[Senate Report 115-158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 222
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-158
______________________________________________________________________
TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
AGENCY TO SUBMIT A REPORT REGARDING
CERTAIN PLANS REGARDING ASSISTANCE
TO APPLICANTS AND GRANTEES DURING
THE RESPONSE TO THE EMERGENCY OR DISASTER
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
H.R. 1117
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 18, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2017
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
Natalie F. Enclade, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Inspector General Detailee
Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
Stacia M. Cardille, Minority Chief Counsel
Charles A. Moskowitz, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel
Sue Ramanathan, Minority Counsel
Daniel J. Webb, Minority U.S. Government Accountability Office Detailee
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 222
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-158
======================================================================
TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
TO SUBMIT A REPORT REGARDING CERTAIN PLANS REGARDING ASSISTANCE TO
APPLICANTS AND GRANTEES DURING THE RESPONSE TO THE EMERGENCY OR
DISASTER
_______
September 18, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1117]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 1117) to require
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
submit a report regarding certain plans regarding assistance to
applicants and grantees during the response to the emergency or
disaster, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported.............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 1117 requires the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit a report regarding
certain plans to assist applicants and grantees during the
response to an emergency or disaster. The legislation would
require the report to include specific plans for providing
applicants and grantees with consistent guidance on disaster
funding procedures and accurate assistance to ease the
administrative burden. Additionally, the legislation would
require FEMA to include in the report a plan to effectively
maintain records related to disaster funding and to identify
technologies that would assist individuals, organizations, and
communities when recovering from major disasters.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Disaster response and recovery workforce
A Presidential disaster declaration triggers certain
Federal response authorities and financial disaster assistance.
FEMA utilizes a reservist workforce\1\ and Cadre of On-Call
Response and Recovery Employees (COREs)\2\ to make up the
disaster workforce. Reservists are incident management
responders authorized through the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act).\3\ These
employees are ``temporary, intermittent employees'' and can be
``deploy[ed] to perform disaster field activities directly
related to specific disasters, emergencies, projects, or
activities of a non-continuous nature.''\4\ FEMA COREs are also
temporary employees. Although they are time-limited, they ``may
be renewed if there is ongoing disaster work and funding is
available.''\5\ This workforce provides services at FEMA
headquarters, regional offices, and disaster Joint Field
Offices.
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\1\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Introduction to the
Reservist Program, https://www.fema.gov/reservist-program (last updated
Apr. 28, 2017).
\2\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cadre of On-Call Response/
Recovery, https://careers.fema.gov/cadre-call-responserecovery (last
visited July 31, 2017).
\3\Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act,
Pub. L. No. 100-707 (1988).
\4\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Introduction to the
Reservist Program, https://www.fema.gov/reservist-program (last updated
Apr. 28, 2017).
\5\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cadre of On-Call Response/
Recovery, https://careers.fema.gov/cadre-call-responserecovery (last
visited July 31, 2017).
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Improving field transitions by requiring consistent guidance
While FEMA has implemented several new technologies for its
full time managers and staff, the temporary staff has not had
the benefit of the same efforts. The Department of Homeland
Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government
Accountability Office have reported on the challenges that
FEMA's disaster workforce face.\6\ For example, some reservists
continue to deploy to disasters without the knowledge, skills,
and training they need to assist survivors effectively.\7\ In
the immediate aftermath of the 2016 flooding in Louisiana,
mayors voiced their frustration that FEMA was inept,
inconsistent, and disorganized.\8\ It was apparent that FEMA
staff lacked training and knowledge about rules and
regulations. One Mayor stated that it was ``common knowledge
that your first interaction with a FEMA employee is more than
likely to be your last with that same employee.''\9\ Loss of
paperwork and inconsistent guidance through workforce
transitions creates project delays, increases administrative
costs, and in some instances, increases the risk of losing
recovery funding because of improper documentation.\10\
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\6\See, e.g., Dep't. of Homeland Security Office of Inspector
General, OIG-16-127-D, FEMA Can Enhance Readiness of its Disaster
Incident Workforce (Sept. 2, 2016), https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/
GrantReports/2016/OIG-16-127-D-Sep16.pdf [hereinafter OIG-16-127];
Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-15-437, Federal Emergency Management
Agency: Additional Planning and Data Collection Could Help Improve
Workforce Management Efforts (July 2015), http://www.gao.gov/products/
GAO-15-437.
