I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3347 

To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report 

on the disaster assistance obligations of the Federal Government, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2013 

Mr. ROTHFUS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Director of the Office of Management and 

Budget to report on the disaster assistance obligations 

of the Federal Government, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Assistance 

5 Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013’’ or the 

6 ‘‘DATA Act of 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DISASTER ASSISTANCE REPORTS. 

8 (a) DISASTER ASSISTANCE SPENDING REPORT.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

3 of the Office of Management and Budget shall sub4 mit to Congress a report that specifies— 

5 (A) for each of the 10 fiscal years most re6 cently concluded before submission of the re7 port, the amount obligated by the Federal Gov8 ernment for disaster assistance, including the 

9 amount obligated for disaster assistance— 

10 (i) by each Federal department or 

11 agency that made an obligation relating to 

12 disaster assistance; and 

13 (ii) under each relevant program, 

14 project, or activity of such department or 

15 agency; and 

16 (B) for the fiscal year in which the report 

17 is submitted, the amount projected to be obli18 gated by the Federal Government for disaster 

19 assistance, including the amount projected to be 

20 obligated for disaster assistance— 

21 (i) by each Federal department or 

22 agency that has made or may make an ob23 ligation relating to disaster assistance; and 


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1 (ii) under each relevant program, 

2 project, or activity of such department or 

3 agency. 

4 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year in conjunc5 tion with the President’s annual budget submission 

6 to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, 

7 United States Code, the Director of the Office of 

8 Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a 

9 report that specifies— 

10 (A) for the fiscal year for which the budget 

11 is submitted, the amount projected to be obli12 gated for disaster assistance by— 

13 (i) each Federal department or agency 

14 that may make an obligation relating to 

15 disaster assistance; and 

16 (ii) each relevant program, project, or 

17 activity of such department or agency; 

18 (B) for the fiscal year in which the budget 

19 is submitted, the amount projected to be obli20 gated for disaster assistance by— 

21 (i) each Federal department or agency 

22 that has made or may make an obligation 

23 relating to disaster assistance; and 

24 (ii) each relevant program, project, or 

25 activity of such department or agency; 


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1 (C) for the most-recently concluded fiscal 

2 year, the amount obligated for disaster assist3 ance by— 

4 (i) each Federal department or agency 

5 that made an obligation relating to dis6 aster assistance; and 

7 (ii) each relevant program, project, or 

8 activity of such department or agency; and 

9 (D) any corrections to reports previously 

10 submitted under this subsection. 

11 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT EVALUATING EFFECTIVE12 NESS OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE SPENDING.—Not later 

13 than 180 days after the date on which the report under 

14 subsection (a)(1) is submitted, and every 2 years there15 after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

16 submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the Com17 mittee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 

19 the Budget of the Senate a report that provides— 

20 (1) an evaluation of Federal disaster assistance 

21 spending, including the identification of areas of po22 tential duplication, waste, fraud, or abuse; 

23 (2) recommendations on how Federal depart24 ments and agencies can improve transparency in and 

25 better account for disaster assistance spending to 


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1 ensure that funds are spent in an effective and effi2 cient manner; and 

3 (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness and equity 

4 of the current system of cost-sharing with respect to 

5 disaster assistance spending, including the system’s 

6 effectiveness in reducing the Federal cost of disaster 

7 assistance and promoting non-Federal investment in 

8 disaster recovery, mitigation, and preparedness. 

9 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi10 nitions apply: 

11 (1) DISASTER.—The term ‘‘disaster’’ means 

12 any natural, accidental, or manmade catastrophe in 

13 any part of the United States, including a territory 

14 or possession of the United States, which causes, or 

15 which may cause, substantial damage or injury, 

16 without regard to whether such catastrophe results 

17 in a declaration of a major disaster or emergency 

18 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

19 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

20 (2) DISASTER ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘dis21 aster assistance’’ means any Federal activity, includ22 ing the provision of financial assistance, carried out 

23 to assist a public or private entity affected by the oc24 currence of a disaster. 

Æ 


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