42 U.S.C. § 5165f — National Urban Search and Rescue Re-

Page 6386 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5165f (3) clarify Agency guidance and minimum documentation requirements for a direct ad- ministrative cost claimed by a grantee or sub- grantee of a public assistance grant program. (b) Congressional update Not later than 90 days after February 29, 2016, the Administrator shall brief the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- tation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- resentatives on the plan required to be devel- oped under subsection (a)(1). (c) Updates If the Administrator modifies the plan or the timetable under subsection (a), the Adminis- trator shall submit to the Committee on Home- land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa- tives a report notifying Congress of the modi- fication, which shall include the details of the modification. (Pub. L. 114–132, § 3, Feb. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 294.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015, and not as part of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- sistance Act which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries REPORTING REQUIREMENT Pub. L. 114–132, § 4, Feb. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 294, provided that: ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than November 30 of each year for 7 years beginning on the date of enact- ment of this Act [Feb. 29, 2016], the Administrator shall submit to Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- resentatives a report on the development and imple- mentation of the integrated plan required under sec- tion 3 [42 U.S.C. 5165e] for the previous fiscal year. ‘‘(b) REPORT UPDATES.— ‘‘(1) THREE YEAR UPDATE.—Not later than 3 years after the date on which the Administrator submits a report under subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit an updated report for the previous 3-fiscal- year period. ‘‘(2) FIVE YEAR UPDATE.—Not later than 5 years after the date on which the Administrator submits a report under subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit an updated report for the previous 5-fiscal- year period. ‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—Each report required under subsections (a) and (b) shall contain, at a min- imum— ‘‘(1) the total amount spent on administrative costs for the fiscal year period for which the report is being submitted; ‘‘(2) the average annual percentage of administra- tive costs for the fiscal year period for which the re- port is being submitted; ‘‘(3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the plan developed under section 3(a)(1) [42 U.S.C. 5165e(a)(1)]; ‘‘(4) an analysis of— ‘‘(A) whether the Agency is achieving the stra- tegic goals established under section 3(a)(1)(C) [42 U.S.C. 5165e(a)(1)(C)]; and ‘‘(B) in the case of the Agency not achieving such strategic goals, what is preventing the Agency from doing so; ‘‘(5) any actions the Agency has identified as useful in improving upon and reaching the goals for admin- istrative costs established under section 3(a)(1)(C); and ‘‘(6) any data described in section 3(a)(2) [42 U.S.C. 5165e(a)(2)], if the Agency determines it is feasible to track such data. ‘‘(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator submits a report to Congress under this section, the Adminis- trator shall make the report publicly available on the website of the Agency.’’ DEFINITIONS Pub. L. 114–132, § 2, Feb. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 293, provided that: ‘‘In this Act [see Short Title of 2016 Amendment note set out under section 5121 of this title]— ‘‘(1) the term ‘administrative cost’— ‘‘(A) means a cost incurred by the Agency in sup- port of the delivery of disaster assistance for a major disaster; and ‘‘(B) does not include a cost incurred by a grantee or subgrantee; ‘‘(2) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Adminis- trator of the Agency; ‘‘(3) the term ‘Agency’ means the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency; ‘‘(4) the term ‘direct administrative cost’ means a cost incurred by a grantee or subgrantee of a program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) that can be identified separately and assigned to a specific project; ‘‘(5) the term ‘hazard mitigation program’ means the hazard mitigation grant program authorized under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c); ‘‘(6) the term ‘individual assistance program’ means the individual assistance grant program authorized under sections 408, 410, 415, 416, 426, and 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174, 5177, 5182, 5183, 5189d, and 5192(a)); ‘‘(7) the term ‘major disaster’ means a major dis- aster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); ‘‘(8) the term ‘mission assignment’ has the meaning given the term in section 641 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 741); and ‘‘(9) the term ‘public assistance program’ means the public assistance grant program authorized under sections 403(a)(3), 406, 418, 419, 428, and 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)(3), 5172, 5185, 5186, 5189f, and 5192(a)).’’ § 5165f. National Urban Search and Rescue Re- sponse System (a) Definitions In this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Administrator The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- ministrator of the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency. (2) Agency The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (3) Hazard The term ‘‘hazard’’ has the meaning given the term in section 5195a of this title. Page 6387 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5165f (4) Nonemployee System member The term ‘‘nonemployee System member’’ means a System member not employed by a sponsoring agency or participating agency. (5) Participating agency The term ‘‘participating agency’’ means a State or local government, nonprofit organiza- tion, or private organization that has executed an agreement with a sponsoring agency to par- ticipate in the System. (6) Sponsoring agency The term ‘‘sponsoring agency’’ means a State or local government that is the sponsor of a task force designated by the Adminis- trator to participate in the System. (7) System The term ‘‘System’’ means the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System to be administered under this section. (8) System member The term ‘‘System member’’ means an indi- vidual who is not a full-time employee of the Federal Government and who serves on a task force or on a System management or other technical team. (9) Task force The term ‘‘task force’’ means an urban search and rescue team designated by the Ad- ministrator to participate in the System. (b) General authority Subject to the requirements of this section, the Administrator shall continue to administer the emergency response system known as the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System. (c) Functions