[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 979 Referred in House (RFH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 979
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 8, 2019
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to
incorporate the recommendations made by the Government Accountability
Office relating to advance contracts, 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 Advance Contracts
Enhancement Act'' or the ``FACE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Post-Katrina Emergency Management and Reform Act of
2006 (Public Law 109-925; 120 Stat. 1394) required the Federal
Emergency Management Agency to establish advance contracts,
which are established prior to disasters and are typically
needed to quickly provide life-sustaining goods and services in
the immediate aftermath of a disaster;
(2) the catastrophic hurricanes and wildfires in the United
States in 2017 highlighted the importance of these advance
contracts in disaster response;
(3) in a report issued by the Government Accountability
Office entitled ``2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to
Better Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance
Contracts'', the Government Accountability Office identified a
number of challenges with advance contracts and recommended
actions to improve management by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency of these contracts for future disasters; and
(4) section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management
Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) should be amended to
incorporate the recommendations made by the report described in
paragraph (3) to ensure more effective use and management of
advance contracts.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ADVANCE CONTRACTS.
(a) In General.--Section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(e) Updated Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress an updated report that contains--
``(1) the information required in the initial report under
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); and
``(2) an updated strategy described in subsection (a)(1)(C)
that clearly defines--
``(A) the objectives of advance contracts;
``(B) how advance contracts contribute to disaster
response operations of the Agency;
``(C) how to maximize the award of advance
contracts to small business concerns, as defined in
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632);
and
``(D) whether and how advance contracts should be
prioritized in relation to new post-disaster contract
awards.
``(f) Additional Duties of the Administrator.--
``(1) Head of contracting.--The Administrator shall ensure
that the head of contracting activity of the Agency--
``(A) not later than 270 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, updates the Disaster
Contracting Desk Guide of the Agency to provide
specific guidance--
``(i) on whether and under what
circumstances contracting officers should
consider using existing advance contracts
entered into in accordance with this section
prior to making new post-disaster contract
awards, and include this guidance in existing
semi-annual training given to contracting
officers; and
``(ii) for contracting officers to perform
outreach to State and local governments on the
potential benefits of establishing their own
pre-negotiated advance contracts;
``(B) adheres to hard copy contract file management
requirements in effect to ensure that the files
relating to advance contracts entered into in
accordance with this section are complete and up to
date, whether the files will be transferred into the
Electronic Contract Filing System of the Agency or
remain in hard copy format;
``(C) notifies contracting officers of the 3-day
time frame requirement for entering completed award
documentation into the contract writing system of the
Agency when executing notice to proceed documentation;
``(D) not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, revises the reporting
methodology of the Agency to ensure that all disaster
contracts are included in each quarterly report
submitted to the appropriate congressional committees
under this section on disaster contract actions;
``(E) identifies a single centralized resource
listing advance contracts entered into under this
section and ensures that source is current and up to
date and includes all available advance contracts; and
``(F) communicates complete and up-to-date
information on available advance contracts to State and
local governments to inform their advance contracting
efforts.
``(2) Master acquisition planning schedule.--Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the
Administrator shall update and implement guidance for program
office and acquisition personnel of the Agency to--
``(A) identify acquisition planning time frames and
considerations across the entire acquisition planning
process of the Agency; and
``(B) clearly communicate the purpose and use of a
master acquisition planning schedule.''.
(b) Report.--The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency shall regularly update the appropriate committees of Congress
(as defined in section 602 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management
Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)) on the progress of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency in implementing the recommendations of the
Government Accountability Office in the report entitled ``2017 Disaster
Contracting: Action Needed to Better Ensure More Effective Use and
Management of Advance Contracts'', as required under section 691 of the
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791), as
amended by subsection (a).
Passed the Senate November 7, 2019.
Attest:
JULIE E. ADAMS,
Secretary.