[House Report 117-281]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                      {     117-281

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



 
                   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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                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]