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I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 601 To modify certain requirements to encourage the recovery of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 27, 2023 Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To modify certain requirements to encourage the recovery of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES. 3 In providing assistance pursuant to section 428 of the 4 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist- 5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189f), for critical services as set 6 forth in section 406(a)(3) for the duration of the recovery 7 for incidents DR–4336–PR, DR–4339–PR, DR–4340– 8 USVI, and DR–4335–USVI, the Administrator of the 9 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H601.IH H601 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 601 IH (1) revise the guidance definitions for applica- 1 tion of section 20601 of the Bipartisan Budget Act 2 of 2018 (Public Law 115–123) to provide explicitly 3 that multicomponent systems or facilities be in- 4 spected, evaluated, and estimated as a single project 5 rather than requiring every component of the system 6 to be inspected, evaluated, and estimated; 7 (2) at the request of an applicant, put into ef- 8 fect a procedure for evaluation and authorization of 9 projects through professionally licensed engineers, as 10 provided by subparagraphs (F) and (G) of sub- 11 section (e)(1) of section 428 of the Robert T. Staf- 12 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; 13 and 14 (3) extend the deadline for the presentation of 15 cost estimates and project worksheets under such in- 16 cidents until October 31, 2021. 17 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE THROUGHOUT RECOVERY. 18 Section 20601 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 19 (Public Law 115–123) is amended by striking ‘‘may’’ and 20 inserting ‘‘shall’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H601.IH H601 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 601 IH SEC. 3. TIMELY BASIS FOR PAYMENT AND REIMBURSE- 1 MENT. 2 Section 428(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re- 3 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189f) is 4 amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’; 6 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 7 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(5) ensuring that work performed by pro- 10 viders, suppliers, and contractors to the Federal, 11 State, local, or tribal governments or nonprofit fa- 12 cilities under the provisions of this Act is paid for 13 and reimbursed in a timely manner.’’. 14 SEC. 4. SUBRECIPIENT PAYMENTS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—For incidents DR–4336–PR, 16 DR–4339–PR, DR–4340–USVI, and DR–4335–USVI. 17 For any major disaster or emergency declared under the 18 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist- 19 ance Act (42 U.S.C 5121 et seq.) in Puerto Rico or the 20 United States Virgin Islands, a subrecipient in meeting 21 any Federal cost-sharing requirement may use available 22 funds from any disaster recovery program/source, includ- 23 ing Community Development Block Grants—Disaster Re- 24 covery, Community Development Block Grants, commu- 25 nity disaster loans, and any in-kind contributions (unless 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H601.IH H601 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 601 IH prohibited by law) to meet any Federal cost-sharing re- 1 quirement. Such funds or loans shall cover the cumulative 2 costs of any approved obligation under the specific public 3 assistance category determined by the Federal Emergency 4 Management Administration under such Act rather than 5 having to apply individually to each specific cost estimate 6 or project worksheet issued under such obligation. 7 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 8 term ‘‘subrecipient’’ means a local government or a non- 9 governmental organization (NGO). 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H601.IH H601 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB