U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

89–010 

" ! SENATE 

111TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2009

111–103 

Calendar No. 223 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE 

COMPACT GRANT REAUTHORIZATION 

ACT OF 2009 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1288 

TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS TO THE STATES 

PARTICIPATING IN THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE 

COMPACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

DECEMBER 9, 2009.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois 

PAUL G. KIRK, JR., Massachusetts 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

KEVIN J. LANDY, Chief Counsel 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Counsel 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

ADAM J. KILLIAN, Minority Professional Staff Member 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 223 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 111–103 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT 

GRANT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009 

DECEMBER 9, 2009.—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 S. 1288] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 1288) to authorize appropriations 

for grants to the States participating in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 

recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 1 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 2 

IV. Section by Section Analysis .......................................................................... 3 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 3 

VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation ....................................................................... 3 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as reported ............................ 4 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The bill authorizes additional appropriations to the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to administer the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a 

mutual aid agreement that enables states to better share disaster 

response and recovery resources. 

II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

The EMAC, an interstate mutual aid agreement approved by 

Congress in 1996, facilitates the sharing of personnel and other reVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:13 Dec 11, 2009 Jkt 089010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR103.XXX SR103

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1Public Law 104–321, 100 Stat. 3877. 

2 Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Enhancing EMAC’s Collaborative and Administrative Capacity Should Improve National Disaster Response, GAO–07–854, June 2007, p. 3. 3 Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared, p. 10, S. Rept. 109–322 (2006). 

4Section 661 of P.L. 109–295. 

sources among member states during or after disasters.1 The use 

of the EMAC for resource sharing has grown substantially since its 

creation. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, for example, New York requested just 26 support staff under the EMAC. In 

2005, in contrast, the EMAC oversaw the deployment of approximately 66,000 personnel to respond to that year’s Gulf Coast hurricanes.2

The EMAC proved itself an especially valuable tool during the 

response to Hurricane Katrina, when it brought critical resources 

from throughout the country to the Gulf Coast. Nonetheless, as 

found in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Committee’s report, Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared, 

the magnitude of the demand of responding to Hurricane Katrina 

strained the EMAC process and exposed limitations in the system.3

To help overcome these limitations and to provide necessary support for this valuable tool, Congress, as part of the Post-Katrina 

Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, 4 authorized FEMA to 

make up to $4 million in grants in fiscal year 2008 to support 

EMAC administration. 

The Committee believes that since Hurricane Katrina, the EMAC 

has continued to provide extraordinary assistance in responding to 

and recovering from disasters. Therefore, the Committee believes it 

is important to reauthorize the FEMA Administrator to provide up 

to $4 million in grants each year to support the EMAC’s administration in order to facilitate the effective sharing of state and local 

resources during disaster response and recovery. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1288 was introduced by Senator Pryor and the bill’s co-sponsors, Senators Landrieu, Burris and Collins, on June 18, 2009, and 

was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

On July 29, 2009, the Committee considered S. 1288 and adopted 

an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Senators 

Pryor, Lieberman, Collins, Landrieu, and Burris. The substitute 

amendment modifies S. 1288 by eliminating the bill’s findings and 

its section specifying additional uses for the grants. The substitute 

amendment also extends the program’s authorization from fiscal 

year 2008 to each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2012. The Committee adopted the substitute amendment by a voice vote and then 

ordered the bill, as amended, favorably reported to the full Senate, 

also by a voice vote. The members present for both votes were: 

Chairman Lieberman; Senators Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, 

McCaskill and Burris; Ranking Member Collins; and Senators 

Coburn and Voinovich. 


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IV. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This section of the bill states that the short title of the Act is the 

‘‘Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization Act of 2009.’’ 

Section 2. Emergency Management Assistance Compact grants 

Section 2 extends the authorization of the FEMA Administrator 

to make grants to administer the Emergency Management Assistance Compact from fiscal year 2008 to each of the fiscal years 2010 

through 2012. Although the bill’s official title suggests the bill authorizes grants to states, the bill actually authorizes grants to the 

entity or entities that administer the EMAC, and not directly to 

the states. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that the bill 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. 

VI. ESTIMATED COST OF LEGISLATION

AUGUST 7, 2009. 

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1288, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization Act of 2009. 

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. 

S. 1288—Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization Act of 2009 

Summary: S. 1288 would authorize the appropriation of $4 million a year over the 2010–2012 period for grants to administer and 

coordinate activities under the Emergency Management Assistance 

Compact (EMAC). This compact enables member states to provide 

assistance to each other during disasters and specifies the general 

structure for such assistance. Based on historical expenditure patterns and assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO 

estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $12 million 

over the next five years. Enacting S. 1288 would not affect direct 

spending or revenues. 

S. 1288 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. 


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Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1288 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 450 (community and 

regional development). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010– 

2014 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Authorization Level ....................................................................... 4 4 4 0 0 12 

Estimated Outlays ........................................................................ 3 4 4 1 0 12 

Basis of estimate: EMAC was ratified by the Congress in 1996 

(Public Law 104–321) as an interstate mutual-aid agreement that 

enables member states to share resources during a declared disaster. Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are currently EMAC members 

and may provide or receive assistance through the compact. Any 

state or territory receiving assistance under EMAC may still request additional resources from the federal government. In addition 

to providing a means of sharing resources during a disaster, the 

compact allows for interstate coordination of emergency-related exercises and training. 

S. 1288 would authorize appropriations totalling $12 million over 

the 2010–2012 period for grants to help administer and coordinate 

activities under EMAC. EMAC is currently administered by the 

National Emergency Management Association, a private association representing state emergency management directors. Based on 

historical expenditure patterns, CBO estimates that providing 

those grants would cost $12 million over the 2010–2014 period, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1288 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

State governments benefit from the EMAC program, and any costs 

those governments incur to participate in the program would result 

from conditions of federal assistance. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Daniel Hoople; Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact on 

the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

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, the following changes in existing law made by 

the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed 

to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed 

in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

SEC. 661. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT COMPACT GRANTS. 

(a) * * * 

(b) * * * 

(c) * * * 


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(d) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $4,000,000 for øfiscal year 2008¿ each of fiscal years 2010 through 2012. Such sums shall remain available 

until expended. 

Æ 


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