\7\OIG-16-127, supra note 6 at 4.
\8\Oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Response
to the Baton Rouge Flood Disaster: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On
Governmental Oversight, 114th Cong. (2016) (statement of I. M. Shelton,
Mayor, Central, Louisiana at 1) available at https://
oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-09-Mayor-
Shelton-Central-LA-Testimony.pdf [hereinafter Shelton Statement];
Oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Response to the
Baton Rouge Flood Disaster: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Governmental
Oversight, 114th Cong. (2016) (statement of Gerard Landy, Mayor, Denham
Springs, Louisiana) available at https://oversight.house.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-09-Mayor-Landry-Denham-Springs-
Testimony-.pdf.
\9\Shelton Statement, supra note 8 at 1.
\10\See e.g., Dep't. of Homeland Sec. Office of Inspector General,
OIG-17-13-D, Summary and Key Findings of Fiscal Year 2015 FEMA Disaster
Grant and Program Audits 3 (Nov. 29, 2016), https://www.oig.dhs.gov/
sites/default/files/assets/2017/OIG-17-13-D-Dec16.pdf.
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H.R. 1117 requires the FEMA Administrator to create an
action plan to help ease the burdens for disaster victims
during transitions of temporary employees. The intent of this
legislation is to improve the efficiency of the response and
recovery temporary staff by forcing FEMA to articulate a plan
of action to address the challenges and weaknesses of temporary
staff. Ultimately, this will allow for greater coordination and
less risk of projects languishing due to botched transition
from one temporary disaster employee to another.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Representative Vicki Hartzler (R-MO) introduced H.R. 1117
on February 16, 2017. The bill passed the House on March 27,
2017, by a vote of 408-0.
The Act was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered H.R. 1117 at
a business meeting on July 26, 2017. The Committee favorably
reported the Act by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for
the vote were Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Daines, McCaskill,
Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Action plan to improve field transition
Subsection (a) requires the Administrator of FEMA to submit
a report containing plans for providing consistent guidance to
applicants on FEMA disaster funding procedures during the
response to an emergency or disaster within 90 days of passage.
Additionally, the report shall outline how FEMA will conduct
appropriate record maintenance and document transfers to new
teams during staff transitions and how FEMA will provide
accurate assistance to applicants and grantees to ease the
administrative burden throughout the assistance process.
Subsection (b) requires the report to also include a plan
for how FEMA will implement operating procedures and
documenting retention requirements so disaster victims can
ensure records are appropriately maintained throughout the
lifecycle of the emergency or disaster.
Subsection (c) requires the report to identify new
technologies to aid the disaster workforce in partnership with
state, local, and tribal governments to educate, assist, and
inform applicants of the status of their applications and
projects.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this Act and determined
that the Act will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the Act contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
August 4, 2017.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1117, an act to
require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans regarding
assistance to applicants and grantees during the response to an
emergency or disaster.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1117--An act to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans
regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the
response to an emergency or disaster
H.R. 1117 would require the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to submit a report to the Congress on the
agency's plans to provide consistent and accurate guidance and
assistance to applicants for disaster funding. The act also
would require FEMA to include in the report a plan to
effectively maintain records related to disaster funding and to
identify technologies that would assist individuals,
organizations, and communities when recovering from major
disasters.
Based on information provided by FEMA, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 1117 would cost less than $500,000 in 2018;
such spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 1117 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 1117 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1117 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
On March 6, 2017, CBO transmitted an estimate for H.R.
1117, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure on February 28, 2017. The two
versions of the legislation are similar and CBO's estimates of
their costs are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would not make changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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