II 

Calendar No. 549 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4181 

[Report No. 118–236] 

To require the development of a workforce plan for the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2024 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

NOVEMBER 12, 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require the development of a workforce plan for the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Emergency 

3 Mobilization Accountability (FEMA) Workforce Planning 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FEMA WORKFORCE PLAN. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency. 

9 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

10 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

11 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

12 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

13 (4) SURGE CAPACITY FORCE.—The term 

14 ‘‘Surge Capacity Force’’ means the Surge Capacity 

15 Force described in section 624 of the Post-Katrina 

16 Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 

17 U.S.C. 711). 

18 (b) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre20 quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Adminis21 trator shall develop and submit to the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc24 ture of the House of Representatives a human capital op25 erating plan to shape and improve the workforce of the 

26 Agency. 


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1 (c) LEADING PRACTICES.—The Administrator shall 

2 develop the plan required under subsection (b) in accord3 ance with best practices outlined by the Director of the 

4 Office of Personnel Management, the Comptroller General 

5 of the United States, and other sources relevant to the 

6 Federal workforce. 

7 (d) CONTENTS.—The plan developed under sub8 section (b) shall include— 

9 (1) performance measures to monitor and 

10 evaluate progress towards the human capital goals, 

11 including filling staffing gaps of the Agency, closing 

12 skills gaps in mission critical occupations, and imple13 menting workforce training and, if applicable, 

14 progress towards meeting those goals since the date 

15 of submission of the most recent plan under sub16 section (b), including— 

17 (A) a process to monitor and evaluate 

18 progress toward those goals; 

19 (B) a discussion of why the Agency has or 

20 has not met those goals, including a description 

21 of specific barriers; and 

22 (C) a discussion of the addition or deletion 

23 of any specific performance measures; 

24 (2) details of the types of employees of the 

25 Agency, including by hiring authority and cadre; 


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1 (3) an analysis of the current workforce of the 

2 Agency and possible gaps in the current staffing 

3 structure of the Agency needed to fulfill the mission 

4 of the Agency, including an assessment of— 

5 (A) the critical skills, critical and emerg6 ing, that will be needed in the workforce of the 

7 Agency to support the mission and responsibil8 ities of, and effectively manage, the Agency 

9 during the 3-year period following the date of 

10 the submission of the plan, including target 

11 staffing numbers by cadre, region, and office; 

12 (B) the skills of the workforce of the Agen13 cy, including numbers of employees by cadre, 

14 region, and office on the date of submission of 

15 the plan; 

16 (C) projected trends in the workforce of 

17 the Agency based on expected losses due to re18 tirement and other attrition, including any 

19 known data for the causes of attrition; and 

20 (D) the staffing levels of each category of 

21 employee of the Agency, including shortages in 

22 the workforce of the Agency and in the pro23 jected workforce of the Agency that should be 

24 addressed to ensure that the Agency has continVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4181.RS S4181

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1 ued access to the critical skills and com2 petencies described in subparagraph (A); 

3 (4) a plan of action with specific recommenda4 tions for developing and reshaping the workforce of 

5 the Agency to address the gaps in critical skills de6 scribed in paragraph (3)(A), including— 

7 (A) specific recruitment and retention 

8 goals by cadre and mission critical occupations, 

9 including the analysis that the Agency uses to 

10 produce those numbers; 

11 (B) specific strategies for developing, 

12 training, deploying, motivating, and retaining 

13 the workforce of the Agency and the ability of 

14 the workforce of the Agency to fulfill the mis15 sion and responsibilities of the Agency, includ16 ing the program objectives of the Department 

17 and the Agency to be achieved through such 

18 strategies; 

19 (C) specific strategies for recruiting and 

20 retaining individuals needed to address work21 force gaps within specific cadres; 

22 (D) specific strategies for the development, 

23 training, and coordinated and rapid deployment 

24 of the Surge Capacity Force; and 


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1 (E) any necessary legislative proposals to 

