,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dbdc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #aa1 #bjae 
,mr4 ,kilmer 7for himself1 ,mr4         
,newhouse1 and ,mr4 ,reichert7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,transportation and ,infrastructure  ,a 
,,bill  ,to improve ,federal disaster   
relief and emergency assistance1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,individual   
,assistance ,improvement ,act of #bjae4 
#b4 ,improvements to ,federal disaster  
relief and emergency assistance  7a7    
,report on ,small ,state and ,rural     
,area ,assistance ,not later than #ahj  
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the 
,administrator of the ,federal          
,emergency ,management ,agency shall    
submit to ,congress a report with       
recommendations for improving ,federal  
assistance1 with respect to small       
,states and rural areas1 under the      

,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief 
and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eaba et seq474 ,the report   
shall include an identification of      
additional resources required for       
recommended improvements4  7b7 ,factors 
for ,individual ,assistance ,program ,in
 measuring the severity1 magnitude1 and 
impact of a disaster and evaluating the 
need for assistance to individuals under
 the ,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster    
,relief and ,emergency ,assistance ,act1
 the ,administrator shall not apply1    
with respect to a rural area1 the factor
 set out in section #bjf4dh7;b77#a7 of  
title #dd1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations 7relating to the           
concentration of damages74  7c7 ,release
 of ,documentation ,related to ,disaster
 ,declaration ,decisions ,not later than
 #be days after a ,governor1 or ,chief  
,executive of an ,indian tribal         
government1 requests documentation      
related to a major disaster declaration 
decision under section #dja of the      

,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief 
and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eagj71 the ,administrator    
shall provide the ,governor1 or ,chief  
,executive1 with all such documentation1
 including--  7#a7 an analysis of the   
factors that the ,federal ,emergency    
,management ,agency considered in making
 the decision1 including any threshold1 
limit1 or average that the ,agency      
applied2 and  7#b7 a rationale          
explaining the decision4  7d7 ,study on 
,damage ,assessment  7#a7 ,study ,the   
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct a comprehensive   
review of--  7,a7 the damage assessment 
processes of the ,agency with respect to
 major disaster declarations2 and  7,b7 
the teams that carry out such processes4
  7#b7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days
 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall  
submit to ,congress a report on the     
results of the review conducted under   
paragraph 7#a71 including               

recommendations for improving such      
processes4  7e7 ,biennial ,study of     
,average ,amount of ,individual         
,assistance  7#a7 ,study ,not later than
 the end of the first quarter of the    
first full fiscal year beginning after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
and biennially thereafter1 the          
,administrator shall conduct a study--  
7,a7 to compare-- 7i7 the average amount
 of individual assistance provided per  
person for each major disaster declared 
during the #e most recently completed   
fiscal years2  7ii7 the average damages 
realized per individual for each such   
disaster2 and  7iii7 for each event     
where a request for a major disaster    
declaration was denied during the #e    
most recently completed fiscal years1   
the average damages realized per        
individual for each such event2 and     
7,b7 to collect the data needed to      
update the table included after section 
#bjf4dh7;b77#f7 of title #dd1 ,code of  
,federal ,regulations 7relating to the  

average amount of individual assistance 
by ,state74  7#b7 ,report and ,update   
,not later than #ahj days after the     
completion of each study under paragraph
 7#a71 the ,administrator shall submit  
to ,congress a report on the results of 
the study and update the table described
 in paragraph 7#a77;,b74  7f7           
,definitions ,in this ,act1 the         
following definitions shall apply3 7#a7 
,governor ,the term ,governor has the   
meaning given such term in section #ajb 
of the ,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster  
,relief and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eabb74  7#b7 ,rural ,the
 term rural means an area that is       
located-- 7,a7 outside a metropolitan   
statistical area1 as defined by the     
,office of ,management and ,budget2 or  
7,b7 in a census tract in a metropolitan
 statistical area with a ,department of 
,agriculture rural-urban commuting area 
code of #d or higher4  7#c7 ,small      
,state ,the term small ,state has the   
same meaning as such term is used in the

 table included after section           
#bjf4dh7;b77#f7 of title #dd1 ,code of  
,federal ,regulations4