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Calendar No. 313
114th Congress } { Report
1st Session } SENATE { 114-173
_______________________________________________________________________
DIRECTING DOLLARS TO DISASTER RELIEF ACT OF 2015
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 2109
TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED PLAN TO
REDUCE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS UNDER THE ROBERT T.
STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
December 7, 2015.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2015
59-010
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
BEN SASSE, Nebraska
Keith B. Ashdown, Staff Director
Christopher R. Hixon, Chief Counsel
Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Deputy Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Drew C. Baney, Professional Staff Member
Gabrielle A. Batkin, Minority Staff Director
John P. Kilvington, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel
Brian B. Turbyfill, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 313
114th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 114-173
======================================================================
DIRECTING DOLLARS TO DISASTER RELIEF ACT OF 2015
_______
December 7, 2015.--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 S. 2109]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2109) to direct the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
develop an integrated plan to reduce administrative costs under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that
the bill, as amended, 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......................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 2109, the Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of
2015, seeks to control and reduce rising administrative costs
for major disasters by requiring the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop and
implement a plan to control and reduce its internal
administrative costs for major disasters. To ensure the plan is
effective, the bill requires FEMA to review progress toward
agency established goals, and to report its findings for each
fiscal year (FY) to Congress.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
FEMA is the primary provider of Federal assistance in
response to major disasters. Through funding from the Disaster
Relief Fund (DRF), FEMA administers major disaster recovery and
relief funds through grant programs. From FY 2004 through FY
2013, FEMA administered $95.2 billion for 650 declared major
disasters.\1\
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\1\U.S. Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-15-65, Federal Emergency
Management Agency: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Oversight of
Administrative Costs for Major Disasters 12 (2014), available at http:/
/www.gao.gov/assets/670/667606.pdf (hereinafter, 2014 GAO Report).
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Of the $95.2 billion spent on disaster relief between FY
2004 and FY 2013, approximately $12.7 billion was used to cover
FEMA's administrative costs that support the delivery of
disaster assistance.\2\ Recent Government Accountability Office
(GAO) reports have documented the increase of administrative
costs for major disaster assistance in the last two decades.
While the growth in administrative costs is in part due to the
increased number of disaster declarations within the same time
period, average administrative cost percentages have risen as
well. From FY 1989 to FY 2011, the percentage of disaster
assistance that was spent on administrative costs doubled,
increasing from 9 percent to 18 percent.\3\
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\2\2014 GAO Report at 8.
\3\U.S. Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-12-838, Federal Disaster
Assistance: Improved Criteria Needed to Assess a Jurisdiction's
Capability to Respond and Recover on Its Own 41 (2012), available at
http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/648162.pdf (hereinafter, 2012 GAO
Report).
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For its part, FEMA has recognized and initiated efforts to
address the problem of rising administrative costs. In a
November 2010 memo, FEMA recognized the need to control
spiraling administrative costs and staffing levels.\4\ The 2010
internal memo created best practices guidelines for management
to follow and set broad targets for administrative cost
percentages.\5\ Prior to the guidelines released in the memo,
FEMA had provided limited guidance to managers on how to
control administrative costs.\6\
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\4\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Achieving Efficient JFO
Operations: A Guide for Managing Staffing Levels and Administrative
Costs 1 (2010) (on file with Committee staff).
\5\Id. at 2.
\6\Id.
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However, a September 2012 GAO report found that FEMA did
not strictly adhere to the guidelines of the 2010 memo,
electing instead to treat them as aspirational for mangers to
use to achieve efficiency in the field.\7\ While acknowledging
the complexities that can affect administrative costs for
disasters, GAO further found that FEMA did not create a way to
track progress against the established percentage ranges.\8\
Without formal goals and ways to track progress towards those
targets, GAO concluded that measuring success would be
difficult.\9\
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\7\2012 GAO Report at 46.
\8\Id. at 47.
\9\Id.
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Accordingly, GAO recommended that FEMA implement goals for
administrative cost percentages and monitor performance to
achieve these goals.\10\ In response to GAO's recommendations,
FEMA released a Strategic Plan in July 2014 that included
setting a goal of reducing annual administrative costs by five
percent and using data analytics to track performance against
this goal.\11\
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\10\Id. at 51.
\11\Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Strategic Plan: 2014-
2018 34 (2014) available at https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/
documents/96981.
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GAO issued a follow-up report on FEMA's administrative
costs for major disasters in December 2014.\12\ The review
determined the percentage of administrative costs had not
significantly decreased since November 2010;\13\ rather, it
remained steady above 18 percent.\14\ GAO noted that although
FEMA was engaging in efforts to reduce administrative costs,
including its 2014 Strategic Plan goals, the agency: ``does not
require [its] targets be met;''\15\ ``do[es] not have an
integrated plan for how they will better control and reduce
administrative costs for major disasters, and ha[s] not
identified the office or officials accountable for overseeing
administrative costs;''\16\ and does not sufficiently track its
costs.\17\ Finally, GAO surmised that ``had FEMA met its
targets, administrative costs could have been reduced by
hundreds of millions of dollars.''\18\
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\12\2014 GAO Report. The review was conducted at the request of
then-Committee Members Senators Tom Coburn and Mark Begich, along with
Congressman Michael McCaul and Congresswoman Susan Brooks.