2 improve recruitment and retention; and 

3 (5) a discussion that— 

4 (A) details the number of employees not 

5 employed by the Agency serving in the Surge 

6 Capacity Force and the qualifications or cre7 dentials and training of such individuals; 

8 (B) includes information on annual data 

9 relating to the deployment of the workforce of 

10 the Agency following major disasters or emer11 gencies declared by the President under section 

12 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Staf13 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) during the 3-year 

15 period preceding the date of the submission of 

16 the plan; 

17 (C) details— 

18 (i) average tenure and attrition data, 

19 categorized by type of attrition, for— 

20 (I) types of Agency employees by 

21 hiring authority; and 

22 (II) specific offices, regions, and 

23 cadres of the Agency; and 

24 (ii) any known reasons why some 

25 types of Agency employees or specific ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4181.RS S4181

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1 fices, regions, or cadres of the Agency may 

2 have higher levels of attrition and strate3 gies to address those higher levels of attri4 tion; 

5 (D) details— 

6 (i) efforts of the Agency to help pre7 vent and respond to discrimination and 

8 harassment; and 

9 (ii) information on reported cases of 

10 discrimination and harassment within the 

11 Agency and the outcomes of those cases; 

12 and 

13 (E) describes, with respect to hiring infor14 mation of the Agency, the time between the 

15 date on which the Agency validates a need to 

16 hire a new employee for a position and— 

17 (i) the acceptance of an offer of em18 ployment for the position by an applicant; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the start date of the employee at 

21 the Agency for the position. 

22 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of the submission of the plan required under subsection 

24 (b), the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

25 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4181.RS S4181

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1 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report that— 

4 (1) analyzes whether the plan meets the re5 quirements of this Act; and 

6 (2) includes necessary recommendations to en7 sure subsequent plans meet the requirements of this 

8 Act. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Emergency Mo11 bilization Accountability (FEMA) Workforce Planning 

12 Act’’. 

13 SEC. 2. FEMA WORKFORCE PLAN. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency. 

17 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

18 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

19 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

20 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

21 (4) SURGE CAPACITY FORCE.—The term ‘‘Surge 

22 Capacity Force’’ means the Surge Capacity Force de23 scribed in section 624 of the Post-Katrina Emergency 

24 Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 711). 


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1 (b) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

3 than once every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 

4 develop and submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu5 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com6 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

7 of Representatives a human capital operating plan to shape 

8 and improve the workforce of the Agency. 

9 (c) LEADING PRACTICES.—The Administrator shall 

10 develop the plan required under subsection (b) in accord11 ance with best practices outlined by the Director of the Of12 fice of Personnel Management, the Comptroller General of 

13 the United States, and other sources relevant to the Federal 

14 workforce. 

15 (d) CONTENTS.—The plan developed under subsection 

16 (b) shall include— 

17 (1) performance measures to monitor and evalu18 ate progress towards the human capital goals of the 

19 Agency, including filling staffing gaps, closing skills 

20 gaps in mission critical occupations, and imple21 menting workforce training and, if applicable, 

22 progress towards meeting those goals since the date of 

23 submission of the most recent plan under subsection 

24 (b), including— 


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1 (A) a process to monitor and evaluate 

2 progress toward those goals; 

3 (B) a discussion of why the Agency has or 

4 has not met those goals, including a description 

5 of specific barriers; and 

6 (C) a discussion of the addition or deletion 

7 of any specific performance measures; 

8 (2) details of the types of employees of the Agen9 cy, including by hiring authority and cadre; 

10 (3) a comprehensive analysis of the projected 

11 costs associated with implementing the plan; 

12 (4) strategies and practices designed to increase 

13 cost-efficiency within the workforce operations of the 

14 Agency, including reducing overhead costs, improving 

15 resource utilization, and avoiding unnecessary ex16 penditures; 

17 (5) a detailed analysis of how the Agency deter18 mined the current overall staffing goals of the Agency; 

