Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act

Subjects: Emergency Management, Disaster relief and insurance, Government information and archives, Natural disasters, Public-private cooperation

Summary:  <p><b>Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes a centralized location to publish information on disaster assistance provided by federal agencies.</p> <p> The Small Business Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and any agencies providing disaster assistance must make available to the public on a quarterly basis information regarding (1) the total amount of assistance provided by the agency; (2) the amount provided that was expended or obligated; and (3) all projects or activities for which assistance was expended, obligated, or used.</p> <ul> </ul> <ul> </ul>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 259 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 259

To provide for an online repository for certain reporting requirements 
 for recipients of Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2023

 Miss Gonzalez-Colon (for herself, Ms. Plaskett, and Ms. Malliotakis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for an online repository for certain reporting requirements 
 for recipients of Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Post-Disaster Assistance Online 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. SUBPAGE FOR TRANSPARENCY OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Establishment of Repository for Reporting Requirements.--The 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with 
the Secretary of the Treasury and the head of each covered Federal 
agency, shall establish a subpage within the website established under 
section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) to publish the information required to be 
made available to the public under this section.
    (b) Submission of Information by Federal Agencies.--Not later than 
30 days after the end of a calendar quarter, each covered Federal 
agency that made disaster assistance available to an eligible recipient 
during such quarter shall, in coordination with the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, make available to the public on the 
subpage established under subsection (a) the information described in 
subsection (c), and ensure that any data asset of the agency is machine 
readable.
    (c) Information Required.--The information described in this 
subsection is, with respect to disaster assistance provided by the 
covered Federal agency--
            (1) the total amount of disaster assistance provided by the 
        agency during such quarter;
            (2) the amount of disaster assistance provided by the 
        agency that was expended or obligated to projects or 
        activities; and
            (3) a detailed list of all projects or activities for which 
        disaster assistance dispersed by the agency was expended, 
        obligated, or used, including--
                    (A) the name of the project or activity;
                    (B) a description of the project or activity;
                    (C) an evaluation of the completion status of the 
                project or activity;
                    (D) any award identification number assigned to the 
                project;
                    (E) the Catalog for Disaster Assistance number 
                assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
                    (F) the location of the project, including ZIP 
                Codes; and
                    (G) any reporting requirement information being 
                collected by a covered Federal agency with respect to 
                that agency's disaster assistance.
    (d) Guidance.--Each covered Federal agency, in coordination with 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary 
of the Treasury, shall issue such guidance as is necessary to meet the 
requirements of this Act.
    (e) Agreement With Private Entity.--The Director, if necessary for 
purposes of transparency, may enter into an agreement with a private 
entity, including a nonprofit organization, to develop the subpage 
required under this section.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Covered federal agency.--The term ``covered Federal 
        agency'' means--
                    (A) any agency providing assistance under the 
                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);
                    (B) the Small Business Administration; and
                    (C) the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development.
            (2) Disaster assistance.--The term ``disaster assistance'' 
        means any funds that are made available by the Federal 
        Government in response to a specified natural disaster, 
        including--
                    (A) any assistance provided by the Administrator of 
                the Small Business Administration as a result of a 
                disaster declared under section 7(b) of the Small 
                Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b));
                    (B) any assistance provided by the Secretary of 
                Housing and Urban Development for--
                            (i) activities authorized under title I of 
                        the Housing and Community Development Act of 
                        1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) related to 
                        disaster relief, long-term recovery, 
                        restoration of infrastructure and housing, and 
                        economic revitalization in the most impacted 
                        and distressed areas resulting from a major 
                        disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. 
                        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); and
                            (ii) flood insurance coverage provided 
                        under the National Flood Insurance Program 
                        pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act of 
                        1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.); and
                    (C) any assistance provided under the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
            (3) Eligible recipient.--The term ``eligible recipient''--
                    (A) means any entity that receives disaster 
                assistance directly from the Federal Government 
                (including disaster assistance received through grant, 
                loan, or contract) other than an individual; and
                    (B) includes a State that receives disaster 
                assistance.
            (4) Specified natural disaster.--The term ``specified 
        natural disaster'' means--
                    (A) a fire on public or private forest land or 
                grassland described in section 420 of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5187);
                    (B) a major disaster declared by the President 
                under section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170);
                    (C) an emergency declared by the President under 
                section 501 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5191); and
                    (D) any other natural disaster for which a disaster 
                declaration is made by the Federal Government.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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