II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2421 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to improve accountability of disaster contracts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2019 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to improve accountability of disaster contracts, 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 Contract 

5 Transparency Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEBRIS REMOVAL CONTRACT OVERSIGHT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 

8 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 2421 IS

1 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 431. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM ELIGI4 BILITY AND OVERSIGHT FOR DEBRIS RE5 MOVAL. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Ad8 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

9 Agency; 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Agency’ means the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency; 

12 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered State’ means a State for 

13 which a major disaster or emergency was declared 

14 under this Act during the 5-year period preceding 

15 the date on which the State requests assistance for 

16 debris removal under the public assistance grant 

17 program; 

18 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered unit of local government’ 

19 means a unit of local government for which a major 

20 disaster or emergency was declared under this Act 

21 during the 5-year period preceding the date on 

22 which the State requests assistance for debris re23 moval under the public assistance grant program; 

24 and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(5) the term ‘public assistance grant program’ 

2 means the public assistance grant program author3 ized under sections 403, 406, 407, 418, 419, 428, 

4 and 502(a). 

5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ADVANCE CONTACT REQUIRED.—Ex8 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), a covered 

9 State or covered unit of local government shall 

10 not be eligible for assistance for debris removal 

11 under the public assistance grant program, in12 cluding direct Federal assistance for debris re13 moval provided by the Corps of Engineers, un14 less the covered State or covered unit of local 

15 government has in effect, prior to the major 

16 disaster or emergency declaration under this 

17 Act for which the covered State or covered unit 

18 of local government is seeking debris removal 

19 assistance, an advance contract for debris re20 moval services that collectively provides ade21 quate coverage, as determined by the Adminis22 trator, for debris removal for the entire State. 

23 ‘‘(B) GRACE PERIOD.—Subparagraph (A) 

24 shall not apply during the 1-year period begin25 ning on the date on which a State or unit of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 2421 IS

1 local government becomes a covered State or 

2 covered unit of local government. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORTING.—For purposes of deter4 mining eligibility under paragraph (1), each covered 

5 State shall submit, on an annual basis, a report to 

6 the Administrator on all advanced contracts in effect 

7 for the covered State or covered units of local gov8 ernment within the State, including, for each ad9 vanced contract— 

10 ‘‘(A) the name of the contractor; 

11 ‘‘(B) the contract terms and conditions; 

12 ‘‘(C) the reimbursement rates; 

13 ‘‘(D) verification and oversight agree14 ments; 

15 ‘‘(E) geographic coverage of the contract; 

16 ‘‘(F) capacity of contractor; and 

17 ‘‘(G) debris removal assets owned by the 

18 contractor. 

19 ‘‘(c) REIMBURSEMENT OF DEBRIS REMOVAL CON20 TRACTS.—With respect to reimbursing advance contracts 

21 for debris removal services described in subsection (b), the 

22 Administrator shall reimburse for such services at the 

23 lower of— 

24 ‘‘(1) the rate of the Federal contract, if any; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(2) the rate of the State advance contract, if 

2 any; or 

3 ‘‘(3) the rate of the unit of local government 

4 advance contract. 

5 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES FOR CONTRACTORS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (3), any contractor who breaches or otherwise 

8 fails to honor an advance contract for debris removal 

9 service entered into with a State or unit of local gov10 ernment shall not be eligible for any Federal reim11 bursement funds for debris removal services for not 

12 less than 10 years after the date on which the ad13 vance contract is breached. 

14 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF BREACH.—A deter15 mination of whether an advance contract for debris 

16 removal service is breached or otherwise not honored 

17 under paragraph (1) shall be made by a court of 

18 competent jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(3) WAIVER OF PENALTY.—The Administrator 

20 may waive paragraph (1) if the Administrator deter21 mines such waiver is necessary due to— 

22 ‘‘(A) a labor or supply shortage; or 

23 ‘‘(B) no alternative contractors being avail24 able to perform the necessary services. 

25 ‘‘(e) OVERSIGHT.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad3 ministrator shall develop and implement guidance 

4 and procedures, including clear and unambiguous 

5 rules, with respect to the oversight of debris removal 

6 contracts entered into under the public assistance 

7 grant program, including, at a minimum— 

8 ‘‘(A) a requirement that— 

9 ‘‘(i) all States and units of local gov10 ernment receiving debris removal assist11 ance under the public assistance grant pro12 gram take the primary role in the over13 sight function of debris removal; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Agency shall verify compli15 ance with the requirements of this section 

16 and any regulations promulgated under 

17 this section; 

18 ‘‘(B) guidance for State and local debris 

19 monitors regarding debris removal operations, 

20 debris operations oversight, and contractor 

21 oversight, including contractor monitoring; 

22 ‘‘(C) checklists, job aids, eligibility require23 ments, contract requirements, debris manage24 ment planning guidance, and other items, as 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 2421 IS

1 determined necessary by the Administrator, for 

2 State and local debris monitors; 

3 ‘‘(D) guidance for State and local debris 

4 monitors on how to ensure that subgrant recipi5 ents meet the grant requirements and eligibility 

6 criteria for the public assistance grant program 

7 under which the grant was awarded in all areas 

8 of the debris removal operation; 

9 ‘‘(E) a list of the specific debris removal 

10 monitoring responsibilities expected to be com11 pleted by a State for which a public assistance 

12 grant program grant is awarded; and 

13 ‘‘(F) a list of the specific debris removal 

14 monitoring responsibilities expected to be com15 pleted by recipients of a subgrant of a grant 

16 from a public assistance grant program. 

