    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 116-272
    116th Congress

    An Act

    To amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to
    incorporate the recommendations made by the Government Accountability
    Office relating to advance contracts, and for other
    purposes. <>

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
    United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
    SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Advance Contracts Enhancement
    Act'' or the ``FACE Act''.
    SEC. 2. <>  FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
    (1) the Post-Katrina Emergency Management and Reform Act of
    2006 (Public Law 109-925; 120 Stat. 1394) required the Federal
    Emergency Management Agency to establish advance contracts,
    which are established prior to disasters and are typically
    needed to quickly provide life-sustaining goods and services in
    the immediate aftermath of a disaster;
    (2) the catastrophic hurricanes and wildfires in the United
    States in 2017 highlighted the importance of these advance
    contracts in disaster response;
    (3) in a report issued by the Government Accountability
    Office entitled ``2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to
    Better Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance
    Contracts'', the Government Accountability Office identified a
    number of challenges with advance contracts and recommended
    actions to improve management by the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency of these contracts for future disasters; and
    (4) section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management
    Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) should be amended to
    incorporate the recommendations made by the report described in
    paragraph (3) to ensure more effective use and management of
    advance contracts.
    SEC. 3. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ADVANCE CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency
    Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) is amended by adding at the
    end the following:
    ``(e) Updated Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
    enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit to the
    appropriate committees of Congress an updated report that contains--

    [[Page 3350]]

    ``(1) the information required in the initial report under
    subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); and
    ``(2) <>  an updated strategy described in
    subsection (a)(1)(C) that clearly defines--
    ``(A) the objectives of advance contracts;
    ``(B) how advance contracts contribute to disaster
    response operations of the Agency;
    ``(C) how to maximize the award of advance contracts
    to small business concerns, as defined in section 3 of
    the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and
    ``(D) whether and how advance contracts should be
    prioritized in relation to new post-disaster contract
    awards.

    ``(f) <>  Additional Duties of the
    Administrator.--
    ``(1) Head of contracting.--The Administrator shall ensure
    that the head of contracting activity of the Agency--
    ``(A) not later than 270 days after the date of
    enactment of this subsection, updates the Disaster
    Contracting Desk Guide of the Agency to provide specific
    guidance--
    ``(i) on whether and under what circumstances
    contracting officers should consider using
    existing advance contracts entered into in
    accordance with this section prior to making new
    post-disaster contract awards, and include this
    guidance in existing semi-annual training given to
    contracting officers; and
    ``(ii) for contracting officers to perform
    outreach to State and local governments on the
    potential benefits of establishing their own pre-
    negotiated advance contracts;
    ``(B) <>  adheres to hard copy
    contract file management requirements in effect to
    ensure that the files relating to advance contracts
    entered into in accordance with this section are
    complete and up to date, whether the files will be
    transferred into the Electronic Contract Filing System
    of the Agency or remain in hard copy format;
    ``(C) <>  notifies
    contracting officers of the 3-day time frame requirement
    for entering completed award documentation into the
    contract writing system of the Agency when executing
    notice to proceed documentation;
    ``(D) not later than 180 days after the date of
    enactment of this subsection, revises the reporting
    methodology of the Agency to ensure that all disaster
    contracts are included in each quarterly report
    submitted to the appropriate congressional committees
    under this section on disaster contract actions;
    ``(E) identifies a single centralized resource
    listing advance contracts entered into under this
    section and ensures that source is current and up to
    date and includes all available advance contracts; and
    ``(F) communicates complete and up-to-date
    information on available advance contracts to State and
    local governments to inform their advance contracting
    efforts.
    ``(2) Master acquisition planning schedule.--Not later than
    180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the
    Administrator shall update and implement guidance for program
    office and acquisition personnel of the Agency to--

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    ``(A) identify acquisition planning time frames and
    considerations across the entire acquisition planning
    process of the Agency; and
    ``(B) clearly communicate the purpose and use of a
    master acquisition planning schedule.''.

    (b) <>  Report.--The Administrator of the
    Federal Emergency Management Agency shall regularly update the
    appropriate committees of Congress (as defined in section 602 of the
    Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)) on
    the progress of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in implementing
    the recommendations of the Government Accountability Office in the
    report entitled ``2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Better
    Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance Contracts'', as
    required under section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management
    Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791), as amended by subsection (a).

    Approved December 31, 2020.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 979:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SENATE REPORTS: No. 116-84 (Comm. on Homeland Security and Governmental
    Affairs).
    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
    Vol. 165 (2019):
    Nov. 7, considered and passed
    Senate.
    Vol. 166 (2020):
    Dec. 18, considered and passed
    House.