[House Report 117-160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                   {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                   {       117-160

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



 
         PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

November 1, 2021.--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. 3709]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 3709) to direct the Administrator 
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit to 
Congress a report on preliminary damage assessments and make 
necessary improvements to processes in the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     5
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     5
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     5
 Federal Mandates Statement......................................     6
Preemption Clarification.........................................     6
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     6
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

                         PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 3709 is to direct the administrator of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to convene an 
advisory panel to assist the agency in improving critical 
components of the preliminary damage assessment process.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    State, tribal, territorial, and local (STTL) 
representatives are responsible for conducting preliminary 
damage assessments (PDA) with the assistance of FEMA officials 
to validate damages ahead of a governor's or chief executive's 
submittal to the President of a request for FEMA assistance.\1\ 
FEMA uses PDA findings in the wake of a hazard event to 
determine the extent of damage and the resulting unmet needs of 
individuals and households, businesses, and the public sector 
in an affected community or area.\2\ PDA findings play a 
critical role in that they form the basis for the 
determinations as to whether damages are of a significant 
magnitude to warrant a disaster declaration pursuant to the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(P.L. 93-288 as amended).\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\44 CFR Sec. 206.33.
    \2\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Public Assistance Program 
and Policy Guide, Version 4, available at https://www.fema.gov/sites/
default/files/2020-06/fema_public-assistance-program-and-policy-
guide_v4_6-1-2020.pdf.
    \3\44 CFR Sec. 206.35 and 206.36.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Section 206.33 of title 44 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations details that it is in the ``best interest of all 
parties to combine state and federal personnel resources by 
performing a joint PDA prior to the initiation of a governor's 
request . . .''\4\ Subsection (b) specifically recommends the 
Federal government use damage assessment teams to coordinate 
with state officials.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\44 CFR Sec. 206.33.
    \5\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite the significance of PDAs, the Committee has 
received reports of discrepancies across the ten FEMA regions 
regarding the inconsistency of information, data, and FEMA 
staffing involved in the PDA process.\6\ H.R. 3709 will direct 
FEMA to convene an advisory panel to examine the PDA process, 
establish a consistent training program for FEMA personnel to 
effectively and uniformly support these assessments, provide a 
report to Congress regarding the findings of the panel and 
steps that will need to be taken to reform the joint PDA 
process, and issue a rulemaking to implement such 
recommendations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\See, e,g., FEMA Disaster Workforce: Actions Needed to Address 
Deployment and Staff Development Challenges, General Accountability 
Office (May 2020) GAO-20-360.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6)(A) of the 
117th Congress, the following hearing was used to develop or 
consider H.R. 3709:
    On June 23, 2021, the Subcommittee held a hearing titled 
``FEMA's Priorities for FY22 and Beyond: Coordinating Mission, 
Vision, and Budget.'' The Subcommittee received testimony from 
Hon. Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security. This 
hearing provided Members an opportunity to examine the 
President's fiscal year 2022 budget request for programs within 
FEMA.

                 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

    H.R. 3709 was introduced in the House on June 4, 2021, by 
Mr. Katko and Mr. Delgado and was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the Committee, H.R. 
3709 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. 3709 on July 28, 2021.
    The Committee considered H.R. 3709 on July 28, 2021, and 
ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a 
favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.

                            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.
    No record votes were requested during consideration of H.R. 
3709.

                      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. 3709 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 19, 2021.
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. 3709, the 
Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2021.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

	    
	    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
	    
    

    Following a major disaster declared under the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) works with state and 
local partners to generate a preliminary damage assessment 
(PDA) quantifying the potential magnitude of damages caused by 
the event. That assessment informs subsequent requests for 
federal assistance.
    H.R. 3709 would require FEMA to convene an advisory panel 
consisting of federal, state, and local officials to make 
recommendations on training, the use of a technological 
platform to integrate data, and other ways to improve the PDA 
process. Under the bill, FEMA would need to issue regulations 
to implement any activities that the panel recommends. Finally, 
the bill would require the agency to report to the Congress on 
several issues, including the PDA process and the panel's 
recommendations.
    The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall 
within budget function 450 (community and regional 
development).
    CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted by the end of 
calendar year 2021 and that FEMA would begin implementing the 
recommendations from the panel in fiscal year 2023. In total, 
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $22 million 
over the 2022-2026 period; that spending would be subject to 
the availability of appropriated funds.

                TABLE 1--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER H.R. 3709
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
                                                            2022     2023     2024     2025     2026   2022-2026
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization.................................        *        7        5        5        5         22
Estimated Outlays.......................................        *        7        5        5        5         22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between zero and $500,000.

    CBO cannot determine what recommendations the panel would 
make in its final report. Based on information from the agency, 
however, we expect that the panel would recommend the creation 
of a common technological platform for integrating PDA data 
from federal, state, and local officials, as well as additional 
training for FEMA officials.
    Using information from FEMA about the costs of software 
systems for its grant programs, CBO estimates that it would 
cost $18 million through 2026 to develop a technological 
platform. Most of those costs would probably be for contracts 
with a software vendor. In addition, CBO estimates that 
training officials throughout the country on PDA guidelines and 
processes would cost about $3 million over the 2022-2026 
period. Finally, based on the costs of similar advisory panels 
and reporting requirements, we estimate that implementing those 
requirements would cost about $1 million.
    The panel could recommend implementing more, fewer, or 
different activities than CBO used as the basis for this 
estimate. Depending on what the panel ultimately recommends, 
the costs of implementing H.R. 3709 could be higher or lower 
than our estimate.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director 
of 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 
examine the joint preliminary damage assessment process and 
identify ways to improve training and guidelines with the goal 
of producing more consistent PDAs.

                    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. 3709 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. 3709 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 this bill may be cited as the 
``Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2021''.

Sec. 2. Findings

    This section describes the findings of Congress related to 
the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) process. The section 
states that various factors can impact the duration of a PDA 
and the subsequent submission of a major disaster request and 
that accurate, efficient PDAs will become critically important 
to the relief process for disaster-impacted state, tribal, 
territorial, and local (STTL) governments and disaster 
survivors.

Sec. 3. Report to Congress

    This section directs the FEMA Administrator to submit to 
Congress a report describing the preliminary damage assessment 
process, including the Agency's process for deploying personnel 
to support PDAs, the number of Agency staff participating on 
disaster assessment teams, the training and experience of such 
staff, and FEMA's efforts to maintain a consistent liaison 
between the Agency and STTL officials within a disaster area.

Sec. 4. Preliminary damage assessment

    This section directs the FEMA Administrator to establish a 
panel of STTL emergency managers to assist the Agency in 
improving critical components of the PDA process, including 
making recommendations to improve the training regime within 
FEMA to ensure PDAs are conducted and reviewed under consistent 
guidelines. This section also directs the FEMA Administrator to 
initiate a rulemaking to implement such recommendations.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    As reported by the Committee, H.R. 3709 makes no changes in 
existing law.

                                  [all]