[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4442-S4443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Boozman):
  S. 2779. A bill to amend the Public Works and Economic Development 
Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office 
of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Office of 
Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act. This legislation would better 
equip and formalize the Economic Development Administration's role in 
post-disaster economic recovery.

[[Page S4443]]

  EDA has a long history of supporting disaster recovery and resilience 
efforts and is uniquely positioned to coordinate Federal support due to 
its network of partners in impacted communities. EDA's role in disaster 
recovery is to facilitate the timely and effective delivery of Federal 
economic development assistance to support near- and long-term 
community economic recovery planning and project implementation, 
redevelopment, and resilience.
  This bill would establish a dedicated Office of Disaster Recovery and 
Resilience at EDA to coordinate the Agency's post-disaster economic 
recovery activities, create a disaster team for the deployment of 
individuals to carry out such activities after a disaster or emergency 
declaration, and require 100 Percent Federal cost share for major 
disaster recovery projects.
  EDA currently serves as the coordinating Agency for the Economic 
Recovery Support Function, ERSF, under the Federal Government's 
National Disaster Recovery Framework, NDRF. In this capacity, EDA 
provides leadership, coordination, and oversight for primary and 
support Agencies for the provision of grants, loans, training, and 
other forms of assistance to support economic recovery efforts in 
disaster-impacted communities and regions.
  Congress has relied on the Agency to implement economic recovery 
activities since the 1990s, providing a total of $3.2 billion in 
supplemental funding for EDA's disaster relief and economic resiliency 
efforts for natural disasters--most recently in calendar years 2017, 
2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The Agency also received billion in 
additional funding tor COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts.
  Yet, EDA's role in disaster assistance has never been formalized. 
Having a dedicated bureau or office to direct and implement the 
economic recovery support function activities of the Agency could 
expedite deployment of resources and improve service delivery to 
communities by retaining institutional knowledge that can translate 
between communities, preserving leadership at the Agency, and deploying 
staff and funds more rapidly.
  I thank Senator Boozman for introducing this important legislation 
with me in the Senate. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in 
supporting this bill for the long-term economic strength and resilience 
of our communities.
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