H.R. 2341

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2341 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2341

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act to waive certain prohibitions on duplication of 
benefits, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 25, 2025

Mr. Rouzer (for himself and Mr. Carter of Louisiana) 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 waive certain prohibitions on duplication of 
benefits, 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 ``Duplications of Benefits Victims 
Relief Act''.

SEC. 2. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.

(a) In General.--
(1) Authority.--Section 312(b) of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5155(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Waiver of general prohibition.--
``(A) In general.--The President may waive the 
general prohibition provided in subsection (a) upon 
request of a Governor on behalf of the State or on 
behalf of a person, business concern, or any other 
entity suffering losses as a result of a major disaster 
or emergency, if the President finds such waiver is in 
the public interest and will not result in waste, 
fraud, or abuse. In making this decision, the President 
may consider the following:
``(i) The recommendations of the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency made in consultation with the 
Federal agency or agencies administering the 
duplicative program.
``(ii) If a waiver is granted, the 
assistance to be funded is cost effective.
``(iii) Equity and good conscience.
``(iv) Other matters of public policy 
considered appropriate by the President.
``(B) Grant or denial of waiver.--A request under 
subparagraph (A) shall be granted or denied not later 
than 45 days after submission of such request.
``(C) Prohibition on determination that loan is a 
duplication.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), in 
carrying out subparagraph (A), the President may not 
determine that a loan is a duplication of assistance, 
provided that all Federal assistance is used toward a 
loss suffered as a result of the major disaster or 
emergency.
``(D) Prohibition on income threshold.--In carrying 
out this paragraph, no income threshold may be applied 
to limit the eligibility of a recipient from qualifying 
for a waiver under this paragraph.
``(E) Applicability.--This paragraph shall apply to 
any major disaster or emergency declared by the 
President under section 401 or 501, respectively, on or 
after January 1, 2016.''.
(2) Statutory construction.--This subsection, including the 
amendment made by paragraph (1), shall not be construed to 
apply to section 406 or 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172, 5174).
(3) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination 
with other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to 
the congressional committees of jurisdiction a report 
conducted by all relevant Federal agencies to improve 
the comprehensive delivery of disaster assistance to 
individuals following a major disaster or emergency 
declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
(B) Contents.--The report required under 
subparagraph (A) shall include both administrative 
actions taken, or planned to be taken, by the agencies 
as well as legislative proposals, where appropriate, of 
the following:
(i) Efforts to improve coordination between 
the Agency and other relevant Federal agencies 
when delivering disaster assistance to 
individuals.
(ii) Clarify the sequence of delivery of 
disaster assistance to individuals from the 
Agency, and other relevant Federal agencies.
(iii) Clarify the interpretation and 
implementation of section 312 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) when providing 
disaster assistance to individuals, including 
providing a common interpretation across the 
Agency, and other relevant Federal agencies, of 
the definitions and requirements under such 
section 312.
(iv) Increase the effectiveness of 
communication to applicants for assistance 
programs for individuals after a disaster 
declaration, including the breadth of programs 
available and the potential impacts of 
utilizing one program versus another.
(C) Report update.--Not later than 4 years after 
the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
Administrator, in coordination with other relevant 
Federal agencies, shall submit to the congressional 
committees of jurisdiction an update to the report 
required under subparagraph (A).
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