insurance coverage
was available under the National Flood Insurance Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) as of--
``(i) August 29, 2005, in the case of an
area for which a declaration referred to in
subparagraph (A) was made as a result of
Hurricane Katrina; or
``(ii) September 23, 2005, in the case of
an area for which a declaration referred to in
subparagraph (A) was made as a result of
Hurricane Rita.
``(2) Eligible structure.--The term `eligible structure'
means a structure (including a manufactured home) that--
``(A) sustained damage or losses from flooding
resulting from Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in
2005;
``(B) is located in a covered disaster area;
``(C) is a residential structure that was used as
the primary residence of the owner of the structure as
of--
``(i) August 29, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Katrina; and
``(ii) September 23, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Rita;
``(D) was covered by an insurance policy for losses
caused by wind or windstorm as of--
``(i) August 29, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Katrina; and
``(ii) September 23, 2005, in the case of a
structure damaged by flooding resulting from
Hurricane Rita;
``(E) is of a type for which coverage was generally
made available under the National Flood Insurance
Program as of August 29, 2005; and
``(F) is not located in an area that has been
identified by the Director as an area having special
flood hazards (as such term is used for purposes of
section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of
1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a)) as of August 29, 2005.
``(3) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``(i) Termination.--The Director may not provide any assistance
under this section except pursuant to an application for such
assistance submitted to the Director before the expiration of the 180-
day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section.
``(j) Regulations.--The Director may issue any regulations
necessary to carry out this section.''.
SEC. 4. HAZARD MITIGATION.
(a) In General.--Section 404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence by striking ``75'' and inserting
``90''; and
(2) in the last sentence by striking ``7.5'' and inserting
``15''.
(b) Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance.--Section 404(b)
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(4) Reduction.--The amount of any assistance that would
otherwise be provided to an owner of an eligible structure
under section 425(c)(1)(B) shall be reduced by the amount of
assistance the owner receives for such structure under such
section.''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)
shall apply with respect to a major disaster declared by the President
on or after August 24, 2005.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
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