17 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND UPDATE OF GUIDANCE AND

18 PROCEDURES.—The Administrator shall review and 

19 update the guidance and procedures required under 

20 paragraph (1) as appropriate, but not less frequently 

21 than once every 3 years. 

22 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing the 

24 guidance and procedures required under para25 graph (1), the Administrator shall— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara2 graph (B), require that not later than 45 

3 days after a grant is awarded under the 

4 public assistance grant program for debris 

5 removal, and once every 45 days thereafter 

6 for the duration of the grant, the State 

7 shall submit a report to the Administrator 

8 on the progress of the debris removal; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) ensure that oversight of debris 

10 removal operations can be accomplished in 

11 all units of local government of a State in 

12 which debris removal operations are being 

13 carried out, such as through real-time re14 porting on operations. 

15 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF REPORTING REQUIRE16 MENT.—The Administrator may waive the re17 porting requirement described in subparagraph 

18 (A)(i), if the Administrator determines, on a 

19 case-by-case basis, that such reporting require20 ment would negatively impact disaster recovery 

21 efforts. 

22 ‘‘(f) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall provide 

23 training on appropriate debris removal guidance and pro24 cedures to— 

25 ‘‘(1) Agency debris monitors; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(2) appropriate State and private entities. 

2 ‘‘(g) FIELD PRESENCE OF FEDERAL COORDINATING

3 OFFICERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

5 develop a documented risk-based approach for 

6 grants awarded under the public assistance grant 

7 program that Federal coordinating officers ap8 pointed under section 302 can use to determine ap9 propriate cost-effective field presence required for 

10 debris removal oversight. 

11 ‘‘(2) VERIFYING DEBRIS AMOUNTS AND REIM12 BURSEMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

14 shall require that any entity applying for debris 

15 removal assistance under the public assistance 

16 grant program shall, as part of the assistance 

17 application, enter into a debris removal moni18 toring contract to conduct oversight and 

19 verification of debris removal by contractors, 

20 which shall require that one of the verification 

21 methods approved by the Administrator under 

22 subparagraph (B) be used to conduct the over23 sight and verification. 

24 ‘‘(B) VERIFICATION METHODS.—For pur25 poses of subparagraph (A), the Administrator 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•S 2421 IS

1 shall, on an annual basis, develop and publish 

2 a list of approved verification methods, which 

3 may include— 

4 ‘‘(i) a digital photograph of each load 

5 of debris to validate load tickets; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a digital photograph of each 

7 truck used to haul debris to verify truck 

8 certifications; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) measurements of debris piles 

10 and mulch piles for comparison and 

11 verification against a photograph described 

12 in clauses (i) and (ii). 

13 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES FOR INACCURATE ACCOUNTING

14 OF DEBRIS REMOVAL AMOUNTS.—Any discrepancy 

15 between the reported amount of debris collected by 

16 a contractor and the verified amount, as determined 

17 using an approved verification method under para18 graph (2)(B), shall incur a penalty at 2 times the 

19 reimbursement rate of the documented discrep20 ancy.’’. 

21 (b) ADVANCE CONTRACTING.—Section 691 of the 

22 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 

23 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL CONTRACTS.—If it is deter2 mined under subsection (e)(2) that an advanced con3 tract is needed for a good or service described in 

4 such subsection, the Administrator shall, to the 

5 greatest extent possible, enter into 1 or more ad6 vance contracts for that good or service. 

7 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—To the greatest extent pos8 sible, the Administrator shall use advance contracts 

9 for goods and services before making new post-dis10 aster contract awards for the same or similar goods 

11 and services.’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Admin15 istrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

16 Congress a report on advanced contracts that contains— 

17 ‘‘(1) a comprehensive list of advance contracts 

18 in effect as of the date the report, which shall in19 clude— 

20 ‘‘(A) the contracting entity; 

21 ‘‘(B) the award amount; 

22 ‘‘(C) the good or service being provided 

23 under the contract; and 

24 ‘‘(D) the duration of the contract; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•S 2421 IS

1 ‘‘(2) a review of the need for advance contracts 

2 that may be lacking as of the date of the report 

3 for— 

4 ‘‘(A) debris removal services; 

5 ‘‘(B) prefabricated and portable buildings; 

6 ‘‘(C) inspection services; 

7 ‘‘(D) installation of power transmission 

8 equipment; and 

9 ‘‘(E) other goods and services determined 

10 by the Administrator to be appropriate for ad11 vance contracts.’’. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (b) and (c) of 

13 section 431 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

14 Emergency Assistance Act, as added by subsection (a) of 

15 this section, shall not take effect until the date that is 

16 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS