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[Senate Report 111-291]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                      Calendar No. 566
111th Congress 
 2d Session                      SENATE                          Report
                                                                111-291
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       

 
                       REDUNDANCY ELIMINATION AND

                        ENHANCED PERFORMANCE FOR

                        PREPAREDNESS GRANTS ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 3980

    TO PROVIDE FOR IDENTIFYING AND ELIMINATING REDUNDANT REPORTING 
REQUIREMENTS AND DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR HOMELAND 
          SECURITY PREPAREDNESS GRANTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

               September 16, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                           WASHINGTON : 2010

        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

               JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii              TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas              JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana          GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
JON TESTER, Montana                  LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware

                  Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
                     Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
                    Beth M. Grossman, Senior Counsel
              Jason T. Barnosky, Professional Staff Member
     Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
   Robert L. Strayer, Minority Director for Homeland Security Affairs
        Jessica L. Baetjer, Miniority Professional Staff Member
                  Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................4
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes to Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............6
                                                       Calendar No. 566
111th Congress
                                 SENATE
                                                                 Report
 2d Session                                                     111-291

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

REDUNDANCY ELIMINATION AND ENHANCED PERFORMANCE FOR PREPAREDNESS GRANTS 
                                  ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 16, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3980]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 3980) to provide 
for identifying and eliminating redundant reporting 
requirements and developing meaningful performance metrics for 
homeland security preparedness grants, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    For years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
has struggled to establish a system for determining the 
effectiveness of the billions of dollars it gives to state, 
local, and tribal governments to help them prepare for natural 
disasters, acts of terrorism and other man-made disasters. Such 
a system is essential to ensure that the taxpayers' money is 
being used wisely and effectively. H.R. 3980 would address this 
problem by requiring the FEMA Administrator to submit a plan to 
Congress for developing performance measures for its 
preparedness grants and to periodically report to Congress on 
the implementation of these measures. It also would direct the 
Administrator to submit a plan to streamline the grant process 
by eliminating duplicative reporting requirements for grant 
recipients.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    Each year, FEMA awards approximately $4 billion in grants 
to state, local, and tribal agencies and other organizations to 
strengthen national preparedness. Nearly half of this funding 
is directed at two programs--the Urban Areas Security 
Initiative (UASI) and the State Homeland Security Grant Program 
(SHSGP)--which together provide the primary assistance to 
state, local, and tribal governments for preventing, preparing 
for, protecting against, and responding to acts of terrorism. 
H.R. 3980 addresses two persistent concerns about these and 
other grant programs: that FEMA has not yet developed a system 
for measuring the effectiveness of its grants and that in 
administering them, FEMA unnecessarily burdens state, local, 
and tribal governments by requiring them to submit duplicative 
information.
    Both the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 
2006 (Post-Katrina Act)\1\ and the Implementing Recommendations 
of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Commission 
Recommendations Act)\2\ require FEMA to develop objective 
performance measures for the grant programs it administers. 
Specifically, the Post-Katrina Act requires FEMA to establish a 
comprehensive assessment system for evaluating the nation's 
capabilities and overall preparedness and specifies that the 
system must include ``clear and quantifiable performance 
measures, metrics, and outcomes.''\3\ FEMA must also report on 
such measures, metrics and outcomes annually to Congress, as 
part of a broader yearly assessment and report the Act mandates 
on the nation's overall level of preparedness for natural 
disasters, acts of terrorism and other man-made disasters.\4\ 
The 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act reiterates the 
requirement that the Administrator use performance metrics in 
accordance with the comprehensive assessment system and further 
requires that states and high-risk urban areas receiving grants 
from FEMA use exercises to test their progress against such 
metrics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\P.L. 109-295, title VI; 120 Stat. 1394.
    \2\P.L. 110-53, 121 Stat. 266.
    \3\P.L. 109-295, section 649 (codified at 6 U.S.C. Sec. 749).
    \4\P.L. 109-295, section 652 (codified at 6 U.S.C. Sec. 752, as 
amended by section 103 of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Four years after the passage of the Post-Katrina Act and 
three years after the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, FEMA 
has yet to implement a comprehensive assessment system or to 
develop associated performance measures. Even more troubling, 
according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), FEMA 
continues to face problems collecting the data necessary to do 
so.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\GAO, ``FEMA's Efforts to Develop and Implement a System to 
Assess National Preparedness Capabilities, 2nd Quarterly Briefing for 
