H.R. 316 — Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2025

This section designates the short title of the Act as the “Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2025” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section establishes a Natural Disaster Recovery Program under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by adding a new section 431 to title IV, including a Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund in the Treasury. (The Stafford Act is the primary federal law authorizing disaster declarations and assistance to states, localities, and tribes for recovery from major disasters.) The Fund consists of (1) amounts appropriated and deposited for specific major disasters declared under section 401, and (2) unexpended grant amounts returned to the Treasury after the earlier of grantee completion notice or 6 years from obligation (extendable by up to 4 years with congressional justification). Fund amounts are available, following a major disaster declaration, to states and Indian tribal governments for unmet needs and to grantees for technical assistance and capacity building to administer grants. Not later than 90 days after a major disaster declaration, the President must assess unmet needs by coordinating with federal agencies (including the Small Business Administration) to compile data on disaster damage, federal aid expended, effects on education, transportation, housing, health care, and displacement, and remaining gaps; this data must be publicly available while protecting personally identifiable information. Grantees may use up to 13% of grant funds for administrative costs (or a sliding scale set by the President, with lower percentages for larger grants); the President may also provide technical assistance for compliance and capacity building (e.g., procurement templates). Funds are allocated proportionally based on unmet needs; grantees solely determine prioritization and expenditure without submitting action or spending plans; loans are not considered duplication of benefits under section 312; and grantees receive an initial 50% of their allocation, with the remainder available after submitting required information to the Committees on Appropriations.

This section establishes a new unmet needs assistance grant program under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, allowing a state governor or Indian tribal government chief executive to request grants from the President to address gaps in major disaster recovery beyond existing federal aid. The President may set aside 10% of the estimated aggregate grants under sections 406 (public assistance for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities) and 408 (individual and household assistance programs) for each major disaster—determined within 180 days of declaration without subsequent adjustment for estimate variations—with such amounts deemed disaster-related and not reducing funding for sections 403 (essential assistance), 406, 407 (fire management), 408, 410 (debris removal), 416 (housing repair), or 428 (emergency public works). Grant funds may be used for (1) disaster-related home repair or rebuilding for permanent housing (including alongside section 408 aid); (2) other unmet family needs not covered elsewhere; (3) services to alleviate suffering and promote victim well-being; and (4) post-disaster economic recovery, including planning, technical assistance, infrastructure improvements, financing, and activities under a comprehensive economic development strategy. Recipients must submit semiannual reports to the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator on spending criteria, fund allocation, and public notice processes (until funds are expended) and may use up to 5% of funds for administrative costs. The program applies to funds appropriated on or after enactment.

This section directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, when recommending major disaster or emergency declarations under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) or proposed non-Federal cost shares, to give greater weight to (1) severe local impacts from the disaster or emergency and (2) multiple other disasters or emergencies in the affected area during the preceding five years. The section further requires the Administrator to revise relevant FEMA policies, guidance, or regulations accordingly and, not later than one year after enactment, to submit a report to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs describing the changes made and the number of major disaster declarations under 42 U.S.C. 5170 based on these criteria.

This section revises disaster housing assistance under Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (i.e., the Individual and Household Program) as follows: (1) broadens eligibility to individuals and households displaced from or whose predisaster primary residences are damaged by a major disaster (from rendered uninhabitable), including residences rendered inaccessible or damaged for individuals with disabilities (from rendered inaccessible or uninhabitable); (2) authorizes financial assistance for repairing owner-occupied private residences, utilities, and residential infrastructure (e.g., private access routes) damaged by a major disaster or rendered inaccessible for individuals with disabilities, and direct assistance for such repairs plus eligible hazard mitigation measures when financial assistance is unusable or resources are lacking, with recipients ineligible for temporary housing assistance unless determined otherwise by the Administrator, coordination allowed with other repair sources, and no requirement to demonstrate other means of assistance except insurance proceeds; and (3) limits permanent housing construction and repair to cases the President deems a cost-effective alternative to temporary housing or long-term rebuilding costs. (Thus, the changes lower the threshold for assistance from uninhabitability to damage, expand repair options including direct federal aid and mitigation, and prioritize cost-effective permanent solutions.) The amendments apply to funds appropriated on or after enactment.

This section expands emergency protective measures under Section 403(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by authorizing federal agencies to perform minor repairs up to habitability standards on owner-occupied homes damaged by a major disaster, enabling survivors to shelter in place (subject to the availability of appropriations). The section further requires the federal coordinating officer to identify all sheltering and housing options available under Sections 403 and 408 for the state governor (or designated state coordinating officer) not later than 15 days after a major disaster declaration; defines "minor repairs up to habitability" by reference to the minimum standards for permanent housing in 24 CFR 576.403(c) (or successor regulations); and directs the FEMA Administrator to issue final implementing regulations within two years of enactment.

This section modifies the temporary housing assistance available under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) of the Stafford Act (i.e., financial assistance and direct services for disaster-affected individuals and households who cannot meet necessary expenses through other means), as follows: (1) extends the period of assistance under specified clauses to 24 months (from 18 months); and (2) directs the FEMA Administrator to revise appeals regulations (44 CFR 206.115) to require providing appellants with determination documentation (including inspection documents), a description of reasons for ineligibility and recommended remedies (e.g., additional documentation), and existing inspection documents within 10 days after inspection completion. The changes apply to funds appropriated on or after enactment.

This section directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, not later than 180 days after enactment, a report on each major disaster declared under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the five-year period preceding enactment. The report must include (1) FEMA's process for determining individual household need; (2) the most common reasons for denying individual and household assistance under section 408 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); (3) the rate of appeals of such denials; (4) the time taken to issue individual assistance eligibility decisions, disaggregated by disaster; (5) information on Disaster Legal Services usage and eligible applicants; (6) the total number of Disaster Legal Services volunteers as of enactment; (7) the number of such volunteers activated per disaster; (8) the time after each declaration to set up disaster recovery centers providing individual assistance access; (9) the number of such centers opened per disaster; (10) the process for selecting center locations; (11) the average time such centers remained open; (12) the average time survivors spent at such centers; and (13) a description of outreach efforts in low-income, rural, and underserved communities regarding FEMA assistance under the Stafford Act.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States, not later than five years after the date of enactment, to (1) conduct a review of the fiscal controls of states receiving assistance under section 432 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as added by section 3), and (2) submit recommendations regarding that program to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a report on the time required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator to officially close out each major disaster declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (i.e., Stafford Act) pursuant to section 705 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 5205). (Section 705 addresses FEMA closeout procedures for disaster assistance, including a three-year statute of limitations on recovery actions after a grantee's final expenditure report.)