By Mary Kerr (202) 225-6260
Floor Statement of The Honorable James L. Oberstar
On S. 2382, Requiring FEMA to Address the Abundance of Surplus
Manufactured Housing Units Stored by the Federal Government
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2382, as amended, to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) to quickly and fairly address the abundance of surplus manufactured housing units stored by the Federal Government around the country.
S. 2382, as amended, addresses a number of critical disaster recovery issues related to FEMA. I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross), the sponsor of H.R. 4830, the House companion measure to S. 2382, for his critical support for this legislation.
S. 2382 addresses an ongoing consequence of the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As a result of stockpiling trailers in the aftermath of these devastating storms, FEMA owns a large number of trailers and other temporary housing units that the agency is not using and may never need. Some of these units have never been used.
S. 2382 requires FEMA to assess the number of temporary housing units necessary to meet requirements for major disasters and emergencies under the Stafford Act. FEMA is also required to establish a plan for storing the units that the agency needs, and disposing of those trailers that it does not need. S. 2382 provides FEMA with the flexibility to provide these excess trailers to state and local governments to house victims of incidents caused by hazards that do not result in a Federally-declared major disaster or emergency, provided that the Governor of an affected State certifies that there is an urgent need for the housing.
S. 2382, as amended, also includes some common-sense provisions from H.R. 3247, the “Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Recovery Facilitation Act of 2007”, which passed by the House on October 29, 2007, and provides specific relief for problems associated with recovery efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The bill authorizes changes made to the public assistance program under the Stafford Act that only apply retroactively to the recovery efforts from those devastating storms. These provisions include an increase in the Federal contribution for alternate projects from the current level of 75 percent to 90 percent, thereby allowing communities to rebuild their facilities in the most efficient manner possible.
The bill also allows state and local governments to use alternate dispute resolution to solve some of the most difficult and lingering issues in the recovery from these storms. To help expedite the recovery, S. 2382 also allows FEMA to use a simplified procedure under which small projects are permitted to proceed based on estimates. The bill increases the ceiling for small projects to $100,000, an increase from the current level of $55,000. Finally, S. 2382 requires FEMA to expeditiously report back to Congress on the status of its recovery efforts from these storms.
S. 2382, as amended, also includes a provision from H.R. 3247, as reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, that authorizes FEMA to provide case management services to citizens impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is unfortunate that some citizens still require these services as they struggle to recover three years after these storms.
The bill further requires FEMA to review, update, and revise, through rulemaking, the factors considered in making recommendations for the assistance to individuals and families under the Stafford Act as provided in 44 CFR 206.48. State and local governments have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity in these regulations, which they use to gauge when to seek assistance from the Federal Government.
I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for working with me on this bipartisan amendment to S. 2382, and I strongly support its passage.
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