II 

Calendar No. 226 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1700 

To establish an Office of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial 

Officer, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 

Mr. COBURN (for himself, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. FRIST, Mr. REID, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. DEMINT, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. 

SALAZAR, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. BINGAMAN, 

Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. REED) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Reported by Ms. COLLINS, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To establish an Office of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery 

Chief Financial Officer, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oversight of Vital 

3 Emergency Recovery Spending Enhancement and En4 forcement Act of 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 (a) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘Chief 

7 Financial Officer’’ means the Hurricane Katrina Recovery 

8 Chief Financial Officer. 

9 (b) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of 

10 the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer. 

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

13 the Executive Office of the President, the Office of the 

14 Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer. 

15 (b) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Hurricane Katrina 

17 Recovery Chief Financial Officer shall be the head 

18 of the Office. The Chief Financial Officer shall be 

19 appointed by the President, by and with the advice 

20 and consent of the Senate. 

21 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Financial Of22 ficer shall have the qualifications required under sec23 tion 901(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code. 

24 (c) FUNCTIONS.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

26 shall— 
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1 (A) be responsible for the efficient and ef2 fective use of Federal funds in all activities re3 lating to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina; 

4 (B) have all authorities and perform all 

5 functions of a Chief Financial Officer under 

6 section 902 of title 31, United States Code, 

7 with respect to all agencies and all Federal ac8 tivities relating to the recovery from Hurricane 

9 Katrina in accordance with paragraph (2); and 

10 (C) strive to ensure that— 

11 (i) priority in the distribution of Fed12 eral relief funds is given to individuals and 

13 organizations most in need of financial as14 sistance; and 

15 (ii) priority in the distribution of Fed16 eral reconstruction funds is given to busi17 ness entities that are based in Louisiana, 

18 Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida or busi19 ness entities that hire workers who resided 

20 in those States on August 24, 2005. 

21 (2) COORDINATION OF AGENCIES.—In the per22 formance of the functions under paragraph (1)(B) 

23 by the Chief Financial Officer— 

24 (A) the President shall act as the head of 

25 the agency and the Chief Financial Officer shall 
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1 have management and oversight of all agencies 

2 performing activities relating to the recovery 

3 from Hurricane Katrina for purposes of the ap4 plication of section 902 of title 31, United 

5 States Code; and 

6 (B) the Chief Financial Officer shall co7 ordinate and have management and oversight 

8 responsibilities of each applicable Chief Finan9 cial Officer in the performance of functions 

10 under section 902(a) (5) and (6) of title 31, 

11 United States Code, instead of performing such 

12 functions for each applicable agency. 

13 (3) REGULAR REPORTS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Every month the Chief 

15 Financial Officer shall submit a financial report 

16 on the activities for which the Chief Financial 

17 Officer has management and oversight respon18 sibilities to— 

19 (i) the Committee on Homeland Secu20 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Sen21 ate; 

22 (ii) the Committee on Homeland Se23 curity of the House of Representatives; 
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1 (iii) the Committees on Appropria2 tions of the Senate and House of Rep3 resentatives; and 

4 (iv) the Committee on Government 

5 Reform of the House of Representatives. 

6 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report under this 

7 paragraph shall include— 

8 (i) the extent to which Federal relief 

9 funds have been given to individuals and 

10 organizations most in need of financial as11 sistance; 

12 (ii) the extent to which Federal recon13 struction funds have been made available 

14 to business entities that are based in Lou15 isiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida or 

16 business entities that hire workers who re17 sided in those States on August 24, 2005; 

18 and 

19 (iii) the extent to which Federal agen20 cies have made use of sole source or cost21 plus contracts. 

22 (C) FIRST REPORT.—The first report 

23 under this paragraph shall be submitted for the 

24 first full month for which a Chief Financial Of25 ficer has been appointed. 
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1 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFI2 CERS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as to relieve 

3 the responsibilities of any Chief Financial Officer under 

4 section 902 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (e) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—Upon request to 

6 the Chief Financial Officer, the Office shall make the 

7 records of the Office available to the Inspector General 

8 of any Federal agency performing recovery activities relat9 ing to Hurricane Katrina for the purpose of performing 

10 the duties of that Inspector General under the Inspector 

11 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

12 SEC. 4. REPORTS OF THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY 

13 OFFICE. 

14 The Office shall provide quarterly reports to the com15 mittees specified in section 3(c)(3)(A) relating to all activi16 ties and expenses approved by the Office, including— 

17 (1) the accuracy of reports submitted by the 

18 Chief Financial Officer to Congress; 

19 (2) the extent to which agencies performing ac20 tivities relating to the recovery from Hurricane 

21 Katrina have made use of sole source or cost-plus 

22 contracts; 

23 (3) the appropriate use of Federal funds by 

24 State and local government agencies; 
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1 (4) an analysis of whether Federal relief funds 

2 have been distributed to individuals and organiza3 tions most in need of financial assistance and Fed4 eral reconstruction funds have been made available 

5 to business entities that are based in Louisiana, Mis6 sissippi, Alabama, or Florida or business entities 

7 that hire workers who resided in those States on Au8 gust 24, 2005; and 

9 (5) the extent to which waste, fraud, or abuse 

10 exist in the use of Federal funds relating to the re11 covery from Hurricane Katrina. 

