Transparent Disaster Relief Act of 2018

Transparent Disaster Relief Act of 2018

This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to: (1) require recipients of federal assistance for a major disaster or emergency to sign a statement, as a condition of such assistance, that acknowledges the requirements relating to duplication of benefits under such Act. It also amends the Small Business Act to require notification to recipients of disaster assistance that they may decline to accept a loan, including for any reason relating to eligibility for other federal assistance.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7111 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7111

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to increase transparency with respect to duplication of 
   benefits requirements, to amend the Small Business Act to notify 
disaster loan recipients of their ability to refuse assistance, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2018

Miss Rice of New York (for herself and Mr. King of New York) introduced 
      the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to increase transparency with respect to duplication of 
   benefits requirements, to amend the Small Business Act to notify 
disaster loan recipients of their ability to refuse assistance, 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 ``Transparent Disaster Relief Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.

    Section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Transparency.--
            ``(1) Statement of acknowledgment.--The President shall 
        ensure that each person receiving Federal assistance for a 
        major disaster or emergency signs a statement, as a condition 
        of such assistance, that acknowledges the requirements under 
        this section relating to duplication of benefits, including an 
        acknowledgment of the types of assistance that may result in a 
        duplication of benefits.
            ``(2) Recoupment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, the President shall ensure that 
        any action to collect duplicative assistance from a recipient 
        under this section includes the provision to the recipient of 
        all documentation used to determine the relevant duplication of 
        benefits.''.

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION TO DISASTER LOAN RECIPIENTS.

    Section 7(b)(10) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(10)) 
is amended--
            (1) by amending the paragraph heading to read as follows: 
        ``NOTIFICATION'';
            (2) by striking ``loan.'' and inserting ``loan; and'';
            (3) by striking ``the applicant may submit'' and inserting 
        ``the applicant--
                    ``(A) may submit''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) is not required to accept the loan for which 
                the applicant applied, including for any reason 
                relating to eligibility for other Federal 
                assistance.''.
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