# Plain Language Summary: Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act of 2024

When a major disaster strikes—like a hurricane, flood, or earthquake—the federal government steps in to help communities rebuild. This bill makes several changes to how that recovery process works, mostly by removing obstacles that can slow things down and creating a new system to review what works and what doesn't.

The bill tackles three main problems. First, it temporarily suspends two federal rules that can complicate disaster recovery. The Jones Act, which normally requires ships carrying cargo to U.S. ports to be American-built and American-operated, can be waived for 180 days after a disaster so foreign vessels can help deliver relief supplies faster. The Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors to pay workers a certain wage on federal projects, won't apply to disaster repair work. These changes are meant to speed up recovery by reducing red tape and costs. Second, the bill creates an "Emergency Recovery Board" that must be set up within 30 days of each major disaster. This board brings together federal officials from transportation, homeland security, and housing agencies, along with state and local leaders, to identify what's blocking recovery efforts. They'll produce two reports: one within 30 days identifying immediate barriers the government can remove, and another within 90 days recommending longer-term legislative or regulatory changes to improve future disaster responses.

Finally, the bill allows the federal government to install planned technology upgrades when rebuilding damaged facilities after a disaster. If a facility had already scheduled a technological improvement before the disaster happened, that upgrade can be installed during the repair process. This means communities can modernize infrastructure while rebuilding rather than simply restoring things to how they were before.