In administering the System, the Adminis- trator shall provide for a national network of standardized search and rescue resources to as- sist States and local governments in responding to hazards. (d) Task forces (1) Designation The Administrator shall designate task forces to participate in the System. The Ad- ministration shall determine the criteria for such participation. (2) Sponsoring agencies Each task force shall have a sponsoring agency. The Administrator shall enter into an agreement with the sponsoring agency with respect to the participation of each task force in the System. (3) Composition (A) Participating agencies A task force may include, at the discretion of the sponsoring agency, one or more par- ticipating agencies. The sponsoring agency shall enter into an agreement with each par- ticipating agency with respect to the par- ticipation of the participating agency on the task force. (B) Other individuals A task force may also include, at the dis- cretion of the sponsoring agency, other indi- viduals not otherwise associated with the sponsoring agency or a participating agency. The sponsoring agency of a task force may enter into a separate agreement with each such individual with respect to the partici- pation of the individual on the task force. (e) Management and technical teams The Administrator shall maintain such man- agement teams and other technical teams as the Administrator determines are necessary to ad- minister the System. (f) Appointment of System members into Federal service (1) In general The Administrator may appoint a System member into Federal service for a period of service to provide for the participation of the System member in exercises, preincident stag- ing, major disaster and emergency response activities, and training events sponsored or sanctioned by the Administrator. (2) Nonapplicability of certain civil service laws The Administrator may make appointments under paragraph (1) without regard to the pro- visions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service. (3) Relationship to other authorities The authority of the Administrator to make appointments under this subsection shall not affect any other authority of the Adminis- trator under this chapter. (4) Limitation A System member who is appointed into Federal service under paragraph (1) shall not be considered an employee of the United States for purposes other than those specifi- cally set forth in this section. (g) Compensation (1) Pay of System members Subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator may impose by regulation, the Administrator shall make payments to the sponsoring agency of a task force— (A) to reimburse each employer of a Sys- tem member on the task force for compensa- tion paid by the employer to the System member for any period during which the System member is appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1); and (B) to make payments directly to a non- employee System member on the task force for any period during which the non- employee System member is appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). (2) Reimbursement for employees filling posi- tions of System members (A) In general Subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator may impose by regula- tion, the Administrator shall make pay- ments to the sponsoring agency of a task force to be used to reimburse each employer of a System member on the task force for compensation paid by the employer to an Page 6388 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5165f 1 See References in Text note below. employee filling a position normally filled by the System member for any period during which the System member is appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). (B) Limitation Costs incurred by an employer shall be eli- gible for reimbursement under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that the costs are in excess of the costs that would have been in- curred by the employer had the System member not been appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). (3) Method of payment A System member shall not be entitled to pay directly from the Agency for a period dur- ing which the System member is appointed into Federal Service under subsection (f)(1). (h) Personal injury, illness, disability, or death (1) In general A System member who is appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1) and who suffers personal injury, illness, disability, or death as a result of a personal injury sustained while acting in the scope of such appointment, shall, for the purposes of subchapter I of chap- ter 81 of title 5, be treated as though the mem- ber were an employee (as defined by section 8101 of that title) who had sustained the injury in the performance of duty. (2) Election of benefits (A) In general A System member (or, in the case of the death of the System member, the System member’s dependent) who is entitled under paragraph (1) to receive benefits under sub- chapter I of chapter 81 of title 5 by reason of personal injury, illness, disability, or death, and to receive benefits from a State or local government by reason of the same personal injury, illness, disability or death shall elect to— (i) receive benefits under such sub- chapter; or (ii) receive benefits from the State or local government. (B) Deadline A System member or dependent shall make an election of benefits under subpara- graph (A) not later than 1 year after the date of the personal injury, illness, disability, or death that is the reason for the benefits, or until such later date as the Secretary of Labor may allow for reasonable cause shown. (C) Effect of election An election of benefits made under this paragraph is irrevocable unless otherwise provided by law. (3) Reimbursement for State or local benefits Subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator may impose by regulation, if a System member or dependent elects to receive benefits from a State or local government under paragraph (2)(A), the Administrator shall reimburse the State or local government for the value of the benefits. (4) Public safety officer claims Nothing in this subsection shall be con- strued to bar any claim by, or with respect to, any System member who is a public safety of- ficer, as defined in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 [34 U.S.C. 10284], for any benefits au- thorized under part L of title I of that Act (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.).1 (i) Liability A System member appointed into Federal service under subsection (f)(1), while acting within the scope of the appointment, shall be considered to be an employee of the Federal Government under section 1346(b) of title 28 and chapter 171 of that title, relating to tort claims procedure. (j) Employment and reemployment rights With respect to a System member who is not a regular full-time employee of a sponsoring agency or participating agency, the