118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 310 

AN ACT 

To establish an advisory group to encourage and foster collaborative efforts among individuals and entities engaged 

in disaster recovery relating to debris removal, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Contract Im3 provement Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. OVERSIGHT ON DEBRIS REMOVAL. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Agency. 

9 (2) DEBRIS REMOVAL PROGRAM.—The term 

10 ‘‘debris removal program’’ means the program estab11 lished under section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford 

12 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 5173). 

14 (b) ADVISORY WORKING GROUP.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es16 tablish an advisory working group to encourage and 

17 foster collaborative efforts among individuals and en18 tities engaged in disaster recovery relating to debris 

19 removal. 

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory working 

21 group established under paragraph (1) shall be com22 prised of— 

23 (A) representatives from the Federal 

24 Emergency Management Agency; 

25 (B) representatives from the Army Corps 

26 of Engineers; 
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1 (C) representatives from the Natural Re2 sources Conservation Service of the Department 

3 of Agriculture; 

4 (D) representatives of States, Tribal gov5 ernments, and units of local government; and 

6 (E) subject matter experts in debris re7 moval, including not less than 1 representative 

8 from the debris services contractor industry. 

9 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consulta11 tion with the advisory working group established under 

12 subsection (b)(1), shall— 

13 (1) determine whether guidance and procedures 

14 in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act with 

15 respect to the oversight and cost of debris removal 

16 contracts entered into under the debris removal pro17 gram are sufficient; and 

18 (2) if the Administrator, in consultation with 

19 the advisory working group established under sub20 section (b)(1), determines that the guidance and 

21 procedures described in paragraph (1) are insuffi22 cient, develop and implement additional such guid23 ance and procedures, including— 

24 (A) a requirement that each State, Tribal 

25 government, and unit of local government re-
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1 ceiving a grant under the debris removal pro2 gram take the primary role in the oversight 

3 function of debris removal; 

4 (B) guidance for State, Tribal, and local 

5 debris monitors relating to debris removal oper6 ations, debris operations oversight, and con7 tractor oversight, including contractor moni8 toring; 

9 (C) guidance for streamlining the reim10 bursement of debris costs overall, including de11 bris management planning and support for re12 silience in debris removal operations; 

13 (D) checklists, job aids, eligibility require14 ments, contract requirements, debris manage15 ment planning guidance, sample bids, and other 

16 items, as determined necessary by the Adminis17 trator, for State and local debris monitors; 

18 (E) a list of the specific debris removal 

19 monitoring responsibilities expected to be com20 pleted by a State that receives a grant under 

21 the debris removal program; 

22 (F) a list of the specific debris removal 

23 monitoring responsibilities expected to be com24 pleted by recipients of a grant under the debris 

25 removal program; and 
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1 (G) guidance for State and Tribal govern2 ments and units of local government to reduce 

3 duplication and inefficiency in debris removal 

4 contracting across the Federal Government, 

5 State and Tribal governments, and units of 

6 local government. 

7 (d) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall conduct 

8 outreach to States, Tribal governments, and units of local 

9 government with respect to any guidance or support mate10 rials developed under this section. 

11 (e) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 of the United States shall conduct a study that— 

14 (1) studies the use and adoption rate of ad15 vance contracts for debris removal by selected 

16 States, Tribal governments, and units of local gov17 ernment; 

18 (2) identifies the benefits and challenges of ad19 vance contracts for debris removal; 

20 (3) with respect to the reporting and informa21 tion sharing processes, as of the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, for advance contracts for debris removal 

23 between States and units of local government and 

24 Federal partners— 

25 (A) assesses those processes; and 
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1 (B) makes any necessary recommendations 

2 for those processes; 

3 (4) studies— 

4 (A) the process for setting Federal reim5 bursement rates for the debris removal pro6 gram; 

7 (B) the use of penalties, as of the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, for violations of law and 

9 regulations relating to debris removal; and 

10 (C) fraud, waste, and abuse relating to the 

11 debris removal program, including case studies; 

12 and 

13 (5) makes any necessary recommendations for 

14 improvements to oversight and fraud prevention 

15 across the debris removal program. 

Passed the Senate December 18, 2023. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 310 

AN ACT 

To establish an advisory group to encourage and 

debris removal, and for other purposes. entities engaged in disaster recovery relating to foster collaborative efforts among individuals and