Disaster Assistance Risk Transfer Act of 2018

Disaster Assistance Risk Transfer Act of 2018

This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to solicit proposals and authorize it to secure contracts from private entities providing insurance, reinsurance, or capital market investments to transfer a portion of the risk of disaster assistance.

FEMA shall deposit any funds collected as the result of transfer of risk arrangements into the Disaster Relief Fund and such funds shall be available for any purpose for which such fund may be used.

FEMA may annually transfer a portion of the risk of the payments that may be made to private insurance, reinsurance, or the capital markets if it determines that transferring such a portion is in the public interest.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5973 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5973

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
  Assistance Act to require a report on risk transfer, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2018

   Mr. Ross 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 require a report on risk transfer, 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 ``Disaster Assistance Risk Transfer 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. RISK TRANSFER.

    Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 328. RISK TRANSFER.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall solicit proposals and may secure contracts from 
private entities providing insurance, reinsurance, or capital market 
investments to transfer a portion of the risk of assistance provided 
under any or all of sections 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, and 428, and of 
title V.
    ``(b) Treatment of Funds.--The Administrator shall deposit any 
funds collected as the result of transfer of risk arrangements into the 
Disaster Relief Fund and such funds are available for any purpose for 
which such Fund may be used.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 
that--
            ``(1) provides a description of the proposals described in 
        subsection (a) that the Administrator received;
            ``(2) assesses the proposals described in paragraph (1) 
        with respect to the capacity of private reinsurance, capital, 
        and financial markets to assist communities in managing the 
        full range of financial risks associated with major disasters;
            ``(3) assesses whether the rates and terms of the proposals 
        described in paragraph (1) are--
                    ``(A) reasonable and appropriate; and
                    ``(B) in an amount sufficient to ensure the 
                Disaster Relief Fund has the resources necessary to 
                respond to major disasters;
            ``(4) identifies the proposals, if any, that contain rates 
        and terms that satisfy the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 
        and (B) of paragraph (3); and
            ``(5) describes the extent to which the proposals described 
        in paragraph (4) would minimize the likelihood that the 
        Disaster Relief Fund would require emergency supplemental 
        appropriations.
    ``(d) Authority To Implement.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may annually transfer 
        a portion of the risk of the payments that may be made pursuant 
        to this section to private insurance, reinsurance, or the 
        capital markets, or any combination thereof, pursuant to the 
        rates and terms of any proposals described in subsection 
        (c)(4), if the Administrator determines that transferring such 
        a portion is in the public interest.
            ``(2) Applicability of federal acquisition regulation.--Any 
        transfer of risk pursuant to paragraph (1) may be entered into 
        without regard to the provisions of chapter 1 of title 48, Code 
        of Federal Regulations.
            ``(3) Expiration of authority.--The authority described in 
        paragraph (1) expires 5 years after the date on which the 
        Administrator first transfers a portion of risk pursuant to 
        such paragraph.
            ``(4) Multiyear contracts.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to prevent or prohibit the Administrator from 
        entering into contracts having a duration longer than 1 year.
    ``(e) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date on which the 
Administrator identifies a proposal that contains rates and terms that 
satisfy the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 
(c)(3), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report detailing--
            ``(1) whether the Administrator adopted the proposal; and
            ``(2) the reasons the Administrator adopted or did not 
        adopt such proposal.''.
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