[Senate Report 117-199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 550

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-199

======================================================================
 
                FEMA CASEWORKER ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              TO ACCOMPANY

                               H.R. 5343

                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

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


               November 16, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
               
                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                          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
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     
                                                  Calendar No. 550

117th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  2d Session  }                                           { 117-199

======================================================================.                     
                   FEMA CASEWORKER ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                                _______
                                

               November 16, 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 H.R. 5343]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 5343) 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, 
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 Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 5343, the FEMA Caseworker Accountability Act, directs 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to 
Congress on case management personnel turnover at Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    After a disaster, communities are assigned FEMA staff to 
help them prepare and submit documentation of eligible disaster 
response and recovery projects to FEMA for reimbursement 
through the Public Assistance program. During that 
reimbursement process, state and local emergency management 
specialists encounter frequent challenges due to the turnover 
of federal recovery officials and staffing shortages at 
FEMA.\1\ The shortages at FEMA are particularly acute among 
specialized staff, which take additional time to train.\2\ This 
staffing instability has led to confusion and inconsistent 
interpretation of laws and policies, and consequently, delays 
for individuals and communities throughout the disaster 
recovery process.\3\ This legislation, as amended, will help 
Congress better understand these personnel issues by requiring 
GAO to report to Congress with data on case management 
personnel turnover at FEMA, the average tenure of case 
management employees, and any agency plans to reduce turnover. 
With clearer information on turnover, Congress will be better 
equipped to help the agency assess the causes of such high 
turnover rates and create solutions so that staffing challenges 
do not continue to impede disaster recovery projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\GAO, FEMA Workforce: Long-Standing and New Challenges Could 
Affect Mission Success (GAO-22-105631) (Jan. 20, 2022); 42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 5170b, 5170c, 5172, 5173.
    \2\FEMA, Racing to Provide Virus Relief, is Running Short on Front-
Line Staff, New York Times (Apr. 2, 2020); Congressional Research 
Service, 2020 Hurricane Season FAQ: Federal Disaster Assistance for 
Hurricanes During the COVID-19 Pandemic at 30 (R-46385) (July 24, 
2020), COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane 
Season (HQ-20-146) (May 20, 2020).
    \3\GAO, FEMA Workforce: Long-Standing and New Challenges Could 
Affect Mission Success (GAO-22-105631) (Jan. 20, 2022); Senators Peters 
and Portman: Senate Passes Peters and Portman Bipartisan Bill to 
Strengthen Federal Disaster Response by Repealing Outdated DHS 
Contracting Requirements (June 9, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Representative Tom Rice (R-SC) introduced H.R. 5343, the 
FEMA Caseworker Accountability Act, on September 22, 2021 with 
Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC). Resident Commissioner 
Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR) joined as a cosponsor on October 
26, 2021. The bill was considered in the House of 
Representatives under suspension of the rules and passed the 
House by a vote of 409 to 17 on March 30, 2022. The bill was 
received in the Senate on March 31, 2022 and was referred to 
the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
    The Committee considered H.R. 5343 at a business meeting on 
May 25, 2022. During the business meeting, Senator Peters 
offered a substitute amendment that extended the timeline for 
the GAO report from three to six months. The substitute 
amendment was adopted en bloc by voice vote with Senators 
Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present for the vote.
    The Committee ordered the bill, as amended, be favorably 
reported by voice vote en bloc as amended by the Peters 
Substitute Amendment. Senators present for the vote on the bill 
were: Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.

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

Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the ``FEMA 
Caseworker Accountability Act.''

Section 2. Report on staff turnover

    This section, as amended, requires the Comptroller General 
of the United States, to submit its report to Congress within 
180 days of the enactment of the bill.
    This section also prescribes the information the report 
must contain, including the turnover rate of FEMA case 
management personnel, the average and median length of 
employment for such personnel, the steps the agency will take 
to reduce the turnover rate, the number of personnel to be 
dispatched to disaster areas disaggregated by employment type, 
and the average time and median length of rotations of 
personnel.

                   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, August 30, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. 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 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 Madeleine 
Fox.
            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 six 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 2022-2027 period; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    On February 7, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 5343, the FEMA Caseworker Accountability Act, as reported 
by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on 
October 27, 2021. The two bills are similar, and CBO's 
estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
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]