H.R. 8291 — Reforming Disaster Recovery Act

This section states seven congressional findings concerning disaster recovery challenges for low- and moderate-income households and distressed communities (i.e., those most impacted by major disasters declared under the Stafford Act), including unmet housing needs, pre-existing hardships, insufficient state and local capacity, and the benefits of flexible funding for recovery, mitigation, resilient affordable housing, and economic revitalization.

This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including "Department" (i.e., Department of Housing and Urban Development), "Fund" (i.e., Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 5), and "Secretary" (i.e., Secretary of Housing and Urban Development).

This section assigns seven disaster-related duties to the offices and officers of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): (1) leading and coordinating HUD's responsibilities under the National Response Framework, National Disaster Recovery Framework, and National Mitigation Framework; (2) coordinating and administering HUD programs related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, resiliency, and mitigation, including disaster recovery assistance under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (i.e., Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)); (3) supporting disaster-impacted communities in assessing, planning for, and addressing housing needs during the transition from emergency shelters and interim housing to permanent housing, especially for vulnerable populations and extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income households; (4) collaborating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) to align disaster-related regulations and policies—including consensus-based codes, standards, and insurance requirements—and to reduce duplication among federal disaster recovery programs; (5) promoting best practices in mitigation and land use planning, including traditional, natural, and nature-based infrastructure alternatives; (6) coordinating technical assistance—including training and information on legal and regulatory requirements—for CDBG disaster recovery recipients demonstrating capacity constraints; and (7) supporting state, Tribal, and local governments in developing and maintaining disaster resilience and recovery capacity and pre-disaster recovery and hazard mitigation plans, in coordination with FEMA and other federal agencies. The section also establishes, in the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency to oversee and coordinate all departmental disaster preparedness and response responsibilities and to coordinate with FEMA, SBA, and HUD offices—including the Office of Community Planning and Development—to support community recovery and resilience activities.

This section establishes the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund in the Treasury as a permanent account available until expended for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) long-term disaster recovery assistance. The fund consists of (1) appropriated amounts authorized as necessary for grants under new section 123 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (HCDA); (2) transfers of recaptured amounts available under HCDA section 106(c)(4) due to actions under specified HCDA provisions and any unobligated balances from prior appropriations under the "Community Development Fund" heading for disaster purposes; and (3) credits to the fund. Amounts in the fund are available for formula-allocated grants under HCDA section 123 and related Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) activities (e.g., salaries and expenses, information technology, capacity building, technical assistance, and pre-disaster planning), with a 2% set-aside for such activities that may be transferred to HUD program accounts; it also makes prior administrative amounts for CDBG disaster funds interchangeable across appropriations Acts for such costs. (As background, CDBG disaster recovery funds support flexible, locally designed long-term rebuilding in areas affected by major disasters declared under the Stafford Act.)

This section establishes a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Program under new section 123 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, authorizing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to allocate grants from the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund—established under section 5 of the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act—for disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of housing and infrastructure, economic revitalization, and mitigation activities in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from a catastrophic major disaster (as defined in the Stafford Act). Grants are awarded to States, units of general local government, and Indian tribes based on grantee capacity and concentration of damage; such grants are excluded from regular CDBG formula allocations under section 106. Within 30 days of enactment, the Secretary must publish in the Federal Register the methodologies for estimating unmet needs related to housing, economic revitalization, and infrastructure, solicit public comment on those methodologies (including impacts on rural and Tribal areas, targeting improvements, grantee criteria, and mitigation data), and issue regulations establishing an allocation formula that (1) defines catastrophic major disasters based on high concentrations of damaged housing or businesses unaddressable by non-Federal resources; (2) identifies most impacted and distressed areas by unmet serious needs; and (3) provides for allocations addressing those needs plus up to 30% of total estimated unmet needs for risk-reduction mitigation benefiting low- and moderate-income persons, with emphasis on repetitive property and infrastructure losses. The section makes conforming amendments to (1) section 102(a), adding definitions of "persons of extremely low income" (i.e., households not exceeding levels under section 3(b)(2) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, with alternatives for Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa) and "major disaster"; (2) section 106(c)(4), expanding disaster recovery allocations to include States alongside metropolitan cities and urban counties for major disasters; (3) section 122, updating its disaster reference to "major disaster"; and (4) other technical changes to reference States and major disasters consistently. (As background, the CDBG program provides flexible block grants to principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons through housing, community facilities, and economic development; this new disaster recovery component targets post-catastrophic unmet needs beyond standard allocations.)

This section directs the Secretary, following consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration, and other federal agencies, to issue proposed rules to implement this Act and its amendments not later than six months after enactment of this Act, with a 90-day public comment period. The section further requires the Secretary to issue final regulations to carry out section 123 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by section 6 of this Act, not later than one year after enactment.

This section requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to the greatest extent practicable, in implementing disaster recovery assistance authorized under new section 123 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (i.e., for comprehensive relief, long-term recovery, housing and infrastructure restoration, economic revitalization, and mitigation in areas affected by catastrophic major disasters declared under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act). The section further directs HUD to establish data-sharing agreements with relevant federal agencies, including FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA), to prevent duplication of benefits, expedite recovery, and reduce burdens on survivors while safeguarding privacy. It authorizes (1) FEMA and SBA to transfer applicant data—including personally identifiable information, recovery needs, and eligible expenditures—to HUD for all section 401 major disasters; (2) HUD to share such data with section 123 grantees, departmental offices, technical assistance providers, and lenders; and (3) section 123 grantees to report assistance details to HUD, which HUD must share with FEMA, SBA, and other agencies. All transfers must comply with Privacy Act requirements, including computer matching and data-sharing agreements with privacy safeguards published in the Federal Register.