---
kind: "diff"
citation: "H.R. 4358"
bill: "116-hr-4358"
heading: "Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2020"
from: "ih"
from_label: "Introduced in House"
to: "rh"
to_label: "Reported in House"
sections_amended: 4
sections_added: 0
sections_removed: 0
url: "https://uscodex.org/bills/116/hr/4358/changes/rh"
---
# H.R. 4358 — what changed
H.R. 4358, Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2020 — 4 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Edits are marked `struck` and `inserted`.
## Section 1 Short title
- This Act may be cited as the “Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2019”.2020”.
## Sec. 2 Findings
- Congress finds the following:
- (1) Preliminary damage assessments play a critical role in assessing and validating the impact and magnitude of a disaster.
- (2) Through the preliminary damage assessment process, representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency work with validate information gathered by State and local officials to gather information that serves as the basis for disaster assistance requests.
- (3) Various factors can impact the duration of a preliminary damage assessment and the corresponding submission of a major disaster request, however, the average time between when a disaster occurs, and the submission of a corresponding disaster request has been found to be approximately twenty days longer for flooding disasters.
- (4) With communities across the country facing increased instances of catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, accurate and efficient preliminary damage assessments have become critically important to the relief process for impacted states and municipalities.
## Sec. 3 Report to Congress
- (a) In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit to Congress a report describing the preliminary damage assessment process, as carried out supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the 5 years before the date of enactment of this Act.
- (b) Contents— The report described in subsection (a) shall contain the following:
- (1) The process of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for deploying disaster assessment teams personnel to conduct support preliminary damage assessments.
- (2) The number of Agency staff participating on disaster assessment teams.
- (3) The training and experience of such staff described in paragraph (2).
- (4) A calculation of the average amount of time disaster assessment teams described in paragraph (1) are deployed to a disaster area.
- (5) The efforts of the Agency to maintain a consistent liaison between the Agency and communities State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials within a disaster area.
## Sec. 4 Preliminary damage assessment
- (a) In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish damage assessment teams a training regime under section 206.33(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, within the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct ensure preliminary damage assessments with State and local governments are conducted and appropriate relief or disaster assistance organizations.reviewed under consistent guidelines.
- (b) Damage assessment teams—Annual report— Damage assessment teams described under subsection (a) The Administrator shall consist of full-time employees of annually submit to Congress a report on the number and type of instances under which Federal Emergency Management Agency with expertise personnel have overturned decisions made by personnel in working with State and local governments and appropriate relief or disaster assistance organizations.the field.
- (c) Report to Congress— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report—
- (1) describing the establishment of disaster assessment teams guidelines from Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel described under subsection (a);
- (2) assessing whether the duration of the deployment of a disaster assessment team Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel to conduct a preliminary damage assessment is longer based on specific disaster conditions;conditions; and
- (3) assessing containing legislative recommendations to improve the practicality operation, deployment, and staffing of forming specific disaster assessment teams for each specific disaster condition; andpersonnel.
- (4) legislative recommendations to improve the operation, deployment, and staffing of disaster assessment teams.
- (d) Definition of State and local government— For purposes of this Act, the terms “State” and “local government” have the meanings given such terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).