The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Sept. 18 approved two Federal Emergency Management Agency bills backed by the American Public Power Association.
These include H.R. 2672, the FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act and H.R. 9541, the Promoting Opportunities to Widen Electrical Resilience Act of 2024 (POWER Act of 2024).
APPA and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association on Sept. 17 sent a letter to Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Committee Ranking Democrat Rick Larsen (D-WA) expressing support for the bills.
The FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act was introduced in the House in April 2023 by Representatives Neal Dunn (R-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), and Garret Graves (R-LA) and in the Senate as S. 1180 by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL).
It would require FEMA to reimburse public power utilities, other local governmental entities, and rural electric cooperatives for interest expenses on loans to cover costs that will eventually be repaid by FEMA. Interest is capped at the actual amount paid, or interest that would have been paid at the prime rate. Interest incurred up to seven years prior to date of enactment is eligible.
APPA has long backed the FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act, joining the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, Government Finance Officers Association, National Special Districts Coalition, and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in urging the Committee to consider the bill.
The POWER Act was introduced last week by Representatives Val Hoyle (D-OR) and Mike Ezell (R-MS) and would amend the essential assistance provisions of the Stafford Act to:
- Allow an electric utility to receive assistance for carrying out “cost-effective hazard mitigation activities” in combination with power restoration activities; and
- Provide that an electric utility which receives assistance for emergency power restoration is not precluded from receiving subsequent hazard mitigation assistance for that equipment.
In a letter in support of its introduction, APPA President & CEO Scott Corwin said the bill “will help communities recover from disasters as quickly as possible while also helping them make investments that will reduce the chance of needing further assistance in the future.”
In addition, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure also approved H.R. 6997, the Disaster Contract Improvement Act.
The bill directs FEMA to establish debris removal advisory working group to “encourage and foster collaborative efforts among individuals and entities engaged in disaster recovery relating to debris removal.”
It also requires:
- FEMA to conduct outreach to states, tribal governments, and local governments with respect to any guidance or support materials developed by the working group; and
- The Government Accountability Office to conduct a study that, among other things, examines the use and adoption rate of advance contracts for debris removal by states, tribal governments, and local governments.
The bills next head to the House floor with a hoped-for vote sometime this year.