12 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide ad14 ministrative and support services (including office space) 

15 for the Office and the Chief Financial Officer. 

16 (b) PERSONNEL.—The President shall provide for 

17 personnel for the Office through the detail of Federal em18 ployees. Any Federal employee may be detailed to the Of19 fice without reimbursement, and such detail shall be with20 out interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

23 as necessary to carry out this Act. 
8 

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1 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF OFFICE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office and position of Chief 

3 Financial Officer shall terminate 1 year after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) EXTENSION.—The President may extend the date 

6 of termination under subsection (a) to any date occurring 

7 before 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oversight of Vital Emer10 gency Recovery Spending Enhancement and Enforcement 

11 Act of 2005’’. 

12 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

13 (a) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘Chief Fi14 nancial Officer’’ means the Hurricane Katrina Recovery 

15 Chief Financial Officer. 

16 (b) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of 

17 the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer. 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within the 

20 Executive Office of the President, the Office of the Hurri21 cane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer. 

22 (b) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 

23 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Hurricane Katrina Re24 covery Chief Financial Officer shall be the head of the 

25 Office. The Chief Financial Officer shall be appointed 
9 

•S 1700 RS 

1 by the President, by and with the advice and consent 

2 of the Senate. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Financial Offi4 cer shall— 

5 (A) have the qualifications required under 

6 section 901(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code; 

7 and 

8 (B) have knowledge of Federal contracting 

9 and policymaking functions. 

10 (c) AUTHORITIES AND FUNCTIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

12 shall— 

13 (A) be responsible for the efficient and effec14 tive use of Federal funds in all activities relating 

15 to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina; 

16 (B) strive to ensure that— 

17 (i) priority in the distribution of Fed18 eral relief funds is given to individuals and 

19 organizations most in need of financial as20 sistance; and 

21 (ii) priority in the distribution of Fed22 eral reconstruction funds is given to busi23 ness entities that are based in Louisiana, 

24 Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida or busi-
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1 ness entities that hire workers who resided 

2 in those States on August 24, 2005; 

3 (C) perform risk assessments of all pro4 grams and operations related to recovery from 

5 Hurricane Katrina and implement internal con6 trols and program oversight based on risk of 

7 waste, fraud, or abuse; 

8 (D) report directly to the head of the Office 

9 regarding financial management matters; 

10 (E) oversee all financial management ac11 tivities relating to the programs and operations 

12 of the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort; 

13 (F) develop and maintain an integrated ac14 counting and financial management system, in15 cluding financial reporting and internal con16 trols, which— 

17 (i) complies with applicable accounting 

18 principles, standards, and requirements, 

19 and internal control standards; 

20 (ii) complies with such policies and re21 quirements as may be prescribed by the Di22 rector of the Office of Management and 

23 Budget; 

24 (iii) complies with any other require25 ments applicable to such systems; and 
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1 (iv) provides for— 

2 (I) complete, reliable, consistent, 

3 and timely information which is pre4 pared on a uniform basis and which is 

5 responsive to the financial information 

6 needs of the Office; 

7 (II) the development and report8 ing of cost information; 

9 (III) the integration of accounting 

10 and budgeting information; and 

11 (IV) the systematic measurement 

12 of performance; 

13 (G) monitor the financial execution of the 

14 budget of Federal agencies relating to recovery 

15 from Hurricane Katrina in relation to actual 

16 expenditures, and prepare and submit to the 

17 head of the Office timely performance reports; 

18 (H) have access to all records, reports, au19 dits, reviews, documents, papers, recommenda20 tions, or other material which are the property 

21 of Federal agencies or which are available to the 

22 agencies, and which relate to programs and oper23 ations with respect to which the Chief Financial 

24 Officer has responsibilities; 
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1 (I) request such information or assistance 

2 as may be necessary for carrying out the duties 

3 and responsibilities provided by this section from 

4 any Federal, State, or local governmental entity, 

5 including any Chief Financial Officer under sec6 tion 902 of title 31, United States Code, and, 

7 upon receiving such request, insofar as is prac8 ticable and not in contravention of any existing 

9 law, any such Federal Governmental entity or 

10 Chief Financial Officer under section 902 shall 

11 cooperate and furnish such requested information 

12 or assistance; 

13 (J) to the extent and in such amounts as 

14 may be provided in advance by appropriations 

15 Acts, be authorized to— 

16 (i) enter into contracts and other ar17 rangements with public agencies and with 

18 private persons for the preparation of fi19 nancial statements, studies, analyses, and 

20 other services; and 

21 (ii) make such payments as may be 

22 necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

23 section; 

24 (K) for purposes of the Improper Payments 

25 Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note), 
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1 perform, in consultation with the Office of Man2 agement and Budget, the functions of the head of 

3 an agency for any activity relating to the recov4 ery from Hurricane Katrina that is not cur5 rently the responsibility of the head of an agency 

6 under that Act; and 

7 (L) transmit a report, on a quarterly basis, 

8 regarding any program or activity identified by 

9 the Chief Financial Officer as susceptible to sig10 nificant improper payments under section 2(a) 

11 of the Improper Payments Information Act of 

12 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) to the appropriate 

13 inspector general. 

