Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020

Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020

This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct assistance to individuals who have been impacted by a pandemic.

Specifically, at the discretion of a governor or the President, individuals impacted by a pandemic will be eligible to apply directly to federal agencies for various forms of assistance, including (1) assistance under the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program; (2) assistance under the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program; and (3) other needs assistance through FEMA's Individual Assistance program, including medical, funeral, and child care assistance.

With respect to the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, the Department of Agriculture must provide options other than an in-person interview.

With respect to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, the bill creates a national floor for benefits at 1.5 times the national weekly average and provides a waiver to the requirement to exhaust state unemployment insurance options.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3534

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a 
                   pandemic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2020

  Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a 
                   pandemic, 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 ``Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR PANDEMICS.

    The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 102(1) (42 U.S.C. 5122(1)), by inserting 
        ``or pandemic'' after ``catastrophe'';
            (2) in section 301 (42 U.S.C. 5141), by inserting ``or an 
        emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' each 
        place the term appears;
            (3) in section 408(e) (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)), by inserting 
        ``or an emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' 
        each place the term appears;
            (4) in section 410 (42 U.S.C. 5177)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or an 
                emergency due to a pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' 
                each place the term appears; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Assistance During a Pandemic.--In the case of an emergency 
due to a pandemic--
            ``(1) assistance authorized under this section shall be 
        made available to an individual regardless of whether the 
        individual is entitled to any other unemployment compensation 
        (as that term is defined in section 85(b) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986); and
            ``(2) the minimum weekly benefit shall be 1.5 times the 
        national average State unemployment compensation weekly benefit 
        for the previous year.'';
            (5) in section 412 (42 U.S.C. 5179)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or an emergency due to a 
                pandemic'' after ``major disaster'' each place the term 
                appears; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Assistance During a Pandemic.--In the case of an emergency 
due to a pandemic, for purposes of providing benefits under this 
section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide an alternative to 
the in-person interview requirement for all applicants for such 
benefits. This alternative shall be consistent with the alternative 
that is required to be provided for applicants entitled to 
accommodations during a major disaster.''; and
            (6) in section 502(a) (42 U.S.C. 5192(a))--
                    (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) provide unemployment assistance in accordance with 
        section 410; and
            ``(10) provide assistance in accordance with section 
        412.''.
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