[Senate Report 117-128]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 439
117th Congress     }                                      {     Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                      {    117-128
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



                   DISASTER CONTRACT IMPROVEMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 3512

            TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY GROUP TO ENCOURAGE AND
             FOSTER COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS AMONG INDIVIDUALS
               AND ENTITIES ENGAGED IN DISASTER RECOVERY
           RELATING TO DEBRIS REMOVAL, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES







[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]







                 July 12, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
29-010                   WASHINGTON : 2022






















        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
           Naveed Jazayeri, Senior Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Clyde E. Hicks Jr., Minority Director of Homeland Security
       Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk



















                                                      Calendar No. 439
117th Congress     }                                      {     Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                      {    117-128

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



 
                   DISASTER CONTRACT IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                 July 12, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3512]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 3512) to establish 
an advisory group to encourage and foster collaborative efforts 
among individuals and entities engaged in disaster recovery 
relating to debris removal, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                    Page
  I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
 II. Background and the Need for Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 4
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 5
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6 

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 3512, the Disaster Contract Improvement Act, requires 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator to 
establish an advisory group comprised of individuals and 
government entities that engage in debris removal in disaster 
recovery efforts. The advisory group must determine whether 
current procedures and guidance in place are sufficient to 
provide debris removal contract oversight. If current 
procedures are not sufficient, the bill requires FEMA, in 
consultation with the advisory group, to develop and implement 
recommendations to improve current guidance and procedures 
concerning debris removal contracts. The bill requires FEMA to 
conduct trainings and outreach on any guidance or support 
materials developed under this section.
    The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) to conduct a study about the use, benefits, and 
challenges of advance contracts that state, local, and tribal 
governments have entered into for debris removal. The bill also 
requires GAO to study the process for setting reimbursement 
rates for debris removal programs, the use of penalties for 
violations of law and regulations relating to debris removal, 
fraud, waste, and abuse relating to debris removal programs; 
and make recommendations for improvements to oversight and 
fraud prevention across the debris removal program.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Every year, communities in the United States are affected 
by disasters including hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, 
volcanoes, floods, wildfires, and winter storms. After a 
disaster, when a region turns its attention to rebuilding, one 
of the greatest challenges often involves properly managing 
disaster-related debris. Post-disaster debris can include 
trees, limbs, and shrubs; manufactured structures (e.g., 
collapsed homes, buildings, or bridges); and personal property. 
Residents' ability to return to the area and live in a safe and 
healthy environment may depend on how quickly and effectively a 
community manages its debris.
    A number of federal agencies are authorized to support 
communities with disaster debris removal, including FEMA and 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.\1\ During debris removal 
operations, FEMA serves two primary roles. First, FEMA provides 
funding to eligible applicants for eligible debris removal 
activities.\2\ Second, FEMA may approve direct federal 
assistance to a state or local government that does not have 
the capacity to respond to a presidentially declared 
disaster.\3\ Federal funding for disaster-related debris 
removal is coordinated and provided by FEMA primarily through 
its Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program.\4\ Under that 
program, FEMA provides grants to reimburse state, tribal, and 
local governments and certain types of private nonprofit 
organizations for their response and recovery efforts.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Congressional Research Service, Disaster Debris Management: 
Requirements, Challenges, and Federal Agency Roles (R44941) (Sept. 6, 
2017) at 1.
    \2\Id. at 9.
    \3\Id. at 9.
    \4\Id. at 9.
    \5\Id. at 9.
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    When a state, local, territorial, or tribal government 
receives PA grant funding for debris removal services, it is 
able to procure a contract for those services.\6\ According to 
FEMA's Public Assistance Debris Monitoring Guide, applicants 
are primarily responsible for supervising the performance of 
the contract.\7\ However, FEMA still has responsibility to 
ensure that federal funds are awarded appropriately. Given the 
pressure to distribute vast amounts of funds quickly, FEMA's 
disaster assistance programs are susceptible to fraud, waste, 
and abuse.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Public Assistance Debris 
Monitoring Guide: March 2021 (Mar. 2021) (https://www.fema.gov/sites/
default/files/documents/fema_debris-monitoring-guide_sop_3-01-2021.pdf) 
at IV.
    \7\Id.
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    An audit of debris removal operations by the DHS Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) found deficiencies in FEMA's processes. 
Following the destruction left by Hurricane Irma when it struck 
Florida in September 2017 as a category 4 hurricane, the DHS 
OIG conducted an audit to examine the extent to which FEMA 
ensured procurements for Monroe County debris removal 
operations met federal procurement requirements and FEMA 
guidelines.\8\ The DHS OIG found that, while local entities 
must meet federal procurement standards when soliciting 
contracts for debris removal prior to or immediately following 
an incident, FEMA did not ensure procurements for debris 
removal operations projects in Monroe County met federal 
procurement requirements and FEMA guidelines.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, 
FEMA's Procurement and Cost Reimbursement Review Process Needs 
Improvement (Mar. 4, 2021) (OIG-21-26) at III.
    \9\Id. at 5.
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    Specifically, DHS OIG found the following: (1) FEMA did not 
adequately review local entities' debris removal procurements; 
(2) FEMA reimbursed local entities for questionable removal 
costs; (3) training and quality assurance weaknesses impeded 
FEMA from ensuring debris procurements and costs met federal 
requirements; and (4) FEMA improperly reimbursed debris 
procurements and approved questionable costs.\10\ The DHS OIG 
attributed FEMA's inadequate reviews and reimbursement of 
questionable costs to weaknesses in its training of project 
review staff and its quality assurance process, and it made 
recommendations to strengthen and improve training requirements 
and review processes.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\Id. at 5-9.
    \11\Id. at 5-6 and 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    A separate audit performed by the DHS OIG in 2019 found 
that FEMA's workforce is not compliant with the annual fraud 
prevention and awareness training required by the Post-Katrina 
Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.\12\ According to the 
DHS OIG, 93 percent of FEMA employees failed to complete the 
mandatory fraud training between April 30, 2017 and May 1, 
2018.\13\ Although FEMA said that internal controls are in 
place to ensure compliance with all mandatory training, the DHS 
OIG determined that those internal controls remain inadequate, 
which ``can have a detrimental effect on FEMA's overall fraud 
prevention efforts, and could lead to delays in detecting and 
reporting fraud, waste, and abuse of disaster assistance 
funds.''\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, 
FEMA Must Take Additional Steps to Demonstrate the Importance of Fraud 
Prevention and Awareness in FEMA Disaster Assistance Programs (OIG-19-
55) (July 2019) at 7-8.
    \13\Id. at 7-8.
    \14\Id. at 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the report, the DHS OIG recommended that FEMA's Chief 
Learning Officer update all guidance, manuals, and training 
materials to provide consistent direction for reporting fraud 
and suspected fraudulent activity in the agency's disaster 
assistance programs.\15\ FEMA concurred with the DHS OIG's 
recommendation and said it would ``ensure that the training 
curriculum received from the FEMA Office of the Chief Security 
Officer (OCSO) is made available to all employees each 
reporting year.''\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\Id. at 10-11.
    \16\Id. at 12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This bill seeks to improve the disaster contracting process 
on the federal, state, and local levels of government to 
mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse of federal assistance. This 
bill ensures that FEMA is collaborating with state, tribal, and 
local governments, and other subject matter experts to review 
and issue necessary guidance and help streamline debris removal 
efforts. Increased cooperation between FEMA and partners 
engaged in disaster recovery efforts will help ensure debris 
cleanup efforts after extreme weather events are more efficient 
and use taxpayer dollars more effectively. The bill also 
requires GAO to study and provide decision makers with 
information on the benefits and challenges of using advance 
contracts for debris removal and recommendations to improve 
oversight and fraud prevention across debris removal programs.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S. 3512, the Disaster 
Contract Improvement Act, on January 13, 2021, with Senator 
Peters (D-MI). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Rosen (D-
NV) joined as a cosponsor on February 2, 2022.
    The Committee considered S. 3512 at a business meeting on 
February 2, 2022. During the business meeting, Senators Scott 
and Peters offered a substitute amendment, as modified. The 
substitute amendment, as modified, added representatives from 
the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of 
Agriculture and tribal governments to the advisory working 
group established by the bill. It also required the FEMA 
Administrator to develop and implement guidance for 
streamlining the reimbursement of debris costs overall if the 
Administrator determines that guidance and procedures in effect 
on the date this bill's enactment are insufficient.
    The substitute amendment, as modified, was adopted by voice 
vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote were: Peters, 
Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, 
Lankford, Scott, and Hawley. The bill, as amended, was ordered 
reported favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators Peters, 
Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, 
Lankford, Scott, and Hawley were present for the vote.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the 
``Disaster Contract Improvement Act.''

