42 U.S.C. § 5189c — Transportation assistance to individuals

Page 6421 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5189d in order to facilitate an efficient recovery from major disasters, the Administrator shall establish proce- dures under which an applicant may request the use of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitra- tion by an independent review panel, to resolve dis- putes relating to eligible assistance. ‘‘(2) BINDING EFFECT.—A decision by an independent review panel under this section shall be binding upon the parties to the dispute. ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The procedures established under this section shall— ‘‘(A) allow a party of a dispute relating to eligible assistance to request an independent review panel for the review; ‘‘(B) require a party requesting an independent review panel as described in subparagraph (A) to agree to forgo rights to any further appeal of the dispute relating to any eligible assistance; ‘‘(C) require that the sponsor of an independent review panel for any alternative dispute resolution under this section be— ‘‘(i) an individual or entity unaffiliated with the dispute (which may include a Federal agency, an administrative law judge, or a reemployed annu- itant who was an employee of the Federal Gov- ernment) selected by the Administrator; and ‘‘(ii) responsible for identifying and maintain- ing an adequate number of independent experts qualified to review and resolve disputes under this section; ‘‘(D) require an independent review panel to— ‘‘(i) resolve any remaining disputed issue in ac- cordance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Agency interpretations of those laws through its published policies and guidance; ‘‘(ii) consider only evidence contained in the ad- ministrative record, as it existed at the time at which the Agency made its initial decision; ‘‘(iii) only set aside a decision of the Agency found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of dis- cretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; and ‘‘(iv) in the case of a finding of material fact ad- verse to the claimant made on first appeal, only set aside or reverse such finding if the finding is clearly erroneous; ‘‘(E) require an independent review panel to expe- ditiously issue a written decision for any alter- native dispute resolution under this section; and ‘‘(F) direct that if an independent review panel for any alternative dispute resolution under this section determines that the basis upon which a party submits a request for alternative dispute res- olution is frivolous, the independent review panel shall direct the party to pay the reasonable costs to the Federal Emergency Management Agency relat- ing to the review by the independent review panel. Any funds received by the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency under the authority of this section shall be deposited to the credit of the appropriation or appropriations available for the eligible assist- ance in dispute on the date on which the funds are received. ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—A request for review by an independent review panel under this section may not be made after December 31, 2015.’’ § 5189b. Date of eligibility; expenses incurred be- fore date of disaster Eligibility for Federal assistance under this subchapter shall begin on the date of the occur- rence of the event which results in a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists; except that reasonable expenses which are in- curred in anticipation of and immediately pre- ceding such event may be eligible for Federal as- sistance under this chapter. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 424, as added Pub. L. 100–707, title I, § 106(l), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4706.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of this title and Tables. § 5189c. Transportation assistance to individuals and households The President may provide transportation as- sistance to relocate individuals displaced from their predisaster primary residences as a result of an incident declared under this chapter or otherwise transported from their predisaster primary residences under section 5170b(a)(3) or 5192 of this title, to and from alternative loca- tions for short or long-term accommodation or to return an individual or household to their predisaster primary residence or alternative lo- cation, as determined necessary by the Presi- dent. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 425, as added Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 689f, Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1452.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of this title and Tables. CODIFICATION Another section 425 of Pub. L. 93–288 was renumbered section 427 and is classified to section 5189e of this title. § 5189d. Case management services (a) In general The President may provide case management services, including financial assistance, to State or local government agencies or qualified pri- vate organizations to provide such services, to victims of major disasters to identify and ad- dress unmet needs. (b) Training Each State, local government agency, or qualified private organization providing profes- sional counseling services described in sub- section (a) shall ensure that any individual pro- viding case management services to victims of a major disaster as authorized under subsection (a), including individuals working for nonprofit partners and recovery organizations, is appro- priately trained to address impacts from major disasters in communities, and to individuals, with socio-economically disadvantaged back- grounds. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 426, as added Pub. L. 109–295, title VI, § 689f, Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1453; amended Pub. L. 117–251, § 8(a), Dec. 20, 2022, 136 Stat. 2357.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Pub. L. 117–251 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).