H.R. 4455: SMART Rebuilding Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-11-21 · Emergency Management · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-11-21 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-10] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

SMART Rebuilding Act

Plain summary

Supporting Mitigation Activities and Resiliency Targets for Rebuilding Act or the SMART Rebuilding Act This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide incentives to invest in measures that increase readiness for, and resilience from, a major disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must issue comprehensive guidance on measures and investments that will be recognized for the purpose of increasing the federal share of disaster assistance. The bill authorizes the President to: (1) establish a National Public Infrastructure Predisaster Mitigation Fund which may be used for activities to implement design standards to protect the welfare of buildings' users against disasters, and (2) contribute to state and local governments for their associated expenses which shall include base and overtime wages for extra hires to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of adopted building codes for a period of not more than 180 days after the major disaster is declared. The President may contribute up to 75% of the cost of hazard mitigation measures determined to be cost-effective and which substantially reduce the risk of, or increase resilience to, future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a major disaster.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

SMART Rebuilding Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-10] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr4455.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr4455 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115