Congressional Requesters,'' July 8, 2010 (briefing materials provided 
to Committee staff).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    FEMA's various efforts at measuring performance have fared 
poorly, and none has resulted in an objective method for 
evaluating preparedness. This year, FEMA cancelled one of its 
most prominent efforts, the Cost-to-Capabilities initiative, 
which was intended to track and measure the impact of its 
homeland security grant programs. Between 2008 and 2010, FEMA 
spent $7 million on the initiative before discontinuing it in 
the face of criticism, such as that it relied on subjective, 
self-reported assessments to gauge performance.\6\ More 
broadly, GAO reports that between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal 
year 2010 FEMA budgeted approximately $58 million to develop 
and implement seven evaluation efforts, including the 
comprehensive assessment system.\7\ Despite this spending, FEMA 
still cannot provide basic information on the effectiveness of 
the preparedness grants or track with any precision what 
recipients have used the grants to fund. Such information is 
essential for the nation to understand how well prepared we 
are, where our preparedness is lacking, and how best to 
allocate our resources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\GAO, ``FEMA's Efforts to Develop and Implement a Framework to 
Assess National Preparedness Capabilities,'' 1st Quarterly Briefing for 
Congressional Requesters, March 29, 2010. For a discussion of some of 
the concerns about the Cost-to-Capabilities initiative, see 
``Preparedness: What Has $29 Billion in Homeland Security Grants Bought 
and How Do We Know,'' a hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency 
Communications, Preparedness and Response, Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives, October 27, 2009. There is no 
indication that FEMA leadership made any effort to improve the system, 
which was reportedly being used to collect at least some useful 
information, before abandoning it.
    \7\GAO, FEMA's Efforts to Develop and Implement a Framework to 
Assess National Preparedness Capabilities, 1st Quarterly Briefing for 
Congressional Requesters, March 29, 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Complaints from grant recipients about redundant reporting 
requirements have also troubled FEMA's grant programs, 
including concerns that FEMA requires recipients to supply 
similar information for each individual grant program. In 
August 2009, FEMA created a Reporting Requirements Working 
Group to address this issue and reduce unnecessary data 
collection and reporting requests across the numerous grants 
that FEMA administers. Over the course of several months, the 
Working Group identified all FEMA reporting requirements and 
noted opportunities for consolidation and elimination. It found 
988 data reporting requirements and identified 376 that 
appeared duplicative or unnecessary. However, FEMA disbanded 
the Working Group in June 2010 before it could issue any 
specific recommendations.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\GAO, FEMA's Efforts to Develop and Implement a System to Assess 
National Preparedness Capabilities, 2st Quarterly Briefing for 
Congressional Requesters, July 8, 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 3980 is intended to help ensure that FEMA effectively 
carries out the mandates in the Post-Katrina Act and 9/11 
Commission Recommendations Act to develop and implement 
performance measures for its preparedness grant programs and 
that the agency follows up on the largely completed work of the 
Reporting Requirements Working Group in order to identify and 
eliminate redundant reporting requirements. The bill would 
require the FEMA Administrator to submit promptly to Congress 
plans and timetables for measuring the effectiveness of UASI 
and SHSGP grants, as well as any other grant programs that the 
Administrator specifies, and for identifying and eliminating 
redundant reporting requirements. The FEMA Administrator would 
then have to submit periodic reports on the agency's progress 
in implementing these plans.
    H.R. 3980 would also require the FEMA Administrator to 
enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public 
Administration (NAPA) for assistance in developing and 
implementing performance measures for grant programs 
administered by the Department of Homeland Security. NAPA, a 
congressionally chartered nonprofit organization that provides 
assistance to government agencies in addressing a range of 
management and other challenges, has extensive experience 
working on performance measurement. Among other things, it 
previously hosted the Performance Consortium, which was created 
to assist federal managers improve government performance. NAPA 
is also able to supplement the expertise of its network of over 
600 fellows by consulting with outside experts where necessary. 
In this case, the Committee encourages NAPA to consider 
involving others with particular expertise in building homeland 
security capabilities.
    The Committee anticipates that FEMA would use its existing 
management and administration funds in support of the required 
contract with NAPA. The Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Homeland 
Security Appropriations Act allows FEMA to use four percent of 
the funding for its state and local programs for program 
management.\9\ However, if these funds prove insufficient, H.R. 
3980 also would authorize funding through a separate 
appropriation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\P.L. 111-83.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Representative Henry Cuellar introduced H.R. 3980 in the 
House of Representatives on November 2, 2009. The House passed 
H.R. 3980 on December 2, 2009 by a vote of 414-0.
    On December 3, 2009, H.R. 3980 was received by the Senate 
and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs. On July 28, 2010, the Committee 
considered the measure, and Senator Lieberman offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute, which was adopted by 
voice vote. The amendment largely made clarifying and 
organizational changes to the House bill. It also added the 
requirement that the FEMA Administrator enter into a contract 
with NAPA for assistance in developing and implementing 
performance measures. The Committee adopted the bill as amended 
by voice vote and ordered it favorably reported to the Senate. 
Members present for the vote on the substitute amendment and 
the vote on the bill as amended were Senators Lieberman, Levin, 
Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill, Tester, Kaufman, 
Collins, and McCain.

