H.R. 6048 — Introduced in House

I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6048 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 7, 2018Ms. Velázquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require a study and report on matters concerning best practices in mortality counts as a result of a major disaster. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Counting Our Unexpected Natural Tragedies’ Victims Act of 2018 or the COUNT Victims Act. 2. Study and report (a) In general Not later than September 30, 2018, the Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of Medicine to conduct a study and prepare a report as described in subsection (b). (b) Study and report (1) Study (A) In general The study described in this subsection shall be a study of matters concerning best practices in mortality counts as a result of a major disaster (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)). (B) Contents The study described in this subsection shall address approaches to quantifying mortality and significant morbidity among populations affected by major disasters, to include best practices and policy rec­om­men­da­tions for— (i) equitable and timely attribution, in order to, among other things, facilitate access to available benefits; (ii) timely prospective tracking of population levels of mortality and significant morbidity, and their causes, in order to continuously inform response efforts; and (iii) retrospective study of disaster-related mortality and significant morbidity to inform after-action analysis and improve subsequent preparedness efforts. (2) Report Not later than 2 years after the date on which the contract described in subsection (a) is entered into, the National Academy of Medicine shall complete and transmit to the Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency a report on the study described in paragraph (1). (c) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for fiscal years 2018 through 2020.