No person in the United States shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this subchapter. Any prohibition against discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 [42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.] or with respect to an otherwise qualified handicapped individual as provided in section 794 of title 29 shall also apply to any such program or activity. The Secretary may waive this section in connection with the use of funds made available under this subchapter on lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108).

The Secretary shall ensure that each participating jurisdiction, and each jurisdiction seeking to become a participating jurisdiction, complies with the requirements of section 12707 of this title.

The consent of the Congress is hereby given to any two or more States to enter into agreements or compacts, not in conflict with any law of the United States, for cooperative efforts and mutual assistance in support of activities authorized under this subchapter as they pertain to interstate areas and to localities within such States, and to establish such agencies, joint or otherwise, as they may deem desirable for making such agreements and compacts effective.

For funds designated under this subchapter by a recipient to address the damage in an area for which the President has declared a disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act [42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.], the Secretary may suspend all statutory requirements for purposes of assistance under this subchapter for that area, except for those related to public notice of funding availability, nondiscrimination, fair housing, labor standards, environmental standards, and low-income housing affordability.