[House Report 117-274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-274
======================================================================
SMALL PROJECT EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE DISASTER RECOVERY ACT
_______
March 24, 2022.--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. 5641]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 5641) to amend the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to
increase the threshold for eligibility for assistance under
sections 403, 406, 407, and 502 of such Act, 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............................ 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....................................................... 4
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 4
Preemption Clarification......................................... 4
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 4
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
Purpose of Legislation
The purpose of H.R. 5641 is to amend the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to increase the
threshold for eligibility for assistance under sections 403,
406, 407, and 502.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 5641 updates the threshold for what qualifies as a
``small project'' under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as
amended). Small projects are eligible for an ``simplified
procedure'' under authority provided to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) in Stafford Sec. 422, enacted in 1988
as part of P.L. 100-707. In 1988, the statutorily-established
threshold to qualify for the simplified procedure was $35,000,
capturing roughly 95 percent of the project worksheets (PWs)
that state, territorial, and local governments submitted to
FEMA for reimbursement of eligible response and recovery
activities and representing 32 percent of overall disaster
funding.\1\
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\1\Simplified Procedures (Section 422): 2020 Review of the Large
Project Threshold for Simplified Procedures, Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), Congressional Staff Briefing, May 2021.
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For fiscal year (FY) 2022, the small project threshold,
updated to account for the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is
$139,800 dollars.\2\ This threshold now only captures 75
percent of PWs, burdening communities with additional paperwork
and delays in getting reimbursed.\3\ Compounding challenges to
these disaster-impacted communities is a record backlog of more
than 30,000 PWs in FEMA's Public Assistance queue due to the
surge of COVID-19-related PWs.\4\ Adjusting the threshold to
$1,000,000 will return the threshold amount to 95 percent of
PWs being eligible for simplified procedures, while still only
representing only 10 percent of overall disaster funding.\5\
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\2\Id.
\3\Id.
\4\Id.
\5\Id.
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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. 5641:
On June 23, 2021, the Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a hearing
titled ``FEMA's Priorities for FY22 and Beyond: Coordinating
Mission, Vision, and Budget.'' The Subcommittee received
testimony from the Hon. Deanne Criswell, Administrator, FEMA.
This hearing provided Members an opportunity to examine the
President's FY 2022 budget requests for programs within FEMA.
Legislative History and Consideration
H.R. 5641 was introduced in the House on October 20, 2021,
by Mr. Graves of Missouri, Mr. DeFazio of Oregon, Mr. Webster
of Florida, and Ms. Titus of Nevada and referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the
Committee, H.R. 5641 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. 5641 on October 27, 2021.
The Committee considered H.R. 5641 on October 27, 2021, and
ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a
favorable recommendation, without amendment, by voice vote.
The following amendment was offered:
An amendment offered by Mr. Perry (#1); was NOT AGREED TO
by voice vote.
Page 2, line 7, strike ``and''.
Page 2, line 18, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 2, after line 18, add the following: (3) by adding at
the end the following: ``(c) Application of Law.--Sections
3141--3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, United States Code,
(commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act) shall not apply to any
activities covered by the procedures under this section.''.
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.
5641.
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
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements 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 requested
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of Congressional Budget Office. The Committee has
requested but not received from the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office a statement as to whether this bill
contains any new budget authority, spending authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such
estimate and statement to be printed in the Congressional
Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
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, a cost
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant
to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not
made available to the Committee in time for the filing of this
report. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such estimate
to be printed in the Congressional Record upon its receipt by
the Committee.
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
expedite the approval process for FEMA's small projects within
the Public Assistance program.
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. 5641 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
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
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. 5641 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 measure may be cited as the
``Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster Recovery Act''
or the ``SPEED Recovery Act''.
Sec. 2. Simplified procedure
This section updates the threshold to qualify as a ``small
project'' under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as
amended) to $1,000,000.
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 (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):
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 (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
* * * * * * *
SEC. 422. SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE.
(a) In General.--If the Federal estimate of the cost of--
(1) repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or
replacing under section 406 any damaged or destroyed
public facility or private nonprofit facility,
(2) emergency assistance under section 403 or 502, or
(3) debris removed under section 407,
is less than [$35,000] $1,000,000 (or, if the Administrator has
established a threshold under subsection (b), the amount
established under subsection (b)), the President (on
application of the State or local government or the owner or
operator of the private nonprofit facility) may make the
contribution to such State or local government or owner or
operator under section 403, 406, 407, or 502, as the case may
be, on the basis of such Federal estimate. Such [$35,000]
$1,000,000 amount or, if applicable, the amount established
under subsection (b), shall be adjusted annually to reflect
changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Department of Labor.
(b) Threshold.--
(1) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the President, acting
through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (in this section referred to as the
``Administrator''), shall--
(A) complete an analysis to determine whether
an increase in the threshold for eligibility
under subsection (a) is appropriate, which
shall include consideration of cost-
effectiveness, speed of recovery, capacity of
grantees, past performance, and accountability
measures; and
(B) submit to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
a report regarding the analysis conducted under
subparagraph (A).
(2) Amount.--After the Administrator submits the
report required under paragraph (1), the President
shall direct the Administrator to--
(A) immediately establish a threshold for
eligibility under this section in an
appropriate amount, without regard to chapter 5
of title 5, United States Code; and
(B) adjust the threshold annually to reflect
changes in the Consumer Price Index for all
Urban Consumers published by the Department of
Labor.
(3) Review and report.--Not later than 3 years after
the date on which the Administrator establishes a
threshold under paragraph (2), and every 3 years
thereafter, the President, acting through the
Administrator, shall review the threshold for
eligibility under this section and submit to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a
report regarding such review, including any
recommendations developed pursuant to such review.
* * * * * * *
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