[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H7268-H7270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL ADVANCE CONTRACTS ENHANCEMENT ACT
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 979) 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
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S. 979
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).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Rodney Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on S. 979.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 979, the Federal Advance
Contracts Enhancement Act. This bipartisan and bicameral bill
introduced in the Senate by Senators Rubio, Peters, Johnson, and
Tillis, and in the House by Representatives Bennie Thompson, Donald
Payne, Jr., Mike Rogers, and Peter King addresses the findings of the
Government Accountability Office's report titled ``2017 Disaster
Contracting: Actions Needed to Better Ensure More Effective Use and
Management of Advance Contracts.''
In its report, GAO found several issues with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's handling of advance contracts, including
limitations in the agency's use of some advance contracts,
Congressional committees being provided with incomplete information in
FEMA reports, and coordination with States and localities on the use of
advance contracts.
{time} 1230
GAO made final recommendations, including that FEMA update its
strategy and guidance to clarify the use of advance contracts, improve
the timeliness of its acquisition planning activities, revise its
methodology for reporting disaster contracting actions to congressional
committees, and provide more consistent guidance and information to
contracting officers to coordinate with and encourage States and
localities to establish advance contracts.
FEMA concurred with all of GAO's recommendations.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress required FEMA to establish
advance contracts for goods and services to enable the Federal
Government to quickly mobilize resources to affected areas in the
aftermath of a disaster.
This bill allows FEMA to ensure more effective use and management of
its advance contracts process by incorporating GAO's recommendations to
ensure that Federal preparedness actions are coordinated to prevent
gaps in recovery efforts from occurring.
The bill also requires FEMA to regularly update the appropriate
committees of Congress on the progress of the agency's implementation
of these recommendations.
Given this year's unprecedented level of disaster activity, it is
critical that Congress enact these reforms ahead of the start of the
next disaster season in order to ensure that both FEMA and our States,
Tribes, territories, and localities are well-prepared and equipped for
future disasters.
Madam Speaker, I support S. 979, and I urge my colleagues to do the
same. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, S. 979, the Federal Advance Contracts Enhancement Act,
or FACE Act, will improve disaster preparedness and ensure State and
local governments receive more consistent guidance from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress directed FEMA to establish
advance contracts ahead of disasters to
[[Page H7270]]
rapidly provide goods and services following a disaster.
Following the 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, the Government
Accountability Office reviewed the use of advance contracts and
identified a number of shortcomings, including unclear guidance and
inconsistent information from FEMA on using these advance contracts.
Ultimately, GAO issued nine recommendations, and FEMA has concurred
with every single one of them.
This bill would require FEMA to provide an updated report on advance
contracts, updated its strategy, improve its guidance for FEMA
personnel, and regularly report to Congress on progress in addressing
GAO's recommendations.
These reforms will help improve our disaster preparedness and provide
clarity to States and local communities on how to better leverage these
useful contracts.
I am proud to stand with my colleague, Ms. Norton, to support this
bill in a bipartisan way because, if there is one thing that the
Federal Government should do right, it is to help communities recover
from disasters they had nothing to do with.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, the gentleman has yielded, and I certainly
concur with him. I am very pleased that this bill comes out now, in the
season of climate change, where we have seen increased disasters in our
country.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 979.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
will be postponed.
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