H.R. 152

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 152 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 152

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 14, 2025

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 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 the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and 
Transparency Act of 2017 (42 U.S.C. 5121 note), to expedite the 
administration of preliminary damage assessments.
``(c) Comprehensive Report.--The Administrator shall submit one 
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 FAA Reauthorization 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.''.

Passed the House of Representatives January 13, 2025.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.