Section 2. Oversight on debris removal

    Subsection (a) defines the terms ``Administrator'' and 
``debris removal program.''
    Subsection (b) requires the FEMA Administrator to establish 
an advisory working group to encourage and foster collaborative 
efforts among individuals and entities engaged in disaster 
recovery relating to debris removal. The working group is to be 
comprised of representatives from FEMA, the Army Corps of 
Engineers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the 
Department of Agriculture, states, tribal, and local 
governments, as well as subject matter experts in debris 
removal.
    Subsection (c)(1) requires the FEMA Administrator to work 
with the advisory working group and determine whether the 
guidance and procedures in effect on the date of the enactment 
of this bill are sufficient to provide debris removal contract 
oversight.
    Subsection (c)(2) requires the FEMA Administrator, in 
consultation with the advisory working group, to develop and 
implement additional debris removal contracting, planning, and 
management guidance and procedures if they determine the 
guidance and procedures described in subsection(c)(1) are 
insufficient.
    Subsection (d) requires the Administrator to conduct 
outreach to states, tribal, and local governments about 
guidance and procedures developed under this bill.
    Subsection (e) requires GAO to conduct a study that 
examines: the adoption rate of advance contracts for debris 
removal by states and local governments; the benefits of 
advance contracts for debris removal; processes for reporting 
and information sharing related to advance contracts for debris 
removal; reimbursement rates for debris removal programs; use 
of penalties for violations of law and regulation; and fraud, 
waste and abuse relating to debris removal program. The 
subsection also requires GAO to make recommendations concerning 
improvements to oversight and fraud prevention.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, July 1, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 3512, the Disaster 
Contract Improvement 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]
    

    S. 3512 would direct the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to establish an advisory working group, 
consisting of representatives from FEMA, the Army Corps of 
Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, state and local 
governments, and the debris services contractor industry. The 
working group would review current agency guidance on debris 
removal and implement revisions designed to streamline the 
contracting and debris removal process. Under the bill, FEMA 
also would disseminate the materials developed by the working 
group to state and local governments.
    The bill also would require the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to examine the use and adoption rate of advance 
contracts for debris removal and recommend ways to improve the 
contracting process.
    Using information from FEMA and GAO about the cost of 
similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3512 
would cost $1 million over the 2022-2027 period, most of which 
would be incurred in 2023 and 2024. Any 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.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                                  [all]