I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9037 
To require the development of a workforce plan for the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 15, 2024 
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. 
EZELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require the development of a workforce plan for the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Emergency 
Mobilization Accountability (FEMA) Workforce Planning 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FEMA WORKFORCE PLAN. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Agency. 
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(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
(3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Homeland Security. 
(4) 
SURGE
CAPACITY
FORCE.—The 
term 
‘‘Surge Capacity Force’’ means the Surge Capacity 
Force described in section 624 of the Post-Katrina 
Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 
U.S.C. 711). 
(b) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre-
quently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Adminis-
trator shall develop and submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives a human capital op-
erating plan to shape and improve the workforce of the 
Agency. 
(c) LEADING PRACTICES.—The Administrator shall 
develop the plan required under subsection (b) in accord-
ance with best practices outlined by the Director of the 
Office of Personnel Management, the Comptroller General 
of the United States, and other sources relevant to the 
Federal workforce. 
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(d) CONTENTS.—The plan developed under sub-
section (b) shall include— 
(1) performance measures to monitor and 
evaluate progress toward the human capital goals of 
the Agency, including filling staffing gaps, closing 
skills gaps in mission critical occupations, and imple-
menting workforce training and, if applicable, 
progress toward meeting those goals since the date 
of submission of the most recent plan under sub-
section (b), including— 
(A) a process to monitor and evaluate 
progress toward those goals; 
(B) a discussion of why the Agency has or 
has not met those goals, including a description 
of specific barriers; and 
(C) a discussion of the addition or deletion 
of any specific performance measures; 
(2) details of the types of employees of the 
Agency, including by hiring authority and cadre; 
(3) a comprehensive analysis of the projected 
costs associated with implementing the plan; 
(4) strategies and practices designed to increase 
cost efficiency within the workforce operations of the 
Agency, including reducing overhead costs, improv-
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ing resource utilization, and avoiding unnecessary 
expenditures; 
(5) a detailed analysis of how the Agency deter-
mined the current overall staffing goals of the Agen-
cy; 
(6) an analysis of the current workforce of the 
Agency and possible gaps in the current staffing 
structure of the Agency needed to fulfill the mission 
of the Agency, including an assessment of— 
(A) the critical and emerging skills that 
will be needed in the workforce of the Agency 
to support the mission and responsibilities of, 
and effectively manage, the Agency during the 
3-year period following the date of the submis-
sion of the plan, including target staffing num-
bers by cadre, region, and office; 
(B) the skills of the workforce of the Agen-
cy, including numbers of employees by cadre, 
region, and office on the date of submission of 
the plan; 
(C) projected trends in the workforce of 
the Agency based on expected losses due to re-
tirement and other attrition, including any 
known data for the causes of attrition; and 
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(D) the staffing levels of each category of 
employee of the Agency, including shortages in 
the workforce of the Agency and in the pro-
jected workforce of the Agency that should be 
addressed to ensure that the Agency has contin-
ued access to the critical and emerging skills 
described in subparagraph (A); 
(7) a plan of action with specific recommenda-
tions for developing and reshaping the workforce of 
the Agency to address the gaps in critical and 
emerging skills described in paragraph (6)(A), in-
cluding— 
(A) specific recruitment and retention 
goals by cadre and mission critical occupations, 
including the analysis that the Agency uses to 
produce those numbers; 
(B) specific strategies for developing, 
training, deploying, motivating, and retaining 
the workforce of the Agency and the ability of 
the workforce of the Agency to fulfill the mis-
sion and responsibilities of the Agency, includ-
ing the program objectives of the Department 
and the Agency to be achieved through such 
strategies; 
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(C) specific strategies for recruiting and 
retaining individuals needed to address work-
force gaps within specific cadres; 
(D) specific strategies for the development, 
training, and coordinated and rapid deployment 
of the Surge Capacity Force; and 
(E) any necessary legislative proposals to 
improve recruitment and retention; and 
(8) a discussion that— 
(A) details the number of employees not 
employed by the Agency serving in the Surge 
Capacity Force and the qualifications or cre-
dentials and training of such individuals; 
(B) includes information on annual data 
relating to the deployment of the workforce of 
the Agency following major disasters or emer-
gencies declared by the President under section 
401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Staf-
ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) during the 3-year 
period preceding the date of the submission of 
the plan; 
(C) details— 
(i) average tenure and attrition data, 
categorized by type of attrition, for— 
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(I) types of Agency employees by 
hiring authority; and 
(II) specific offices, regions, and 
cadres of the Agency; and 
(ii) any known reasons why some 
types of Agency employees or specific of-
fices, regions, or cadres of the Agency may 
have higher levels of attrition and strate-
gies to address those higher levels of attri-
tion; 
(D) details— 
(i) efforts of the Agency to help pre-
vent and respond to discrimination and 
harassment; and 
(ii) information on reported cases of 
discrimination and harassment within the 
Agency and the outcomes of those cases; 
and 
(E) describes, with respect to hiring infor-
mation of the Agency, the time between the 
date on which the Agency validates a need to 
hire a new employee for a position and— 
(i) the acceptance of an offer of em-
ployment for the position by an applicant; 
and 
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(ii) the start date of the employee at 
the Agency for the position. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the submission of the plan required under subsection 
(b), the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives a report that— 
(1) analyzes whether the plan meets the re-
quirements of this Act; and 
(2) includes necessary recommendations to en-
sure subsequent plans meet the requirements of this 
Act. 
(f) NO NEW FUNDS.—No additional funds are au-
thorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying 
out this Act. 
Æ 
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