[Senate Report 111-103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress 
 1st Session                     SENATE                          Report
                                                                111-103
_______________________________________________________________________

                                                       Calendar No. 223
 
                    EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE

                     COMPACT GRANT REAUTHORIZATION

                              ACT OF 2009

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 1288

 TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS TO THE STATES PARTICIPATING IN 
  THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES




                December 9, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

               JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JON TESTER, Montana                  ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
PAUL G. KIRK, Jr., Massachusetts

                  Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
                     Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
                       Mary Beth Schultz, Counsel
     Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
          Adam J. Killian, Minority Professional Staff Member
                  Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
                                                       Calendar No. 223
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    111-103

======================================================================




 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT GRANT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 
                                  2009

                                _______
                                

                December 9, 2009.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1288]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1288) to authorize 
appropriations for grants to the States participating in the 
Emergency Management Assistance Compact, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section by Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as reported............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    The bill authorizes additional appropriations to the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to 
administer the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), 
a mutual aid agreement that enables states to better share 
disaster response and recovery resources.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    The EMAC, an interstate mutual aid agreement approved by 
Congress in 1996, facilitates the sharing of personnel and 
other resources among member states during or after 
disasters.\1\ The use of the EMAC for resource sharing has 
grown substantially since its creation. After the September 11, 
2001 terrorist attacks, for example, New York requested just 26 
support staff under the EMAC. In 2005, in contrast, the EMAC 
oversaw the deployment of approximately 66,000 personnel to 
respond to that year's Gulf Coast hurricanes.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Public Law 104-321, 100 Stat. 3877.
    \2\Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Enhancing EMAC's 
Collaborative and Administrative Capacity Should Improve National 
Disaster Response, GAO-07-854, June 2007, p. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The EMAC proved itself an especially valuable tool during 
the response to Hurricane Katrina, when it brought critical 
resources from throughout the country to the Gulf Coast. 
Nonetheless, as found in the Senate Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee's report, Hurricane Katrina: A 
Nation Still Unprepared, the magnitude of the demand of 
responding to Hurricane Katrina strained the EMAC process and 
exposed limitations in the system.\3\ To help overcome these 
limitations and to provide necessary support for this valuable 
tool, Congress, as part of the Post-Katrina Emergency 
Management Reform Act of 2006,\4\ authorized FEMA to make up to 
$4 million in grants in fiscal year 2008 to support EMAC 
administration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared, p. 10, S. Rept. 
109-322 (2006).
    \4\Section 661 of P.L. 109-295.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee believes that since Hurricane Katrina, the 
EMAC has continued to provide extraordinary assistance in 
responding to and recovering from disasters. Therefore, the 
Committee believes it is important to reauthorize the FEMA 
Administrator to provide up to $4 million in grants each year 
to support the EMAC's administration in order to facilitate the 
effective sharing of state and local resources during disaster 
response and recovery.

                        III. Legislative History

    S. 1288 was introduced by Senator Pryor and the bill's co-
sponsors, Senators Landrieu, Burris and Collins, on June 18, 
2009, and was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs.
    On July 29, 2009, the Committee considered S. 1288 and 
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by 
Senators Pryor, Lieberman, Collins, Landrieu, and Burris. The 
substitute amendment modifies S. 1288 by eliminating the bill's 
findings and its section specifying additional uses for the 
grants. The substitute amendment also extends the program's 
authorization from fiscal year 2008 to each of the fiscal years 
2010 through 2012. The Committee adopted the substitute 
amendment by a voice vote and then ordered the bill, as 
amended, favorably reported to the full Senate, also by a voice 
vote. The members present for both votes were: Chairman 
Lieberman; Senators Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill 
and Burris; Ranking Member Collins; and Senators Coburn and 
Voinovich.

                    IV. Section by Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section of the bill states that the short title of the 
Act is the ``Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant 
Reauthorization Act of 2009.''

Section 2. Emergency Management Assistance Compact grants

    Section 2 extends the authorization of the FEMA 
Administrator to make grants to administer the Emergency 
Management Assistance Compact from fiscal year 2008 to each of 
the fiscal years 2010 through 2012. Although the bill's 
official title suggests the bill authorizes grants to states, 
the bill actually authorizes grants to the entity or entities 
that administer the EMAC, and not directly to the states.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that 
the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

                   VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation

                                                    August 7, 2009.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1288, the Emergency 
Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization Act of 
2009.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel 
Hoople.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

S. 1288--Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization 
        Act of 2009

    Summary: S. 1288 would authorize the appropriation of $4 
million a year over the 2010-2012 period for grants to 
administer and coordinate activities under the Emergency 
Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This compact enables 
member states to provide assistance to each other during 
disasters and specifies the general structure for such 
assistance. Based on historical expenditure patterns and 
assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing this legislation would cost $12 million over 
the next five years. Enacting S. 1288 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues.
    S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 1288 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 450 
(community and regional development).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
                                                            2010     2011     2012     2013     2014   2010-2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level.....................................        4        4        4        0        0        12
Estimated Outlays.......................................        3        4        4        1        0        12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: EMAC was ratified by the Congress in 
1996 (Public Law 104-321) as an interstate mutual-aid agreement 
that enables member states to share resources during a declared 
disaster. Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are currently 
EMAC members and may provide or receive assistance through the 
compact. Any state or territory receiving assistance under EMAC 
may still request additional resources from the federal 
government. In addition to providing a means of sharing 
resources during a disaster, the compact allows for interstate 
coordination of emergency-related exercises and training.
    S. 1288 would authorize appropriations totalling $12 
million over the 2010-2012 period for grants to help administer 
and coordinate activities under EMAC. EMAC is currently 
administered by the National Emergency Management Association, 
a private association representing state emergency management 
directors. Based on historical expenditure patterns, CBO 
estimates that providing those grants would cost $12 million 
over the 2010-2014 period, assuming appropriation of the 
specified amounts.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1288 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. State governments benefit from the EMAC 
program, and any costs those governments incur to participate 
in the program would result from conditions of federal 
assistance.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Daniel Hoople; Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; 
Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing 
law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

SEC. 661. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT COMPACT GRANTS.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (c) * * *
    (d) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out this section $4,000,000 for [fiscal year 2008] 
each of fiscal years 2010 through 2012. Such sums shall remain 
available until expended.

                                  
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