SEC. 2. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE INFOR-
MATION 
COLLECTION 
AND 
PRELIMINARY 
DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1223 of the Disaster Re-
covery Reform Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1223. STUDY TO STREAMLINE AND CONSOLIDATE IN-
FORMATION COLLECTION AND PRELIMINARY 
DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS. 
‘‘(a) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—Not later than 2 
years after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad-
ministrator, in coordination with the Small Business Ad-
ministration, the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, the Disaster Assistance Working Group of the 
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Effi-
ciency, and other appropriate agencies, shall— 
‘‘(1) conduct a study and develop a plan, con-
sistent with law, under which the collection of infor-
mation from disaster assistance applicants and 
grantees will be modified, streamlined, expedited, ef-
ficient, flexible, consolidated, and simplified to be 
less burdensome, duplicative, and time consuming 
for applicants and grantees; and 
‘‘(2) develop a plan for the regular collection 
and reporting of information on Federal disaster as-
sistance awarded, including the establishment and 
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maintenance of a website for presenting the informa-
tion to the public. 
‘‘(b) PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS.—Not 
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion, the Administrator, in consultation with the Council 
of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, 
shall convene a working group on a regular basis with the 
Secretary of Labor, the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin-
istration, the Secretary of Transportation, the Assistant 
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, and 
other appropriate agencies as the Administrator considers 
necessary, to— 
‘‘(1) identify and describe the potential areas of 
duplication or fragmentation in preliminary damage 
assessments after disaster declarations; 
‘‘(2) determine the applicability of having one 
Federal agency make the assessments for all agen-
cies; and 
‘‘(3) identify potential emerging technologies, 
such as unmanned aircraft systems, consistent with 
the requirements established in the FEMA Account-
ability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 
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2017 (42 U.S.C. 5121 note), to expedite the admin-
istration of preliminary damage assessments. 
‘‘(c) COMPREHENSIVE REPORT.—The Administrator 
shall submit one comprehensive report that comprises the 
plans developed under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) and 
a report of the findings of the working group convened 
under subsection (b), which may include recommenda-
tions, to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate. 
‘‘(d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The comprehensive re-
port developed under subsection (c) shall be made avail-
able to the public and posted on the website of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency— 
‘‘(1) in pre-compressed, easily downloadable 
versions that are made available in all appropriate 
formats; and 
‘‘(2) in machine-readable format, if applicable. 
‘‘(e) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In preparing the 
comprehensive report, any publication, database, or web- 
based resource, and any information compiled by any gov-
ernment agency, nongovernmental organization, or other 
entity that is made available may be used. 
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‘‘(f) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after sub-
mission of the comprehensive report, the Administrator of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or a des-
ignee, and a member of the Council of the Inspectors Gen-
eral on Integrity and Efficiency, or a designee, shall brief, 
upon request, the appropriate congressional committees on 
the findings and any recommendations made in the com-
prehensive report.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to 
section 1223 in the table of contents of the FAA Reau-
thorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 1223. Study to streamline and consolidate information collection and pre-
liminary damage assessments.’’. 
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Calendar No. 703 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 255 
[Report No. 118–297] 
AN ACT 
To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 
2018 to develop a study regarding streamlining 
and consolidating information collection and pre-
liminary damage assessments, and for other pur-
poses. 
DECEMBER 16, 2024 
Reported without amendment 
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