[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6326-6327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    FEMA ACCOUNTABILITY, MODERNIZATION AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2017

  Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1679) to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency's current efforts to modernize its grant management system 
includes applicant accessibility and transparency, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1679

       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 ``FEMA Accountability, 
     Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency shall ensure the ongoing modernization of 
     the grant systems for the administration of assistance under 
     the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
     Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) includes the 
     following:
       (1) An online interface, including online assistance, for 
     applicants to complete application forms, submit materials, 
     and access the status of applications.
       (2) Mechanisms to eliminate duplication of benefits.
       (3) If appropriate, enable the sharing of information among 
     agencies and with State, local, and tribal governments, to 
     eliminate the need to file multiple applications and speed 
     disaster recovery.
       (4) Any additional tools the Administrator determines will 
     improve the implementation of this section.
       (b) Implementation.--To the extent practicable, the 
     Administrator shall deliver the system capabilities described 
     in subsection (a) in increments or iterations as working 
     components for applicant use.

     SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried 
     out using amounts otherwise authorized.

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

                              {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.

[[Page 6327]]

  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 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.

                          ____________________