19 (6) an analysis of the current workforce of the 

20 Agency and possible gaps in the current staffing 

21 structure of the Agency needed to fulfill the mission 

22 of the Agency, including an assessment of— 

23 (A) the critical and emerging skills that 

24 will be needed in the workforce of the Agency to 

25 support the mission and responsibilities of, and 


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1 effectively manage, the Agency during the 3-year 

2 period following the date of the submission of the 

3 plan, including target staffing numbers by cadre, 

4 region, and office; 

5 (B) the skills of the workforce of the Agency, 

6 including numbers of employees by cadre, region, 

7 and office on the date of submission of the plan; 

8 (C) projected trends in the workforce of the 

9 Agency based on expected losses due to retirement 

10 and other attrition, including any known data 

11 for the causes of attrition; and 

12 (D) the staffing levels of each category of 

13 employee of the Agency, including shortages in 

14 the workforce of the Agency and in the projected 

15 workforce of the Agency that should be addressed 

16 to ensure that the Agency has continued access to 

17 the critical and emerging skills described in sub18 paragraph (A); 

19 (7) a plan of action with specific recommenda20 tions for developing and reshaping the workforce of 

21 the Agency to address the gaps in critical and emerg22 ing skills described in paragraph (6)(A), including— 

23 (A) specific recruitment and retention goals 

24 by cadre and mission critical occupations, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4181.RS S4181

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1 cluding the analysis that the Agency uses to 

2 produce those numbers; 

3 (B) specific strategies for developing, train4 ing, deploying, motivating, and retaining the 

5 workforce of the Agency and the ability of the 

6 workforce of the Agency to fulfill the mission and 

7 responsibilities of the Agency, including the pro8 gram objectives of the Department and the Agen9 cy to be achieved through such strategies; 

10 (C) specific strategies for recruiting and re11 taining individuals needed to address workforce 

12 gaps within specific cadres; 

13 (D) specific strategies for the development, 

14 training, and coordinated and rapid deployment 

15 of the Surge Capacity Force; and 

16 (E) any necessary legislative proposals to 

17 improve recruitment and retention; and 

18 (8) a discussion that— 

19 (A) details the number of employees not em20 ployed by the Agency serving in the Surge Ca21 pacity Force and the qualifications or creden22 tials and training of such individuals; 

23 (B) includes information on annual data 

24 relating to the deployment of the workforce of the 

25 Agency following major disasters or emergencies 


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1 declared by the President under section 401 or 

2 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Dis3 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) during the 3-year period pre5 ceding the date of the submission of the plan; 

6 (C) details— 

7 (i) average tenure and attrition data, 

8 categorized by type of attrition, for— 

9 (I) types of Agency employees by 

10 hiring authority; and 

11 (II) specific offices, regions, and 

12 cadres of the Agency; and 

13 (ii) any known reasons why some types 

14 of Agency employees or specific offices, re15 gions, or cadres of the Agency may have 

16 higher levels of attrition and strategies to 

17 address those higher levels of attrition; 

18 (D) details— 

19 (i) efforts of the Agency to help prevent 

20 and respond to discrimination and harass21 ment; and 

22 (ii) information on reported cases of 

23 discrimination and harassment within the 

24 Agency and the outcomes of those cases; and 


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1 (E) describes, with respect to hiring infor2 mation of the Agency, the time between the date 

3 on which the Agency validates a need to hire a 

4 new employee for a position and— 

5 (i) the acceptance of an offer of em6 ployment for the position by an applicant; 

7 and 

8 (ii) the start date of the employee at 

9 the Agency for the position. 

10 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

11 of the submission of the plan required under subsection (b), 

12 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

13 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

14 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

15 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report 

16 that— 

17 (1) analyzes whether the plan meets the require18 ments of this Act; and 

19 (2) includes necessary recommendations to en20 sure subsequent plans meet the requirements of this 

21 Act. 

22 (f) NO NEW FUNDS.—No additional funds are author23 ized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this 

24 Act. 


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Calendar No. 549 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4181 

[Report No. 118–236] 

A BILL 

To require the development of a workforce plan for 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

NOVEMBER 12, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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