[House Report 116-148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {      116-148

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



 
               DISCLOSING AID SPENT TO ENSURE RELIEF ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 11, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. DeFazio, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1984]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 1984) to amend chapter 11 of title 
31, United States Code, to require the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget to annually submit to Congress a 
report on all disaster-related assistance provided by the 
Federal Government, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Preemption Clarification.........................................     5
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     5
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     6

                         Purpose of Legislation

    The purpose of H.R. 1984 is to require the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit to Congress an 
annual report on all disaster-related assistance provided by 
the Federal Government.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Federal Government does not currently have a publicly-
accessible estimate of the amount spent on disaster-related 
assistance. Section 101 of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Pub. 
L. 112-25) requires OMB to set an annual cap for disaster 
relief spending by calculating an adjusted 10-year rolling 
average of disaster-related expenditures. This calculation 
includes spending by 29 individual accounts managed by 11 
different agencies and departments. However, only a limited 
subset of this information is made available to the public or 
released in an accessible format.
    H.R. 1984 would address this issue by requiring the 
Director of OMB to submit an annual report to Congress 
detailing the estimated disaster spending for the fiscal year. 
The report must include all federal obligations related to 
disaster response, recovery, mitigation efforts, and 
administrative costs associated with these activities for 
specified agencies and programs.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 
116th Congress--
    The following hearing was used to develop or consider H.R. 
1984:
          On February 26, 2019, the Committee on Transportation 
        and Infrastructure held a hearing entitled, ``Examining 
        How Federal Infrastructure Policy Could Help Mitigate 
        and Adapt to Climate Change.'' Witnesses included: Dr. 
        Daniel Sperling, Board Member, California Air Resources 
        Board; Mr. Ben Prochazka, Vice President, 
        Electrification Coalition; Ms. Vicki Arroyo, Executive 
        Director, Georgetown Climate Center; Mr. James M. 
        Proctor, II, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, 
        McWane, Inc., testifying on behalf of the Build Strong 
        Coalition; Mr. Kevin DeGood, Director, Infrastructure 
        Policy, Center for American Progress; Ms. Lynn 
        Scarlett, Vice President, Policy and Government 
        Affairs, The Nature Conservancy; and Dr. Whitley J. 
        Saumweber, Director, Stephenson Ocean Security (SOS) 
        Project, Center for Strategic and International 
        Studies. Topics discussed included impacts of severe 
        weather events and rising costs of federal response and 
        recovery operations.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    H.R. 1984 was introduced in the House on March 28, 2019, by 
Mr. Peters and referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. Within the Committee, H.R. 1984 was referred to 
the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and 
Emergency Management.
    The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, 
and Emergency Management was discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 1984 on May 8, 2019.
    The Full Committee met in open session to consider H.R. 
1984 on May 8, 2019, and ordered the measure to be reported to 
the House with a favorable recommendation, without amendment, 
by voice vote with a quorum present.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against.
    There were no recorded votes taken in connection with 
consideration of H.R. 1984.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1984 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 14, 2019.
Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1984, the DISASTER 
Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 1984 would require the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to prepare an annual report on federal disaster-related 
assistance for the Congress and to post it online. The report 
would include budgetary information such as obligations by 
agency and account; spending for each disaster; assistance for 
each type of disaster; spending for response, recovery, and 
mitigation; and how much spending was for loans and grants.
    Under current law, OMB reports annually on disaster 
spending pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985. H.R. 1984 would expand that report. Using 
information from OMB, CBO estimates that preparing the more 
comprehensive report would cost less than $500,000 annually.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
improve transparency with respect to federal disaster relief 
spending and to provide an accurate accounting of such spending 
for federal budgeting calculations.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 1984 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

   Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
                                Benefits

    In compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, this bill, as reported, contains no 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the rule 
XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee finds that H.R. 1984 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that the bill may be cited as the 
``Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief Act'' or the ``DISASTER 
Act''.

Sec. 2. Findings

    This section briefly describes the underlying 
justifications for the bill and states that the Federal 
Government does not currently provide an estimate of the amount 
spent on disaster-related assistance to the public. The section 
also emphasizes the importance of understanding the role of the 
Federal Government in providing disaster assistance in the 
context of fiscal responsibility.

Sec. 3. Purpose

    This section states that the purpose of H.R. 1984 is to 
require the OMB Director to submit to Congress an annual report 
on all disaster-related assistance provided by the Federal 
Government.

Sec. 4. Reporting of disaster-related assistance

    This section states the duty of the OMB Director to submit 
to Congress a report detailing the Federal disaster-related 
assistance for the fiscal year immediately preceding the 
calendar year in which the annual budget submission is made. 
The section defines ``disaster-related assistance'' as 
including federal obligations related to disaster response, 
recovery, mitigation efforts, and administrative costs for 
approximately twenty federal agencies.