\13\Id. at 22.
\14\Id. at 14-15.
\15\Id. at Highlights Page.
\16\Id. at 22.
\17\Id. at 23.
\18\Id. at Highlights Page.
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The Committee continues to perform oversight of FEMA's
disaster assistance programs, and remains concerned about
rising administrative costs. On October 5, 2015, Committee
Chairman Ron Johnson and Ranking Member Tom Carper sent a
letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate regarding the
allocation and expenditures of funds in regard to Hurricane
Sandy.\19\
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\19\Letter from Hon. Ron Johnson, Chairman, Comm. on Homeland
Security & Governmental Affairs & Hon. Tom Carper, Ranking Member.
Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, to W. Craig Fugate,
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (Oct. 5, 2015) (on
file with Committee Staff).
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GAO reports have made clear that more needs to be done to
control FEMA's administrative costs. Building on those reports,
this bill would require FEMA to develop and implement a plan
that includes strategic goals, milestones for reaching those
goals, a timetable for implementation, and clearly defined
roles and responsibilities for measuring performance.
Additionally, FEMA must do a cost-benefit analysis of tracking
administrative cost data by specific grant programs, and
clarify requirements for the Public Assistance Grant Program.
Finally, the bill requires FEMA to provide an initial briefing
to Congress on the plan as well as any updates on changes, and
to continually review progress toward meeting its goals,
including updating Congress of the same each fiscal year.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015, S.
2109, was introduced September 30, 2015, by Senator Ron Johnson
(R-WI). The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 2109 at a business meeting on
October 7, 2015. During the business meeting, a substitute
amendment was offered by Senator Johnson. The substitute
amendment was adopted by voice vote with Senators Johnson,
Portman, Lankford, Enzi, Ernst, Sasse, Carper, McCaskill,
Baldwin, Heitkamp, and Booker present.
The Committee ordered the bill, as amended, reported
favorably by voice vote en bloc on October 7, 2015. Senators
present for the vote on the bill were Senators Johnson,
Portman, Lankford, Enzi, Ernst, Sasse, Carper, McCaskill,
Baldwin, Heitkamp, and Booker.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015.''
Section 2. Definitions
This section defines the terms, ``administrative cost'',
``Administrator'', ``Agency'', ``direct administrative cost'',
``hazard mitigation program'', ``individual assistance
program'', ``major disaster'', ``mission assignment'', and
``public assistance program'' for the purposes of this bill.
Section 3. Integrated plan for administrative cost reduction
This section requires the Administrator of FEMA to develop
and implement a plan to control and reduce administrative costs
for major disasters. The plan must include: the steps the
Agency will take to reduce administrative costs; milestones
necessary to accomplish the reduction of administrative costs;
goals for the average annual percentage of administrative costs
of major disasters for each FY; a timetable for implementation;
and the assignment of clear roles and responsibilities for
monitoring and measuring performance.
The Administrator must also compare the costs and benefits
of tracking the administrative cost data for major disasters
according to the different programs, and, if feasible, track
the information. FEMA is also required to clarify guidance and
minimum documentation requirements for a direct administrative
cost claimed by a grantee or subgrantee of a public assistance
grant program. FEMA must brief Congress on the plan being
developed within 90 days after enactment, and if any changes
are made to the plan following the briefing, FEMA must notify
Congress of the changes.
Section 4. Reporting requirement
FEMA is required to submit a yearly report to Congress on
the development and implementation of the integrated plan
required under Section 3. These reports will also be updated
three and five years later to assess the previous three-year
and five-year fiscal periods, respectively. Each report must
contain the total amount spent on administrative costs for the
FY, and the average annual percentage of administrative costs
for the FY, an assessment of the effectiveness of the plan
created in Section 3, and an analysis of whether FEMA is
achieving its strategic goals. The report also must outline any
actions FEMA has identified as useful in improving upon and
reaching its goals. Lastly, the reports must be made available
to the public no later than 30 days after the date that FEMA
submits the report to Congress.
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 bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill 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
November 23, 2015.
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 S. 2109, the Directing
Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Aurora
Swanson.
Sincerely.
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
S. 2109--Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015
S. 2109 would require the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to develop a plan to reduce the costs of
administering programs that provide grants and technical
assistance in areas affected by major disasters. Under current
law, the agency is developing a plan to reduce the costs of
administering disaster programs that would meet many of the
requirements in the bill. Under the bill, the agency also would
be required to issue annual reports evaluating the effect of
the plan on administrative costs. Based on information from
FEMA, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would
have an insignificant effect on the federal budget over the
2016-2020 period.
Enacting S. 2109 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Enacting the bill would not increase net direct spending or on-
budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods
beginning in 2026.
S. 2109 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aurora Swanson.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would make no 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.
