§5204b. Technical assistance for insular areas

(a) Upon the declaration by the President of a disaster in an insular area, the President, acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall assess, in cooperation with the Secretary and chief executive of such insular area, the capability of the insular government to respond to the disaster, including the capability to assess damage; coordinate activities with Federal agencies, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency; develop recovery plans, including recommendations for enhancing the survivability of essential infrastructure; negotiate and manage reconstruction contracts; and prevent the misuse of funds. If the President finds that the insular government lacks any of these or other capabilities essential to the recovery effort, then the President shall provide technical assistance to the insular area which the President deems necessary for the recovery effort.

(b) One year following the declaration by the President of a disaster in an insular area, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall submit to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources a report on the status of the recovery effort, including an audit of Federal funds expended in the recovery effort and recommendations on how to improve public health and safety, survivability of infrastructure, recovery efforts, and effective use of funds in the event of future disasters.

( Pub. L. 102–247, title II, §203, Feb. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 37 ; Pub. L. 103–437, §15(p), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4594 .)

Codification

Section was enacted as part of the Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1992, and not as part of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

1994-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–437 substituted "House Committee on Natural Resources" for "House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs".

Change of Name

Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Resources of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 5204 of this title.