HURRICANE KATRINA AND HURRICANE RITA RECOVERY OFFICES.

SEC. 638. HURRICANE KATRINA AND HURRICANE RITA RECOVERY OFFICES.(a) Establishment.—In order to provide all eligible Federal assistance to individuals and State, local, and tribal governments affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in a customer-focused, expeditious, effective, and consistent manner, the Administrator shall establish, in coordination with the appropriate States, a recovery office. The Administrator may establish recovery offices for each of the following States, if necessary:(1) Mississippi.(2) Louisiana.(3) Alabama.(4) Texas.(b) Structure.—Each recovery office shall have an executive director, appointed by the Administrator, and a senior management team.(c) Responsibilities.—Each executive director, in coordination with State, local, and tribal governments, private sector entities, and nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based and other community humanitarian relief entities, shall provide assistance in a timely and effective manner to residents of the Gulf Coast region for recovering from Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.(d) Staffing.—(1) In general.—Each recovery office shall be staffed by multi-year term, temporary employees and permanent employees.(2) Staffing levels.—Staffing levels of a recovery office shall be commensurate with current and projected workload and shall be evaluated on a regular basis.(e) Performance Measures.—To ensure that each recovery office is meeting its objectives, the Administrator shall identify 120 STAT. 1423 performance measures that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed, including—(1) public assistance program project worksheet completion rates; and(2) public assistance reimbursement times.(f) Closeout Incentives.—The Administrator shall provide incentives for the timely closeout of public assistance projects under sections 406 and 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172 and 5173).(g) Termination.—Each recovery office shall terminate at the discretion of the Administrator.