[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 53 (Monday, March 27, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2448-H2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




REQUIRING THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY 
     TO SUBMIT A REPORT REGARDING EMERGENCY OR DISASTER ASSISTANCE 
                        APPLICANTS AND GRANTEES

  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 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 an 
emergency or disaster, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1117

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ACTION PLAN TO IMPROVE FIELD TRANSITION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall report to the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
     of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate regarding the plans the 
     agency will undertake to provide the following:
       (1) Consistent guidance to applicants on FEMA disaster 
     funding procedures during the response to an emergency or 
     disaster.
       (2) Appropriate record maintenance and transfer of 
     documents to new teams during staff transitions.
       (3) Accurate assistance to applicants and grantees to ease 
     the administrative burden throughout the process of obtaining 
     and monitoring assistance.
       (b) Maintaining Records.--The report shall also include a 
     plan for implementing operating procedures and document 
     retention requirements to ensure the maintenance of 
     appropriate records throughout the lifecycle of the emergency 
     or disaster.
       (c) New Technologies.--Finally, the report shall identify 
     new technologies that further aid the disaster workforce in 
     partnering with State, local, and tribal governments and 
     private nonprofits in the wake of a disaster or emergency to 
     educate, assist, and inform applicants on the status of their 
     emergency or disaster assistance applications and projects.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1117, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand in my district how disasters 
devastate communities and their citizens. In the aftermath of these 
disasters, while facing the devastation and the daunting task of 
recovery, many communities encounter even more challenges caused by 
FEMA, which has been sent there to help.
  I continue to hear from my colleagues in Congress about conflicting 
guidance received from FEMA officials, who constantly change on the 
ground. I have heard stories of lost documents, lengthy delays, and 
huge administrative burdens placed on communities doing their best to 
recover from disasters. And in the worst cases, the guidance provided 
by FEMA results in the community losing disaster assistance.
  Unfortunately, in Missouri, they have faced many of these challenges 
following floods in August 2013. Congresswoman Hartzler has taken the 
lead to push FEMA to fix these issues by introducing this bill. I am 
proud that we are moving H.R. 1117.
  One of my focuses as chair of the subcommittee is how we can make 
disaster assistance programs more effective and efficient and ensure 
the wise investment of taxpayer dollars. H.R. 1117 will certainly help 
us do that.
  This legislation helps communities struggling to recover from 
disasters by improving transparency, consistency, and communication 
with FEMA. It also requires FEMA to leverage technologies to ease the 
administrative burden on local governments for maintaining documents, 
applying for assistance, and providing information to FEMA to speed 
recovery. The House adopted similar language last year when it passed 
the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act.
  Again, I commend the gentlewoman from Missouri for introducing this 
bill to ensure that those impacted by disasters are receiving accurate, 
up-to-date information about their assistance and the status of 
recovery.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1117 to require the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a 
report on how it will improve field staff transition.
  As the gentleman from Pennsylvania has explained, there has been a 
good deal of confusion with high turnover, repetitive and lost 
paperwork, and inconsistent guidance.
  FEMA has implemented several new technologies to manage its full-time 
employees, but they have not made similar efforts for field and 
temporary disaster response personnel. It is time for FEMA to do so.
  This bill requires FEMA to submit a report on how it plans to address 
the disaster workforce issues, their continuing inconsistent guidance, 
and keeping appropriate records.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask all of my colleagues 
for their support of H.R. 1117, the FEMA Relief Improvement Act, which 
will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to 
refocus their efforts on the core of their mission, which is helping 
people recover from grave loss in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
  In August of 2013, as the chairman and the ranking member mentioned, 
the southern portion of my district experienced a major disaster 
involving heavy flooding which devastated infrastructure, and it caused 
significant hardship for many of my constituents.
  Unfortunately, the Federal recovery efforts to this devastated region 
added insult to injury. Local officials dealt with multiple 
uncoordinated teams conducting duplicative site visits due to lost 
paperwork, inconsistent messages between various survey and evaluation 
teams, and unnecessarily long

[[Page H2449]]

delays in recovery and reimbursement. Such a response to any disaster 
is unacceptable, and change is necessary.

  As I work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I have 
learned that these issues are not unique to central Missouri. I have 
worked diligently with Chairman Barletta in crafting this bill to call 
attention to and to rectify FEMA's shortcomings.
  This legislation is designed to address the deficiencies of the FEMA 
response to the 2013 flooding in my district to ensure future disaster 
recoveries in Missouri and elsewhere are as painless and efficient as 
possible.
  Specifically, this bill requires FEMA to create an action plan to 
address inconsistent guidance, to establish appropriate recordkeeping 
procedures, and to improve overall assistance to local officials.
  Additionally, this simple bill directs FEMA to issue a forward-
looking report to identify new technologies that could further aid the 
disaster workforce in partnering with private nonprofits as well as 
State and local governments in the wake of a disaster or an emergency.
  FEMA processes need to be streamlined and consistent in order to help 
those recovering from a disaster feel supported and assured relief will 
come in a timely, efficient manner.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to bring the 
certainty and the assurances of quick relief to all of our constituents 
because they deserve the best. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
support of H.R. 1117, the FEMA Relief Improvement Act, which passed by 
voice vote out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in 
February.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairmen Shuster and Barletta and 
Ranking Members DeFazio and Johnson, as well as their staffs, for 
working with me in this bipartisan, commonsense effort to make the 
people get the help and assistance they so desperately need in times of 
crisis.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1117.
  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
H.R. 1117.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1117, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________