[House Report 117-281]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-281
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FEMA CASEWORKER ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
_______
March 29, 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. 5343]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 5343) to direct the Administrator
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report
to Congress on case management personnel turnover, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill as amended
do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of Legislation........................................... 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Legislative History and Consideration............................ 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
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
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``FEMA Caseworker Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON STAFF TURNOVER.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report containing--
(1) the turnover rate for case management personnel of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(2) the average and median length of employment for the
personnel described in paragraph (1);
(3) the steps that the Agency is taking, or plans to take, to
lower the rate of turnover for the personnel described in
paragraph (1);
(4) the number of personnel of the Agency that is detailed to
work disaster recovery and then return to such personnel's full
time assignment after a disaster, disaggregated by full-time,
part-time, temporary, and contract personnel; and
(5) the average time and median length of the rotations of
personnel described in paragraph (4) and how often rotations
and reassignment of personnel occur for each disaster recovery
position and function, disaggregated by full-time, part-time,
temporary, and contract personnel.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to direct the Comptroller General of the United
States to submit a report to Congress on case management
personnel turnover of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
and for other purposes.
PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 5343, as amended, is to direct the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator to
submit a report to Congress on case management personnel
turnover.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
On a bipartisan basis and over several congresses, the
Committee has received testimony from federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial officials engaged in the full cycle of
emergency management: preparation, response, recovery, and
mitigation.\1\ A common challenge local and state emergency
managers face during recovery from hazard events eligible for
assistance authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288, as
amended) is that communities deal with rotating federal
recovery officials as they develop project worksheets to
justify federal reimbursement for eligible costs.\2\ Sometimes,
these officials provide inconsistent interpretations of
statute, regulation, and policy, resulting in delays throughout
the recovery process.\3\ H.R. 5343, as amended, addresses this
concern by requiring the FEMA to provide a report to Congress
with data on case management personnel turnover, the average
tenure of case management employees, and any agency plans to
reduce turnover.
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\1\See Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and
Emergency Management Hearing titled, ``Building Smarter: The Benefits
of Investing in Resilience and Mitigation,'' March 18, 2021 (117th
Congress); Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and
Emergency Management Hearing titled, ``An Assessment of Federal Efforts
from Recent Disasters,'' October 22, 2019 (116th Congress); and
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency
Management Hearing titled, ``Disaster Preparedness: DRRA Implementation
and FEMA Readiness,'' May 22, 2019 (116th Congress).
\2\See GAO, ``FEMA Workforce: Long-Standing and new Challenges
Could Affect Mission Success,'' January 2022; GAO-22-105631; Available
at GAO-22-105631, FEMA Workforce: Long-Standing and New Challenges
Could Affect Mission Success.
\3\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. 5343:
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, FEMA, Department of
Homeland Security. This hearing provided Members an opportunity
to examine the President's fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget
requests for programs within FEMA.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION
H.R. 5343 was introduced in the House on September 22,
2021, by Mr. Rice of South Carolina and Ms. Mace and referred
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Within
the Committee, H.R. 5343 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. 5343 on October 27, 2021.
The Committee considered H.R. 5343 on October 27, 2021, and
ordered the measure to be reported to the House with a
favorable recommendation, as amended, by voice vote.
The following amendment was offered:
An amendment offered by Mr. Perry (#1); was AGREED TO by
voice vote.
Page 1, beginning on line 8, strike ``the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency'' and insert ``the
Comptroller General of the United States''.
Page 2, line 4, insert ``Federal Emergency Management''
before ``Agency''.
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.
5343.
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. 5343 from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, February 7, 2022.
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. 5343, the FEMA
Caseworker Accountability Act.
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]
H.R. 5343 would require the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to report to the Congress, within three months of
enactment, on the turnover rate for case management personnel
at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The report
also would examine steps FEMA has taken and plans to take in
the future to lower the turnover rate.
Based on the cost of similar GAO reports, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 5343 would cost less than $500,000 over
the 2022-2026 period; any such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
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
provide Congress information on case management personnel
turnover at FEMA.
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. 5343, as amended, 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. 5343, as amended,
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
``FEMA Caseworker Accountability Act''.
Sec. 2. Report on staff turnover
This section directs FEMA to report to Congress on case
management personnel turnover. Specifically, the report shall
detail the turnover rate for FEMA case management personnel,
the average and median length of employment for such personnel,
and the steps FEMA is taking or plans to take to reduce the
turnover rate.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
As reported by the Committee, H.R. 5343, as amended, makes
no changes in existing law.
[all]