                    IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the bill's short title, the 
Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced Performance for 
Preparedness Grants Act.

Section 2. Identification of reporting redundancies and development of 
        performance metrics for Homeland Security preparedness grant 
        programs

    This section adds a new section 2023 to Title XX of the 
Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), consisting of the 
following subsections:
    Subsection (a) defines ``covered grants'' to include grants 
awarded under section 2003 (UASI) and section 2004 (SHSGP) of 
the Homeland Security Act, as well as any other grants 
specified by the Administrator. The Administrator has 
discretion to assess or report on grants other than just UASI 
and SHSGP, as the evaluation of redundancy or grant 
effectiveness may make more sense when looked at across grants 
than when individual grant programs are examined in isolation.
    Subsection (b) requires the FEMA Administrator to submit an 
initial report to Congress within 90 days of the enactment of 
H.R. 3980 that identifies redundant grant reporting 
requirements. The Committee anticipates that FEMA has already 
gathered, but not released, much of the required information as 
part of the work of the Reporting Requirements Working Group. 
The initial report must also provide specific timetables for 
the elimination of these redundant requirements as well as for 
promptly developing quantifiable performance measures and 
metrics for assessing the effectiveness of the covered grants.
    Subsection (c) requires that no later than one year after 
enactment and every two years thereafter, the Administrator 
must submit to Congress a grants management report on FEMA's 
progress in implementing its plans to eliminate redundant 
reporting requirements and develop grants performance measures, 
including meeting the timetables. The subsection also requires 
that FEMA include in this biennial report an overall assessment 
of the covered grant programs, including recommendations for 
modifications to improve the effectiveness of the programs or 
to address changed or emerging conditions.
    Subsection (d) requires the FEMA Administrator to enter 
into a contract with the National Academy of Public 
Administration (NAPA) within 30 days of enactment of H.R. 3980 
for assistance in studying, developing and implementing 
performance measures for grants the Department of Homeland 
Security administers. Requiring the involvement of NAPA is 
intended to bring a practical expertise in performance 
measurement to the process, to assist the Administrator in 
establishing quantifiable assessment tools across the 
Department's grant programs and to help ensure that the 
previously enacted mandate to develop performance metrics will 
now be met. The Administrator must submit a report to Congress 
that describes the findings and recommendations of NAPA's work 
within one year of entering the contract.

                   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. The Congressional 
Budget Office states 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

                                                    August 4, 2010.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
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. 3980, the 
Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced Performance for 
Preparedness Grants Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel 
Hoople.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3980--Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced Performance for 
        Preparedness Grants Act

    H.R. 3980 would authorize the appropriation of whatever 
amounts are necessary for the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to develop plans to eliminate redundant rules, 
regulations, and reporting requirements for certain grant 
programs, including the State Homeland Security Grant Program 
and the Urban Area Security Initiative, and to develop 
performance metrics to assess the effectiveness of those 
programs. Under the legislation FEMA would submit an initial 
report to the Congress no later than 90 days after enactment 
and would provide status updates within one year of 
transmission and every two years thereafter. The act also would 
direct FEMA to enter into an agreement with the National 
Academy of Public Administration to review the implementation 
of the plans required under this act and to provide 
recommendations to the Congress after one year.
    Based on the cost of similar requirements, CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 3980 would have a negligible impact on 
federal spending over the next five years; any additional 
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds. Enacting this legislation would not affect direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply.
    H.R. 3980 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    On November 19, 2009, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 3980 as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Homeland Security on November 17, 2009. The two versions of the 
legislation and their estimated costs are similar.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Daniel Hoople. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes to 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 
S. 3267 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):

