[Senate Report 118-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 64
118th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                     {      118-24
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



                  DISASTER CONTRACTING IMPROVEMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 310

                   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









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                  May 11, 2023.--Ordered to be printed  
                  
                  
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-010                   WASHINGTON : 2023
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

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

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
           Naveed Jazayeri, Senior Professional Staff Member
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
          Kendal B. Tigner, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk





















                                                       Calendar No. 64
118th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                     {      118-24

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



 
                  DISASTER CONTRACTING IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                  May 11, 2023.--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. 310]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 310) 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 without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                    Page
  I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
 II. Background and Need for the 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. 310, 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. GAO would 
also 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; and fraud, 
waste, and abuse relating to debris removal programs; and would 
make recommendations for improving oversight and fraud 
prevention across debris removal programs.\1\
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    \1\On July 12, 2022, the Committee approved S. 3512, the Disaster 
Contract Improvement Act, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. That bill, as amended, is substantially similar to S. 310. 
Accordingly, this committee report is, in many respects, similar to the 
committee report for S. 3512. See S. Rept. 117-128.
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              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    Every year, communities across 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.\2\ During debris removal 
operations, FEMA serves two primary roles. First, FEMA provides 
funding to eligible applicants for debris removal activities. 
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. Federal funding for 
disaster-related debris removal is coordinated and provided by 
FEMA primarily through its Public Assistance (PA) Grant 
Program. 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.\3\
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    \2\Congressional Research Service, Disaster Debris Management: 
Requirements, Challenges, and Federal Agency Roles (R44941), at 1 
(Sept. 6, 2017).
    \3\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. According to 
FEMA's Public Assistance Debris Monitoring Guide, applicants 
are primarily responsible for supervising the performance of 
the contract.\4\ However, FEMA still has responsibility to 
ensure 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.
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    \4\Federal Emergency Management Agency, Public Assistance Debris 
Monitoring Guide: March 2021, at IV (Mar. 2021) (https://www.fema.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/fema_debris-monitoring-guide_sop_3-01-
2021.pdf).
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    An audit of debris removal operations by the Department of 
Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS 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.\5\ 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.\6\
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    \5\Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, 
FEMA's Procurement and Cost Reimbursement Review Process Needs 
Improvement (OIG-21-26), at III (Mar. 4, 2021).
    \6\Id. at 5.
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    Specifically, the 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.\7\ 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.\8\
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    \7\Id. at 5-9.
    \8\Id. at 5-6 and 10.
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    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.\9\ 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.\10\ Although FEMA stated that internal controls were 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.''\11\
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    \9\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), at 7-8 (July 2019).
    \10\Id. at 7-8.
    \11\Id. at 8.
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    In the report, 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.\12\ FEMA concurred with 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.''\13\
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    \12\Id. at 10-11.
    \13\Id. at 12.
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    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 would ensure FEMA collaborates with state, tribal, and 
local governments, as well as 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. 310, the Disaster 
Contract Improvement Act, on February 9, 2023, with original 
cosponsors Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Jacky Rosen 
(D-NV). The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 310 at a business meeting on 
March 29, 2023. The bill was reported favorably by roll call 
vote of 11 yeas to 0 nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Rosen, 
Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and 
Hawley voting in the affirmative, and with Senators Carper, 
Sinema, Johnson, and Marshall voting yea by proxy, for the 
record only.

        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; state, tribal, and local 
governments; and 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 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 state, 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 state 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 programs. 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

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    S. 310 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. 310 
would cost $1 million over the 2023-2028 period, most of which 
would be incurred in 2024 and 2025. 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.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       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]