[Senate Report 118-30]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 74
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-30
======================================================================
FIRE SUPPRESSION AND RESPONSE
FUNDING ASSURANCE ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 479
TO MODIFY THE FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE
COST SHARE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
May 16, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2023
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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
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 74
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-30
======================================================================
FIRE SUPPRESSION AND RESPONSE
FUNDING ASSURANCE ACT
_______
May 16, 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. 479]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 479) to modify the
fire management assistance cost share, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
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........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 479, the Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance
Act, would set the federal cost share of the Fire Management
Assistance Grant (FMAG) program at no less than 75% of the
eligible cost of such assistance and would permit a state or
local government to use such assistance for the pre-deployment
of assets and resources. Additionally, the bill would require
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to complete a
rulemaking to provide criteria for the circumstances under
which it may recommend that the President increase the federal
cost share. The bill also incorporates technical drafting
assistance from FEMA.\1\
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\1\On September 28, 2022, the Committee approved S. 4328, the Fire
Suppression Improvement Act, with an amendment. That bill is
substantially similar to S. 479. Accordingly, this committee report is,
in many respects, similar to the committee report for S. 4328. See S.
Rept. 117-263.
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II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Wildfires remain a persistent threat in the United States.
From 2012 to 2021, there were an average of 61,289 wildfires
annually, impacting an average of 7.4 million acres across the
nation. Of the nearly 6,000 structures burned in 2021, 60% were
residences. A state experiencing a wildfire can request
assistance from FEMA for fires beginning on state or private
lands. The most frequent assistance FEMA provides for fires is
through the FMAG program. An FMAG declaration authorizes
various forms of federal assistance to support fire suppression
activities for fires that threaten to become major disasters,
such as equipment, personnel, emergency work, and items for
firefighter health and safety. The support provided through
FMAGs aids state and local responders in containing fires
before they cause significant harm to communities. The grants
under this program are currently reimbursed at 75% of eligible
suppression costs for eligible fires.\2\
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\2\Congressional Research Service, Federal Assistance for Wildfire
Response and Recovery (IF10732) (May 2, 2022).
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This legislation sets the federal cost share of the FMAG
program at not less than 75%, allowing the federal government
to raise the federal share to more than 75%, in alignment with
other FEMA disaster assistance program cost shares,\3\ possibly
reducing the financial burden that communities face in the wake
of worsening wildfires.
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\3\Id.
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III. Legislative History
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced S. 479 on February
16, 2023, with original cosponsor Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined as
an additional cosponsor on March 22, 2023, and Senators Jacky
Rosen (D-NV) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) joined as additional
cosponsors on March 28, 2023.
The Committee considered S. 479 at a business meeting on
March 29, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Padilla
offered an amendment to the bill that incorporated technical
drafting assistance from FEMA regarding the pre-deployment of
assets. The Committee adopted the amendment by voice vote, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
Senator Paul offered an amendment to the Padilla amendment that
would have added a two-year sunset to the bill and required the
Government Accountability Office to publish a report within 18
months of enactment on the effectiveness of the bill. The
Committee did not adopt the Paul amendment, by voice vote, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
The bill, as amended by the Padilla amendment, was ordered
reported favorably by roll call vote of 11 yeas to 1 nay, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley voting in the
affirmative, and with Senator Paul voting in the negative.
Senators Carper, Johnson, and Marshall voted yea by proxy, for
the record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act.''
Section 2. Fire Management Assistance cost share
This section provides that the Federal cost share of the
FMAG program cannot be less than 75% of the eligible cost of
assistance. Additionally, this section states that the 75% cost
share only applies to amounts appropriated on or after
enactment.
Section 3. Rulemaking
This section requires the FEMA Administrator to complete a
rulemaking to provide criteria for the circumstances under
which it may recommend that the President increase the federal
cost share above 75%.
Section 4. Policy update
This section directs the FEMA Administrator to update FMAG
policy so that state, local, and tribal governments may use
such assistance for the pre-deployment of assets and resources,
consistent with the treatment of pre-deployment assistance
under emergency or major disaster declarations.
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
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The bill would:
Authorize the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to cover up to 100 percent of total costs
when providing fire management assistance grants to
state and local governments
Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from:
Increasing the share of costs that the
federal government would cover for fire management
assistance grants
Areas of significant uncertainty include:
Estimating the total amount of assistance
that FEMA and state and local governments will provide
for fire management assistance grants
Estimating how often FEMA would choose to
increase the federal share of costs, and what
percentage of costs the agency would cover
Bill summary: S. 479 would authorize the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) to use funds appropriated for disaster
relief to increase the federal cost share from the current 75
percent up to 100 percent for fire management assistance
grants, at the agency's discretion. Under the bill, FEMA also
would be required to promulgate a rule establishing guidelines
and thresholds for cases in which the federal cost share for
such grants may be increased.
Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effect of
S. 479 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall
within budget function 450 (community and regional
development).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF S. 479
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2023-2028 2023-2033
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Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization................... 0 3 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 25 57
Estimated Outlays......................... 0 3 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 24 55
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
bill will be enacted late in fiscal year 2023 and that FEMA
would begin providing additional assistance in 2024. CBO's
estimate of outlays in each year is based on historical
patterns of spending under the fire management assistance grant
program.
Spending subject to appropriation: CBO estimates that S.
479 would authorize the appropriation of $57 million over the
2024-2033 period and implementing it would cost $55 million
over the same period, assuming appropriation of the estimated
amounts.
Additional cost share: Under the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, FEMA awards fire
management assistance grants to state and local governments to
control fires when the President has declared that an
uncontrolled fire would constitute a major disaster. Under
current law, the federal cost share covers 75 percent of
eligible expenses and state, local, and tribal governments are
responsible for the remaining 25 percent. Over the 2018-2022
period, FEMA obligated a total of nearly $1.1 billion for those
grants; states paid an additional $350 million--or 25 percent
of total costs.
The President declared more than 125 major disasters in
fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Under current law, FEMA has the
discretion to increase the federal cost share under the Public
Assistance Program to greater than 75 percent if the agency
determines that the effects of a disaster are sufficiently
severe--typically, if per capita damages in a jurisdiction
exceed specified levels. Among those 125 declarations, FEMA
covered 90 percent of costs for 7percent of declarations and
covered 100 percent of costs for 4 percent of declarations;
FEMA paid 75 percent of costs for the remaining 89 percent of
those declarations.\1\ Using information from FEMA and in
keeping with the agency's response to the broader set of recent
disasters, CBO expects that the agency would cover a similar
percentage of costs for fire management assistance grants under
the bill.
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\1\The federal government paid 100 percent of costs for an
additional 59 disaster declarations made for the coronavirus pandemic.
Because of the unusual nature of the pandemic, for the purposes of this
estimate, CBO excluded those declarations when projecting how often
FEMA would increase cost shares for fire management assistance grants.
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Under current law, CBO estimates that federal and state
spending on fire management assistance grants will total about
$3.1 billion over the 2023-2033 period, of which FEMA will pay
$2.3 billion. Under the expectation that FEMA would increase
its share of costs from 75 percent to 90 percent or to 100
percent at the same frequency as prior disasters, CBO estimates
that FEMA's costs would increase by $3 million in 2024, with
that cost rising to $7 million in 2033. Assuming appropriation
of the estimated amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would increase spending by $55 million over the 2023-2033
period.
Required rulemaking: S. 479 would require FEMA to complete
a rulemaking to establish the criteria and thresholds--such as
per capita damages in a jurisdiction--under which the agency
would recommend that a higher federal share be provided. Under
current law, FEMA principally uses per capita damage
indicators, tailored to each state or local jurisdiction, to
determine whether to increase cost shares. CBO expects that
FEMA would complete that rulemaking in early 2024 and that
related administrative costs would total less than $500,000;
any spending would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Uncertainty: This estimate is subject to considerable
uncertainty. Because S. 479 would increase how much the federal
government could pay for disasters, the cost of the legislation
would principally depend upon how much FEMA allocates in
response to qualifying fire disasters. CBO's estimate of the
bill's costs is informed by historical data about spending
under the fire management assistance grant program and FEMA's
actions in other types of disasters, but the ultimate amounts
that FEMA will cover are difficult to predict. Those costs will
be determined by the frequency and severity of future fires, as
well as by decisions made by the agency about how much
assistance to provide. Based on the needs of recipient
communities in the future, if FEMA decided to increase or
decrease the amounts allocated to the program--or the
proportion of costs the federal government covers--spending
under S. 479 would, in turn, be higher or lower than CBO
estimates.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None.
Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits:
None.
Mandates: None.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Jon Sperl; Mandates:
Rachel Austin.
Estimate reviewed by: Justin Humphrey, Chief, Finance,
Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit; Kathleen
FitzGerald, Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit; H. Samuel
Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director,
Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
ROBERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 420. FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) * * *
(d) * * *
(e) Federal Share.--The Federal share of assistance under
this section shall be not less than 75 percent of the eligible
cost of such assistance.
[(e)] (f) Rules and Regulations.--The President shall
prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry
out this section.
* * * * * * *
[all]