[House Report 112-712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-712
======================================================================
COMMUNITY SHELTER PROTECTION ACT OF 2011
_______
December 20, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Mica, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2919]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 2919) to eliminate the
reimbursement requirement for certain tornado shelters
constructed with Federal assistance, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 2
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory of Earmarks............................................. 4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................ 4
Preemption Clarification......................................... 4
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability of Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section by Section Analysis of Legislation....................... 5
Changes in Existing Law made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Community Shelter Protection Act of
2011''.
SEC. 2. NO REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRED FOR COVERED TORNADO SHELTER
FACILITIES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may not require an
educational institution to reimburse FEMA for the market value of a
covered temporary tornado shelter facility.
(b) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Covered temporary tornado shelter facility.--The term
``covered temporary tornado shelter facility'' means a
structure--
(A) designed to provide children protection from a
tornado; and
(B) constructed or acquired with Federal financial
assistance.
(2) Educational institution.--The term ``educational
institution'' means any elementary school or any secondary
school provided FEMA assistance pursuant to section 403 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5170b).
PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION
H.R. 2919 would eliminate the reimbursement requirement for
certain tornado shelters constructed with Federal assistance,
and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 2919, the Community Shelter Protection Act of 2011,
would eliminate the reimbursement requirement for certain
tornado shelters constructed with Federal assistance, and for
other purposes.
This bill addresses a problem with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) policy concerning temporary tornado
shelters for schools that were severely damaged by tornados
earlier this year. Under current FEMA regulations, elementary
and secondary schools are required to pay FEMA the fair market
value of a covered temporary tornado shelter facility when the
facility is no longer needed for its temporary purpose or pay
to have it disposed.
This legislation would prevent FEMA from requiring an
educational institution Public Assistance applicant to
reimburse FEMA for these shelters. This legislation fixes the
current policy that forces cash-strapped schools to choose
between purchasing a life-saving shelter or having it removed
or demolished, putting the safety of children at risk, while
wasting taxpayer funds to tear down a functioning shelter that
taxpayers have already paid to erect.
HEARINGS
No hearings were held on H.R. 2919.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION
On September 14, 2011, Congressman Spencer Bachus,
introduced H.R. 2919, the Community Shelter Protection Act of
2011. H.R. 2919 has eight co-sponsors.
On October 13, 2011, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure met in open session, and ordered the bill
reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a quorum
present.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives
requires each committee report to include the total number of
votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to
report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter,
and the names of those members voting for and against. There
were no record votes taken in connection with consideration of
H.R. 2919, or ordering the bill reported. A motion to order
H.R. 2919 reported favorably to the House was agreed to by
voice vote with a quorum present.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is
included in this report.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2919 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 31, 2011.
Hon. John L. Mica,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2919, a bill to
eliminate the reimbursement requirement for certain tornado
shelters constructed with federal assistance, and for other
purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel
Hoople.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2919--A bill to eliminate the reimbursement requirement for
certain tornado shelters constructed with federal assistance,
and for other purposes
H.R. 2919 would allow elementary and secondary schools to
retain temporary tornado shelters constructed using federal
funds without reimbursing the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). Enacting this legislation would affect direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be
insignificant for each year.
Under current law, schools receiving federal disaster
assistance may construct a temporary tornado shelter when a
pre-existing shelter has been damaged. Once the temporary
shelter is no longer in use, the property may be transferred
back to the federal government for disposal or retained by the
school for sale or use. If the shelter is retained by the
school, FEMA must be reimbursed in an amount equal to the sale
proceeds or market value, multiplied by the federal share of
construction costs (typically 75 percent).
H.R. 2919 would allow schools to retain a temporary tornado
shelter without reimbursing FEMA, thereby decreasing receipts
to the federal government (recorded as an increase in direct
spending). Based on information from FEMA, CBO estimates those
receipts will be insignificant over the next 10 years. Under
current law, proceeds from the disposal of temporary shelters
are available to provide future disaster assistance without
further appropriation action. Thus, a decrease in receipts from
property disposal also would reduce direct spending by an
equivalent amount, resulting in no net impact on the budget.
Because this legislation would reduce amounts available to
FEMA for disaster relief, additional appropriations to FEMA may
be necessary in the future. CBO estimates the cost of any
additional appropriations under this bill would be
insignificant in each year.
H.R. 2919 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to
eliminate the reimbursement requirement for certain tornado
shelters constructed with Federal assistance, and for other
purposes.
ADVISORY OF EARMARKS
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit,
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of
rule XXI.
FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the ``Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act'' (P.L. 104-4).
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 2919 does not
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY OF LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (P.L. 104-1).
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title as the Community
Shelter Protection Act of 2011.
Section 2. No reimbursement required for covered tornado shelter
facilities
This section prohibits FEMA from requiring an educational
institution Public Assistance applicant to reimburse FEMA for
the market value of a covered temporary tornado shelter
facility when the facility is no longer needed for its
temporary purpose. This section also establishes definitions
for a ``Covered Temporary Tornado Shelter'' and ``Educational
Institution.''
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H.R. 2919 makes no changes in existing law.