119-hr3661

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3661 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3661

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
 to take certain actions relating to incident periods and extreme 
 weather, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 29, 2025

Ms. Titus (for herself and Mr. Stanton) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
 to take certain actions relating to incident periods and extreme 
 weather, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Extreme Weather and Heat Response 
Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. INCIDENT PERIODS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall convene an advisory panel consisting of 
emergency management personnel to assist the Agency in reviewing the 
process and procedures related to the determination of incident periods 
for all hazards for emergencies or major disasters declared under the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).

    (b) Membership.--

    (1) In general.--This advisory panel convened under 
 subsection

    (a) shall consist of at least 2 representatives from 
 national emergency management organizations, at least 2 
 relevant county officials, at least 1 representative from the 
 National Weather Service, and at least 5 representatives from 
 each of the 10 regions of the Federal Emergency Management 
 Agency selected from emergency management personnel employed by 
 State, local, territorial, or Tribal authorities within each 
 region.

    (2) Inclusion on panel.--To the furthest extent 
 practicable, representation on the advisory panel shall include 
 emergency management personnel from rural, urban, 
 underrepresented, Tribal, and insular jurisdictions and 
 representatives of State or local governments with 
 responsibility for the financial or budgetary impact of 
 disasters.
            (c) Considerations.--In reviewing the process and procedures 
related to the determination of incident periods under subsection

    (a) , 
the advisory panel convened under such subsection shall consider the 
effectiveness of incident periods, including--

    (1) incident periods for slow on-set disasters;

    (2) incident periods for correlated non-contiguous 
 disasters;

    (3) incident periods for compound disasters; and

    (4) incident periods for cascading disasters.
            (d) Interim Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress, and 
make publicly available, a report regarding the findings of the review 
under this section that includes any recommendations of the advisory 
panel convened under subsection

    (a) , including additional legislation 
that may be necessary to address such findings.

    (e) Final Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a report discussing--

    (1) a summary of the findings of the advisory panel 
 convened under subsection

    (a) ;

    (2) the implementation of recommendations from such 
 advisory panel; and

    (3) any additional legislative recommendations necessary to 
 improve the effectiveness of incident periods.

    (f) Rulemaking.--Immediately following a 30 day congressional 
review period of the report described in subsection

    (e) , the 
Administrator shall begin a rulemaking to issue such regulations as are 
necessary to implement the recommendations of the advisory panel.

SEC. 3. MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency may, under 

section 203 and 404 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133 
and 5170c)--

    (1) consider innovative preparedness and mitigation 
 projects eligible for the purposes of mitigating impacts during 
 an extreme heat event, including stockpiling and installing 
 equipment for households, first responders, and public health 
 and health care systems and emergency voucher programs;

    (2) consider innovative preparedness and mitigation 
 projects eligible for the purposes of mitigating the impacts of 
 extreme cold; and

    (3) with respect to eligible uses of funds authorized, 
 provide, and issue relevant guidance, for the establishment and 
 function of--
        (A) community cooling centers; and
        (B) resilience centers.

    (b) Supplement Not Supplant.--Assistance provided under this 
section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other assistance 
provided under any other Act.
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Community cooling center.--The term ``community cooling 
 center'' means a public serving facility that provides an 
 environment for people to maintain a healthy body temperature 
 during an extreme heat event.

    (2) Resilience center.--The term ``resilience center'' 
 means a public serving facility with a hazard resistant design 
 with the purpose of programing, operations, and communication 
 to build community resilience before, during, and after 
 emergency events.

SEC. 4. GUIDANCE.

 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue 
guidance related to--

    (1) extreme temperature events, including heat waves and 
 freezes, and publish such guidance in the Federal Emergency 
 Management Agency Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide;

    (2) hazard mitigation, including eligibility criteria for 
 projects that primarily mitigate the impacts of extreme heat 
 and projects specified in 

section 3

    (a)

    (2) ; and

    (3) extreme heat for the purposes of hazard mitigation 
 planning under 

section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165), the 
 National Preparedness Course Catalog, National Disaster 
 Recovery Framework, National Response Recovery Framework, and 
 Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment.

SEC. 5. STUDY ON EXTREME HEAT AND COLD.

    (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 conduct a study to measure the impact of extreme heat and 
recommend guidance on mitigating and responding to extreme heat and 
cold.

    (b) Consultation.--In conducting the study required under 
subsection

    (a) , the Administrator shall consult with relevant 
stakeholders and the heads of other Federal agencies.
            (c) Content.--In conducting the study required under subsection

    (a) , the Administrator shall--

    (1) examine and consider solutions to address the impact of 
 extreme heat and cold on--
        (A) disadvantaged communities;
        (B) buildings, roads, utilities, power generation, 
 air conditioning units, and other relevant 
 infrastructure;
            (C) short- and long-term health outcomes; and
            (D) pets and livestock;

    (2) evaluate the geographical and regional differences in 
 the occurrence and impact of extreme heat and cold;

    (3) evaluate the effectiveness of emergency alerts and the 
 language used in such alerts to improve public safety during 
 extreme heat and cold events;

    (4) examine metrics for defining and communicating the 
 severity of an extreme heat and cold event;

    (5) examine the compounding effects and consequential risk 
 of extreme heat and cold and wildfire smoke;

    (6) recommend best practices for community education and 
 safety during extreme heat and cold events;

    (7) examine the impact extreme heat and cold to the health 
 and safety of the Federal Emergency Management Agency workforce 
 when responding to disasters;

    (8) develop guidance for first responder training protocol 
 for extreme heat and cold emergencies; and

    (9) recommend guidance for incorporating extreme heat and 
 cold into local and State government emergency management 
 preparedness plans.
            (d) Report to Congress.--Not less than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the 
Senate a report containing--

    (1) the results of study required under subsection

    (a) ; and

    (2) any additional recommendations for developing a 
 framework for mitigating and responding to extreme heat and 
 cold emergencies.
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