,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fhbh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ab1 #bjbj,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,mrs4 ,hayes1 ,ms4 ,meng1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,malinowski1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 and ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,administrator of the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency to establish a fund to provide financial assistance for funeral expenses related to a deceased individual who died of ,,covid-#ai1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,covid-#ai ,funeral ,assistance ,fund4 #b4 ,federal assistance for funeral expenses related to ,,covid-#ai 7a7 ,general rule ,the ,administrator of the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency shall provide financial assistance to individuals and funeral homes for funeral expenses related to a deceased individual who died-- 7#a7 of ,,covid-#ai2 and 7#b7 without sufficient insurance to pay for such funeral expenses4 7b7 ,establishment of fund ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall establish a fund to be known as the ,,covid-#ai ,funeral ,assistance ,fund 7in this ,act referred to as the ,fund7 for the purpose of providing financial assistance under subsection 7a74 7c7 ,financial assistance for funeral expenses 7#a7 ,eligibility 7,a7 ,individuals ,to be eligible to receive financial assistance from the ,fund1 an individual shall-- 7i7 submit to the ,administrator an application based on the criteria under paragraph 7#b72 and 7ii7 demonstrate a common familial relationship to the deceased individual described in subsection 7a74 7,b7 ,funeral homes ,to be eligible to receive financial assistance from the ,fund1 a funeral home shall-- 7i7 submit to the ,administrator an application based on the criteria under paragraph 7#b72 and 7ii7 demonstrate that the funeral home is licensed or registered as a business in a ,state4 7,c7 ,no citizenship requirement ,an individual described in subparagraph 7,a7 may be-- 7i7 a citizen of the ,united ,states2 or 7ii7 a nonresident alien4 7#b7 ,application criteria 7,a7 ,in general ,the application under paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,funeral expenses for a deceased individual described in subsection 7a7 that were incurred or will be incurred during the period beginning on ,january #ba1 #bjbj1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #bjba4 7ii7 ,proof of the date of death of the deceased individual4 7iii7 ,proof that ,,covid-#ai was the cause of death 7directly or indirectly7 of the deceased individual as determined by the ,administrator based on a death certificate from an official of competent jurisdiction4 7iv7 ,with respect to an individual1 proof of the identity of the individual applying for assistance under this section4 7v7 ,with respect to a funeral home-- 7,i7 a certification that a deceased individual described in subsection 7a7 has not been claimed by any individual in #g days or more2 and 7,,ii7 proof that the funeral expenses of the deceased individual described in subclause 7,i7 are commensurate with the funeral expenses of other deceased individuals who are not claimed at such funeral home or in the county of such funeral home4 7,b7 ,additional requirement if insured ,if the deceased individual described in subsection 7a7 had insurance not greater than #aj1jjj1 the application shall include proof of insurance with respect to the funeral expenses of the deceased individual4 7,c7 ,additional requirement for burial trust ,if a contract exists 7including a burial trust7 for the purpose of paying the funeral expenses in an amount not greater than #aj1jjj of a deceased individual described in subsection 7a71 the application shall include proof of such contract with respect to the funeral expenses of the deceased individual4 7#c7 ,distribution ,beginning not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,administrator shall provide financial assistance in accordance with the requirements under this section to an individual who submitted such application4 7#d7 ,limitation ,the amount allowed for a payment to an individual pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall not exceed #aj1jjj with respect to each deceased individual described in subsection 7a74 7#e7 ,no requirement to reside in a ,presidentially declared disaster area ,the ,administrator may not require an individual to reside in a ,presidentially declared disaster area to receive financial assistance pursuant to this section4 7d7 ,verification and application process requirements ,in carrying out this section1 the ,administrator shall-- 7#a7 verify the identity and address of an individual that receives financial assistance under this section2 7#b7 minimize the risk of making a duplicative payment for a fraudulent application under this section2 7#c7 recover any duplicate payment provided pursuant to this section2 and 7#d7 conduct an expedited and simplified review and appeal process for an individual whose application for assistance under this section is denied4 7e7 ,funeral assistance disregarded in administration of ,federal programs ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 financial assistance provided to an individual under this section shall not be taken into account as income1 and shall not be taken into account as resources for a period of #ab months from receipt1 for purposes of determining the eligibility of such individual for benefits or assistance 7or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance7 under any ,federal program or under any ,state or local program financed in whole or in part with ,federal funds4 7f7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and #a year thereafter1 the ,administrator shall submit to ,congress a report on-- 7#a7 the number of applications received pursuant to subsection 7c72 7#b7 the amount of financial assistance provided pursuant to this section for funeral expenses related to a deceased individual described in subsection 7a72 and 7#c7 the recipients who received the financial assistance described in paragraph 7#b7 disaggregated by socioeconomic factors4 7g7 ,direct appropriation ,there is appropriated1 out of amounts in the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 for the fiscal year ending ,september #cj1 #bjbj1 #ejj1jjj1jjj to carry out this ,act4 7h7 ,presidentially declared disaster area defined 7#a7 ,presidentially declared disaster area ,the term ,presidentially declared disaster area means an area for which the ,president has declared a major disaster under section #dja of the ,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,relief and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #eaba et seq474 7#b7 ,state ,the term ,state means any of the several ,states or any territory or possession of the ,united ,states4