Sec. 5. Effective date

    This section states that the reporting requirement in 
Section 4 shall take effect with the budget submission of the 
President for fiscal year 2022.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
SUBTITLE II--THE BUDGET PROCESS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


   CHAPTER 11--THE BUDGET AND FISCAL, BUDGET, AND PROGRAM INFORMATION


Sec.
1101. Definitions.
     * * * * * * *
1127. Reporting of disaster-related assistance.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 1127. Reporting of disaster-related assistance

  (a) In General.--On the same day that the President makes the 
annual budget submission to the Congress under section 1105(a) 
for a fiscal year, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall submit to Congress a report on Federal disaster-
related assistance for the fiscal year ending in the calendar 
year immediately preceding the calendar year in which the 
annual budget submission is made. Disaster-related assistance 
encompasses Federal obligations related to disaster response, 
recovery, and mitigation efforts, as well as administrative 
costs associated with these activities, including spending by 
the following agencies and programs:
          (1) Department of Agriculture:
                  (A) Agriculture Research Service.
                  (B) Farm Service Agency.
                  (C) Food and Nutrition Service.
                  (D) Natural Resource Conservation Service.
                  (E) Forest Service.
                  (F) Rural Housing Service.
                  (G) Rural Utilities Service.
          (2) Department of Commerce:
                  (A) National Marine Fisheries Service of the 
                National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration.
                  (B) Economic Development Administration 
                Economic Adjustment Assistance.
          (3) Army Corps of Engineers of the Department of 
        Defense (Civil).
          (4) Department of Defense (Military):
                  (A) Military Personnel.
                  (B) Operations and Maintenance.
                  (C) Procurement.
                  (D) Research, Development, Test, and 
                Evaluation.
                  (E) Military Construction (MILCON) and Family 
                Housing.
                  (F) Management Funds.
                  (G) Other Department of Defense Programs.
          (5) Department of Education:
                  (A) Elementary and Secondary Education.
                  (B) Higher Education.
          (6) Department of Health and Human Services:
                  (A) Administration for Children and Families.
                  (B) Public Health and Medical Assistance.
                  (C) Public Health Emergency Fund.
          (7) Department of Homeland Security:
                  (A) Federal Emergency Management Agency:
                          (i) Emergency Declarations.
                          (ii) Fire Management Assistance 
                        Grants.
                          (iii) Major Disaster Declarations.
                          (iv) Administrative Assistance.
                  (B) FEMA Missions Assignments by Federal 
                Agency.
                  (C) Community Disaster Loan Program.
          (8) Department of Housing and Urban Development 
        (HUD):
                  (A) Community Development Block Grants.
                  (B) Rental Assistance/Section 8 Vouchers.
                  (C) Supportive Housing.
                  (D) Public Housing Repair.
                  (E) Inspector General.
          (9) Department of the Interior:
                  (A) Bureau of Indian Affairs.
                  (B) United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
                  (C) National Park Service.
                  (D) Wildland Fire Management.
          (10) Department of Justice:
                  (A) Legal Activities.
                  (B) United States Marshals Service.
                  (C) Federal Bureau of Investigation.
                  (D) Drug Enforcement Administration.
                  (E) Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms, and 
                Explosives.
                  (F) Federal Prison System (Bureau of 
                Prisons).
                  (G) Office of Justice Programs.
          (11) Department of Labor:
                  (A) National Emergency Grants for Dislocation 
                Events.
                  (B) Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Dislocated 
                Worker Program.
          (12) Department of Transportation:
                  (A) Federal Highway Administration: Emergency 
                Relief Program (ER).
                  (B) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
                  (C) Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
          (13) Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue 
        Service.
          (14) Department of Veterans Affairs.
          (15) Corporation for National and Community Service.
          (16) Environmental Protection Agency:
                  (A) Hurricane Emergency Response Authorities.
                  (B) EPA Hurricane Response.
                  (C) EPA Regular Appropriations.
          (17) The Federal Judiciary.
          (18) Disaster Assistance Program of the Small 
        Business Administration.
          (19) Department of Energy:
                  (A) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, 
                and Emergency Response.
                  (B) Office of Petroleum Services.
          (20) General Services Administration.
          (21) Other authorities as appropriate.
  (b) Content.--The report shall detail the following:
          (1) Overall amount of disaster-related assistance 
        obligations during the fiscal year.
          (2) Disaster-related assistance obligations by agency 
        and account.
          (3) Disaster for which the spending was obligated.
          (4) Obligations by disaster.
          (5) Disaster-related assistance by disaster type.
          (6) Response and recovery spending.
          (7) Mitigation spending.
          (8) Spending in the form of loans.
          (9) Spending in the form of grants.
  (c) Availability of Report.--The report shall be made 
publicly available on the website of the Office of Management 
and Budget and should be searchable, sortable and downloadable.

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