                       TITLE 6--DOMESTIC SECURITY

               CHAPTER 1--HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION

                Subchapter XV--Homeland Security Grants

                     PART B--GRANTS ADMINISTRATION

SEC. XXX. IDENTIFICATION OF REPORTING REDUNDANCIES AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
                    PERFORMANCE METRICS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered grants' 
means grants awarded under section 2003, grants awarded under 
section 2004, and any other grants specified by the 
Administrator.
    (b) Initial Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of the Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced 
Performance for Preparedness Grants Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
that includes--
          (1) an assessment of redundant reporting requirements 
        imposed by the Administrator on State, local, and 
        tribal governments in connection with the awarding of 
        grants, including--
                  (A) a list of each discrete item of data 
                requested by the Administrator from grant 
                recipients as part of the process of 
                administering covered grants;
                  (B) identification of the items of data from 
                the list described in subparagraph (A) that are 
                required to be submitted by grant recipients on 
                multiple occasions or to multiple systems; and
                  (C) identification of the items of data from 
                the list described in subparagraph (A) that are 
                not necessary to be collected in order for the 
                Administrator to effectively and efficiently 
                administer the programs under which covered 
                grants are awarded;
          (2) a plan, including a specific timetable, for 
        eliminating any redundant and unnecessary reporting 
        requirements identified under paragraph (1); and
          (3) a plan, including a specific timetable, for 
        promptly developing a set of quantifiable performance 
        measures and metrics to assess the effectiveness of the 
        programs under which covered grants are awarded.
    (c) Biennial Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
on which the initial report is required to be submitted under 
subsection (b), and once every 2 years thereafter, the 
Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a grants management report that includes--
          (1) the status of efforts to eliminate redundant and 
        unnecessary reporting requirements imposed on grant 
        recipients, including--
                  (A) progress made in implementing the plan 
                required under subsection (b)(2);
                  (B) a reassessment of the reporting 
                requirements to identify and eliminate 
                redundant and unnecessary requirements;
          (2) the status of efforts to develop quantifiable 
        performance measures and metrics to assess the 
        effectiveness of the programs under which the covered 
        grants are awarded, including--
                  (A) progress made in implementing the plan 
                required under subsection (b)(3);
                  (B) progress made in developing and 
                implementing additional performance metrics and 
                measures for grants, including as part of the 
                comprehensive assessment system required under 
                section 649 of the Post-Katrina Emergency 
                Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 749); 
                and
          (3) a performance assessment of each program under 
        which the covered grants are awarded, including--
                  (A) a description of the objectives and goals 
                of the program;
                  (B) an assessment of the extent to which the 
                objectives and goals described in subparagraph 
                (A) have been met, based on the quantifiable 
                performance measures and metrics required under 
                this section, section 2022(a)(4), and section 
                649 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 
                Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 749);
                  (C) recommendations for any program 
                modifications to improve the effectiveness of 
                the program, to address changed or emerging 
                conditions; and
                  (D) an assessment of the experience of 
                recipients of covered grants, including the 
                availability of clear and accurate information, 
                the timeliness of reviews and awards, and the 
                provision of technical assistance, and 
                recommendations for improving that experience.
    (d) Grants Program Measurement Study.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        enactment of Redundancy Elimination and Enhanced 
        Performance for Preparedness Grants Act, the 
        Administrator shall enter into a contract with the 
        National Academy of Public Administration under which 
        the National Academy of Public Administration shall 
        assist the Administrator in studying, developing, and 
        implementing--
                  (A) quantifiable performance measures and 
                metrics to assess the effectiveness of grants 
                administered by the Department, as required 
                under this section and section 649 of the Post-
                Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 
                (6 U.S.C. 749); and
                  (B) the plan required under subsection 
                (b)(3).
          (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
        which the contract described in paragraph (1) is 
        awarded, the Administrator shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
        describes the findings and recommendations of the study 
        conducted under paragraph (1).
          (3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such 
        sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.

                                  
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