14 (2) ACCESS.—Except as provided in paragraph 

15 (1)(I), this subsection does not provide to the Chief 

16 Financial Officer any access greater than permitted 

17 under any other law to records, reports, audits, re18 views, documents, papers, recommendations, or other 

19 material of any Office of Inspector General estab20 lished under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

21 U.S.C. App.). 

22 (3) COORDINATION OF AGENCIES.—In the per23 formance of the authorities and functions under para24 graph (1) by the Chief Financial Officer the President 

25 (or the President’s designee) shall act as the head of 
14 

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1 the Office and the Chief Financial Officer shall have 

2 management and oversight of all agencies performing 

3 activities relating to the recovery from Hurricane 

4 Katrina. 

5 (4) REGULAR REPORTS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Every month the Chief 

7 Financial Officer shall submit a financial report 

8 on the activities for which the Chief Financial 

9 Officer has management and oversight respon10 sibilities to— 

11 (i) the Committee on Homeland Secu12 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Sen13 ate; 

14 (ii) the Committee on Homeland Secu15 rity of the House of Representatives; 

16 (iii) the Committees on Appropriations 

17 of the Senate and House of Representatives; 

18 and 

19 (iv) the Committee on Government Re20 form of the House of Representatives. 

21 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report under this 

22 paragraph shall include— 

23 (i) the extent to which Federal relief 

24 funds have been given to individuals and 
15 

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1 organizations most in need of financial as2 sistance; 

3 (ii) the extent to which Federal recon4 struction funds have been made available to 

5 business entities that are based in Lou6 isiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida or 

7 business entities that hire workers who re8 sided in those States on August 24, 2005; 

9 and 

10 (iii) the extent to which Federal agen11 cies have made use of sole source, no-bid or 

12 cost-plus contracts. 

13 (C) FIRST REPORT.—The first report under 

14 this paragraph shall be submitted for the first 

15 full month for which a Chief Financial Officer 

16 has been appointed. 

17 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFI18 CERS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to relieve the 

19 responsibilities of any Chief Financial Officer under section 

20 902 of title 31, United States Code. 

21 (e) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—Upon request to the 

22 Chief Financial Officer, the Office shall make the records 

23 of the Office available to the Inspector General of any Fed24 eral agency performing recovery activities relating to Hur25 ricane Katrina, or to any Special Inspector General des-
16 

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1 ignated to investigate such activities, for the purpose of per2 forming the duties of that Inspector General under the In3 spector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

4 SEC. 4. REPORTS OF THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY 

5 OFFICE. 

6 The Government Accountability Office shall provide 

7 quarterly reports to the committees desrcibed under section 

8 3(c)(4)(A) relating to all activities and expenditures over9 seen by the Office, including— 

10 (1) the accuracy of reports submitted by the 

11 Chief Financial Officer to Congress; 

12 (2) the extent to which agencies performing ac13 tivities relating to the recovery from Hurricane 

14 Katrina have made use of sole source, no-bid or cost15 plus contracts; 

16 (3) whether Federal funds expended by State and 

17 local government agencies were spent for their in18 tended use; 

19 (4) the extent to which Federal relief funds have 

20 been distributed to individuals and organizations 

21 most affected by Hurricane Katrina and Federal re22 construction funds have been made available to busi23 ness entities that are based in Louisiana, Mississippi, 

24 Alabama, or Florida or business entities that hire 
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1 workers who resided in those States on August 24, 

2 2005; and 

3 (5) the extent to which internal controls to pre4 vent waste, fraud, or abuse exist in the use of Federal 

5 funds relating to the recovery from Hurricane 

6 Katrina. 

7 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide admin9 istrative and support services (including office space) for 

10 the Office and the Chief Financial Officer. 

11 (b) PERSONNEL.—The President shall provide for per12 sonnel for the Office through the detail of Federal employees. 

13 Any Federal employee may be detailed to the Office without 

14 reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interrup15 tion or loss of civil service status or privilege. 

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

18 necessary to carry out this Act. 

19 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF OFFICE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office and position of Chief Fi21 nancial Officer shall terminate 1 year after the date of en22 actment of this Act. 

23 (b) EXTENSION.—The President may extend the date 

24 of termination annually under subsection (a) to any date 
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1 occurring before 5 years after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 (c) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall notify the 

4 committees described under section 3(c)(4)(A) 60 days be5 fore any extension of the date of termination under this sec6 tion. 

Calendar No. 226 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1700 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of the Hurricane Katrina 

purposes. Recovery Chief Financial Officer, and for other 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 

Reported with an amendment