WHAT THE LAW DOINCongress, in plain words

H.R. 152 · 119th Congress

Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act

Passed HouseEmergency Management
IntroducedJan 3, 2025
Passed HouseJan 13, 2025
Passed SenateNot yet
To PresidentNot yet
Became lawNot yet

Where it stands

Passed House. Latest step, Jan 14, 2025: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The House passed it 405–5. In the House, Iowa's representatives split: Randy Feenstra yes, Ashley Hinson yes, Mariannette Miller-Meeks did not vote, Zachary Nunn yes. It would change 1 section of existing law.

How this bill changes the law

Sourced

H.R. 152 would change 1 section of existing law. Read from the bill text as sent to the Senate (Jan 14, 2025).

Public Law 115-254 An earlier law, changed directly

What the words would change: every change, in place (2)

Today's wording of each part of the law, with what would be struck out and added. Each change also gives the bill's own instruction, word for word.

  1. Public Law 115-254rewrittenby H.R. 152 Sec. 2(a)

    1223 Study to streamline and consolidate information collection and preliminary damage assessments.—(a) Information collection.— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator, in coordination with the Small Business Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Disaster Assistance Working Group of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and other appropriate agencies, shall—(1) conduct a study and develop a plan, consistent with law, under which the collection of information from disaster assistance applicants and grantees will be modified, streamlined, expedited, efficient, flexible, consolidated, and simplified to be less burdensome, duplicative, and time consuming for applicants and grantees; and(2) develop a plan for the regular collection and reporting of information on Federal disaster assistance awarded, including the establishment and maintenance of a website for presenting the information to the public.(b) Preliminary damage assessments.— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator, in consultation with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, shall convene a working group on a regular basis with the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Transportation, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and other appropriate agencies as the Administrator considers necessary, to—(1) identify and describe the potential areas of duplication or fragmentation in preliminary damage assessments after disaster declarations;(2) determine the applicability of having one Federal agency make the assessments for all agencies; and(3) identify potential emerging technologies, such as unmanned aircraft systems, consistent with the requirements established in the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017 (42 U.S.C. 5121 note), to expedite the administration of preliminary damage assessments.(c) Comprehensive report.— The Administrator shall submit one comprehensive report that comprises the plans developed under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) and a report of the findings of the working group convened under subsection (b), which may include recommendations, to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.(d) Public availability.— The comprehensive report developed under subsection (c) shall be made available to the public and posted on the website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency—(1) in pre-compressed, easily downloadable versions that are made available in all appropriate formats; and(2) in machine-readable format, if applicable.(e) Sources of information.— In preparing the comprehensive report, any publication, database, or web-based resource, and any information compiled by any government agency, nongovernmental organization, or other entity that is made available may be used.(f) Briefing.— Not later than 180 days after submission of the comprehensive report, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or a designee, and a member of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or a designee, shall brief, upon request, the appropriate congressional committees on the findings and any recommendations made in the comprehensive report.

    The bill says: Section 1223 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) is amended to read as follows:

  2. Public Law 115-254rewrittenby H.R. 152 Sec. 2(b)

    The bill says: The item relating to section 1223 in the table of contents of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) is amended to read as follows:

From the bill's official text on GovInfo and the U.S. Code, latest edition, which may not yet show changes made since.

What it does

Sourced

Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act

This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to streamline disaster information collection, convene a working group on preliminary damage assessments, and provide a report to Congress.

FEMA must (1) conduct a study and develop a plan under which the collection of information from disaster assistance applicants and grantees will be made less burdensome, duplicative, and time consuming for applicants and grantees; and (2) develop a plan for the regular collection and reporting of information on federal disaster assistance awarded.

Additionally, not later than two years after enactment of the bill, FEMA must convene a working group on a regular basis to (1) identify potential areas of duplication or fragmentation in preliminary damage assessments after disaster declarations; (2) determine the applicability of having one federal agency make the assessments for all agencies; and (3) identify potential emerging technologies, such as unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones), to expedite the administration of preliminary damage assessments.

FEMA must submit a comprehensive report on the plans for streamlining and consolidating information collection and the findings and recommendations of the working group to Congress with a briefing. The report must be made available to the public and posted on FEMA's website.

Official summary by the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Jan 3, 2025).

Our plain-language breakdown, with what it means for you and the case for and against, is written once a bill starts to move.

What has happened

Sourced
  1. Jan 13, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 405 - 5 (Roll no. 9). (text: CR H100-101) Roll call recordLibrary of Congress
  2. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in HouseLibrary of Congress

Show all 13 recorded actions

Recorded votes

Sourced
  1. Jan 13, 2025 · HousePassed 405–5
    On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass · needed two-thirds
    R 200 yes, 5 noD 205 yes, 0 noEach member · Record

Cosponsors

  • Pablo José Hernández D-PR-At Large
  • Stacey E. Plaskett D-VI-At Large