following terms and conditions apply: (1) Service Service as a System member shall be consid- ered to be ‘‘service in the uniformed services’’ for purposes of chapter 43 of title 38 relating to employment and reemployment rights of indi- viduals who have performed service in the uni- formed services (regardless of whether the in- dividual receives compensation for such par- ticipation). All rights and obligations of such persons and procedures for assistance, enforce- ment, and investigation shall be as provided for in such chapter. (2) Preclusion Preclusion of giving notice of service by ne- cessity of appointment under this section shall be considered to be preclusion by ‘‘mili- tary necessity’’ for purposes of section 4312(b) of title 38 pertaining to giving notice of ab- sence from a position of employment. A deter- mination of such necessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall not be subject to judicial review. (k) Licenses and permits If a System member holds a valid license, cer- tificate, or other permit issued by any State or other governmental jurisdiction evidencing the member’s qualifications in any professional, me- chanical, or other skill or type of assistance re- quired by the System, the System member is deemed to be performing a Federal activity when rendering aid involving such skill or as- sistance during a period of appointment into Federal service under subsection (f)(1). (l) Preparedness cooperative agreements Subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Administrator shall enter into an annual preparedness cooperative agree- ment with each sponsoring agency. Amounts made available to a sponsoring agency under such a preparedness cooperative agreement shall be for the following purposes: (1) Training and exercises, including train- ing and exercises with other Federal, State, and local government response entities. Page 6389 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5170 (2) Acquisition and maintenance of equip- ment, including interoperable communica- tions and personal protective equipment. (3) Medical monitoring required for re- sponder safety and health in anticipation of and following a major disaster, emergency, or other hazard, as determined by the Adminis- trator. (m) Response cooperative agreements The Administrator shall enter into a response cooperative agreement with each sponsoring agency, as appropriate, under which the Admin- istrator agrees to reimburse the sponsoring agency for costs incurred by the sponsoring agency in responding to a major disaster or emergency. (n) Obligations The Administrator may incur all necessary obligations consistent with this section in order to ensure the effectiveness of the System. (o) Equipment maintenance and replacement Not later than 180 days after December 16, 2016, the Administrator shall submit to the ap- propriate congressional committees (as defined in section 101 of title 6) a report on the develop- ment of a plan, including implementation steps and timeframes, to finance, maintain, and re- place System equipment. (p) Federal employees Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that a task force may not include Federal employees. In the case of a Federal employee de- tailed to a task force, the sponsoring agency shall enter into an agreement with the relevant employing Federal agency. (Pub. L. 93–288, title III, § 327, as added Pub. L. 114–326, § 2(a), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1968; amend- ed Pub. L. 116–48, § 1, Aug. 22, 2019, 133 Stat. 1071.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (f)(3), 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 sec- tion 5121 of this title and Tables. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, referred to in subsec. (h)(4), is Pub. L. 90–351, June 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 197. Part L of title I of the Act was classified generally to part A (§ 3796 et seq.) of sub- chapter XII of chapter 46 of this title, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as subchapter XI (§ 10281 et seq.) of chapter 101 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1968 Act note set out under section 10101 of Title 34 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (p). Pub. L. 116–48 added subsec. (p). § 5165g. National veterinary emergency teams (a) In general The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may establish one or more national veterinary emergency teams at accred- ited colleges of veterinary medicine. (b) Responsibilities A national veterinary emergency team shall— (1) deploy with a team of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System to assist with— (A) veterinary care of canine search teams; (B) locating and treating companion ani- mals, service animals, livestock, and other animals; and (C) surveillance and treatment of zoonotic diseases; (2) recruit, train, and certify veterinary pro- fessionals, including veterinary students, in accordance with an established set of plans and standard operating guidelines to carry out the duties associated with planning for and re- sponding to major disasters and emergencies as described in paragraph (1); (3) assist State governments, Indian tribal governments, local governments, and non- profit organizations in developing emergency management and evacuation plans that ac- count for the care and rescue of animals and in improving local readiness for providing veteri- nary medical response during an emergency or major disaster; and (4) coordinate with the Department of Home- land Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agri- culture, State, local, and Indian tribal govern- ments (including departments of animal and human health), veterinary and health care professionals, and volunteers. (Pub. L. 115–254, div. D, § 1218, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3452.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 and as part of the FAA Reauthoriza- tion Act of 2018, and not as part of the Robert T. Staf- ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Authorities provided under div. D of Pub. L. 115–254, which enacted this section, applicable to each major disaster and emergency declared by the President under Pub. L. 93–288 on or after Jan. 1, 2016, except as otherwise provided, see section 1202(b) of Pub. L. 115–254, set out in an Effective Date of 2018 Amendment note under section 5121 of this title. DEFINITIONS For definition of ‘‘State’’ as used in this section, see section 1203 of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under section 5122 of this title. SUBCHAPTER IV—MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS § 5170. Procedure for declaration (a) In general All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State. Such a request shall be based on a finding that the disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective re- sponse is beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local governments and that