Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act
This bill extends the deadline by which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must (1) conduct a study and develop a plan under which the collection of information from disaster assistance applicants and grantees will be made less burdensome, duplicative, and time consuming for applicants and grantees; and (2) develop a plan for the regular collection and reporting of information on federal disaster assistance awarded.
Not later than two years after enactment of this bill, FEMA shall convene a working group on a regular basis to (among other things) identify (1) potential areas of duplication or fragmentation in preliminary damage assessments after disaster declarations; and (2) potential emerging technologies, such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (i.e., drones), to expedite the administration of preliminary damage assessments.
FEMA must submit a comprehensive report on the plans for streamlining and consolidating information collection and preliminary damage assessments and the findings and recommendations of the working group to Congress with a briefing. The report must be made available to the public and posted on FEMA's website.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1306 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1306
To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act to develop a study regarding
streamlining and consolidating information collection and preliminary
damage assessments, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 15, 2019
Mr. Meadows (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act to develop a study regarding
streamlining and consolidating information collection and preliminary
damage assessments, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Disaster Assistance
Coordination Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE INFORMATION COLLECTION AND
PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 1223 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act
of 2018 (Public Law 115-254) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 1223. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE INFORMATION COLLECTION
AND PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS.
``(a) Information Collection.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator, in coordination
with the Small Business Administration, the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the Disaster Assistance Working Group of the Council
of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and other
appropriate agencies, shall--
``(1) conduct a study and develop a plan, consistent with
law, under which the collection of information from disaster
assistance applicants and grantees will be modified,
streamlined, expedited, efficient, flexible, consolidated, and
simplified to be less burdensome, duplicative, and time
consuming for applicants and grantees; and
``(2) develop a plan for the regular collection and
reporting of information on Federal disaster assistance
awarded, including the establishment and maintenance of a
website for presenting the information to the public.
``(b) Preliminary Damage Assessments.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator, in
consultation with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity
and Efficiency, shall convene a working group on a regular basis with
the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator
of the Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Transportation,
the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and other
appropriate agencies as the Administrator considers necessary, to--
``(1) identify and describe the potential areas of
duplication or fragmentation in preliminary damage assessments
after disaster declarations;
``(2) determine the applicability of having one Federal
agency make the assessments for all agencies; and
``(3) identify potential emerging technologies, such as
Unmanned Aircraft Systems, consistent with the requirements
established in Public Law 115-87, to expedite the
administration of preliminary damage assessments.
``(c) Comprehensive Report.--The Administrator shall submit 1
comprehensive report that comprises the plans developed under
subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) and a report of the findings of the
working group convened under subsection (b), which may include
recommendations, to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(d) Public Availability.--The comprehensive report developed
under subsection (c) shall be made available to the public and posted
on the website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency--
``(1) in pre-compressed, easily downloadable versions that
are made available in all appropriate formats; and
``(2) in machine-readable format, if applicable.
``(e) Sources of Information.--In preparing the comprehensive
report, any publication, database, or web-based resource, and any
information compiled by any government agency, nongovernmental
organization, or other entity that is made available may be used.
``(f) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after submission of the
comprehensive report, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, or a designee, and a member of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or a designee, shall
brief, upon request, the appropriate congressional committees on the
findings and any recommendations made in the comprehensive report.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--The item relating to section 1223 in the
table of contents of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (Public
Law 115-254) is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1223. Study to streamline and consolidate information collection
and preliminary damage assessments.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Discharged.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 116-145.
Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 116-145.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 107.
Mr. DeFazio moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8484-8487)
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DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1306.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H8485)
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H8485)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.