[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H3022-H3023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1345
general leave
Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
any extraneous material on H.R. 1679.
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.
The purpose of H.R. 1679, the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and
Transparency Act of 2017, is to enhance FEMA grant applicants' access
to information.
I commend my colleague from Louisiana for working so hard for the
people of his State to tackle the challenges those communities and
individuals have been facing in the wake of last August's floods and
other disasters.
On average, FEMA distributes almost $6 billion a year in assistance
to individuals, communities, and organizations impacted by disasters.
That taxpayer money must be managed in an efficient and transparent way
to prevent duplication and provide disaster survivors with needed
access and visibility.
More efficient and transparent delivery of disaster assistance will
help speed disaster recovery and reduce the administrative burden on
applicants. This legislation requires the FEMA Administrator to include
online access and information sharing as the agency modernizes its
disaster grant delivery system.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 1679, the FEMA Accountability,
Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017. Our State and local
partners are the first responders to any emergency disaster or
terrorist attack. They do an outstanding job, given their limited
resources and irregular nature of the events to which they respond.
We need to make sure that our partners, States, local governments,
first responders, and nonprofits have access to the latest equipment,
technology, training, and other resources needed to address any gaps in
preparedness and to ensure that they remain as responsive as possible
in an emergency. To assist them in their efforts, the Department of
Homeland Security provides several discrete types of preparedness
grants to help our partners meet the core capabilities needed to
prepare our Nation for any hazard.
FEMA's 2016 National Preparedness Report found that much more work is
needed in areas such as cybersecurity, economic recovery, housing,
infrastructure systems, and supply chain integrity and security in
order to meet our goal of being prepared and resilient.
Despite the valuable benefits these grants provide, President Trump
proposed to cut funding for these grants in his so-called skinny
budget. President Trump has proposed prioritizing a border wall over
the lives and safety of our residents. I am pleased to note that this
week Congress will be voting on an omnibus fiscal year 2017
appropriations bill that funds these programs at sufficient levels.
Since 2015, FEMA has been modernizing its management of these grant
programs by making information technology platforms more user friendly.
As FEMA continues to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its
grants management, this bill will ensure that FEMA ensures that the
system is more accessible and transparent to applicants.
The bill requires FEMA to include mechanisms to eliminate duplication
of benefits and enable the sharing of information among agencies and
with State, local, and tribal governments, where appropriate, while
FEMA continues its modernization efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Graves).
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the
subcommittee chairman and ranking member for their assistance, and I
also want to thank our lead cosponsor, Mr. Sires of New Jersey.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation is an unfortunate situation, that
Congress actually has to step in. I want to give you a little bit of
background.
In August of last year, we had once again what was known as the
fourth most costly flood disaster in U.S. history. We had areas of
south Louisiana that actually experienced over 32 inches of rain within
about a 36-hour period. By comparison, the average American, as I
recall, receives somewhere between 26 and 28 inches of rain in a year,
and we received that in approximately 36 hours--an extraordinary
rainfall event.
As you can imagine, in a 1,000-year flood event, you had thousands
and thousands of people that were flooded, people living well outside
of the floodplain. So, yes, there were thousands of people that were
seeking assistance, trying to do everything from buy clothes to buy
food, essential needs.
We assisted thousands of constituents trying to get information and
answers from FEMA, but the way that
[[Page H3023]]
the process worked is that you had to call an 800 number. If someone
answered, they would log on a computer system and update the
constituent on what their status is: if they received the application,
if additional information was needed, if they were approved or denied.
I, myself, on many occasions called the 800 number just to see how
long it would take to get through. In some cases no one would answer.
In other cases, the questions couldn't be answered.
It is a very simple situation here, Mr. Speaker. This bill simply
requires that FEMA establish an online database that citizens of this
country can access directly. I can go right now and I can look at hotel
reservations; I can look at airline reservations, train reservations.
You can do virtually anything online. You can pay your utility bills.
You can call an Uber. But with FEMA, they had thousands of employees
that were there to answer phones to simply log on to the system.
There is no need for that step to be there. It is more efficient to
get people direct access. I would rather see those FEMA employees
helping us recover.
So I will say it again. I am disappointed that this takes an act of
Congress. This is common sense, and you are seeing this type of
innovation and utilization of technology happen all across the
marketplace. Unfortunately, Congress has to intervene here, albeit in a
bipartisan way, to make sure that Americans are getting the service
that they deserve and to make sure that our taxpayer dollars are being
used in an efficient way.
Once again, I want to thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Barletta,
Ranking Member Johnson, and I want to especially thank the lead
cosponsor on this legislation, Mr. Sires of New Jersey, who I know has
gone through extraordinary challenges in New Jersey with the 2012
Hurricane Sandy impacts on his State.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on
H.R. 1679, and 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. 1679.
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.
____________________