I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6115 
To amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
2006 to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
and the Secretary of the Treasury to track and disclose funding and 
outlays relating to disasters and emergencies on a centralized website, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 1, 2021 
Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, and Mr. QUIGLEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Reform 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans-
parency Act of 2006 to require the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the 
Treasury to track and disclose funding and outlays relat-
ing to disasters and emergencies on a centralized website, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Disclosing All Spend-
ing That Ensures Relief Act’’ or the ‘‘DISASTER Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) At a time of constrained budgets, it is fis-
cally prudent to understand the amount and the 
scope of the Federal Government’s funding and out-
lays relating to disasters and emergencies affecting 
communities in need. 
(2) Understanding the funding and outlays of 
Federal agencies relating to disasters and emer-
gencies will help better inform the congressional 
funding process and presidential budget requests. 
(3) Knowledge about funding and outlay trends 
relating to disasters and emergencies will guide miti-
gation efforts that reduce vulnerabilities to future 
disasters and emergencies. 
(4) Any accounting mechanism to track outlays 
relating to disasters and emergencies should account 
for all funding sources, including both procurement 
and financial assistance funding, regardless of how 
that funding is appropriated. 
(5) The Federal Government’s fiscal exposure 
to disasters and emergencies is not limited to the 
funding and outlays of Federal agencies and should 
also include financial damages associated with disas-
ters and emergencies. For example, financial dam-
ages associated with wildfires may exceed the 
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amount that Federal agencies actually spend in re-
sponse to wildfires. The difference in damages and 
outlays illustrates the Federal Government’s fiscal 
exposure to wildfires. Although some Federal agen-
cies currently track financial damages associated 
with disasters and emergencies, this tracking should 
be consistent and standardized across all relevant 
Federal agencies. 
(6) Data quality issues in business systems 
used by Federal agencies and recipients of Federal 
awards hinder analysis and learning opportunities 
about funding and outlays relating to disasters and 
emergencies. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to require— 
(1) relevant Federal agencies and components 
of Federal agencies to track and report to the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget and 
the Secretary of the Treasury data on funding, out-
lays, and, to the extent practicable, financial dam-
ages relating to disasters and emergencies for publi-
cation on a centralized website; 
(2) the Comptroller General to study and rec-
ommend data quality remediation measures for the 
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data sources of the website described in paragraph 
(1); and 
(3) if applicable, the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget and the Secretary of the 
Treasury to implement the data quality remediation 
measures described in paragraph (2). 
SEC. 4. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF FUNDING RELATING 
TO DISASTERS OR EMERGENCIES. 
(a) DEFINITION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(a) of the Federal 
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 
2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note) is amended— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2) 
through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (10), re-
spectively; 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) DISASTER
OR
EMERGENCY.—The term 
‘disaster or emergency’ means— 
‘‘(A) any major disaster or emergency de-
clared by the President under section 401 or 
501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency 34 Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191); 
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‘‘(B) any fire for which assistance is pro-
vided under section 420 of the Robert T. Staf-
ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5187); 
‘‘(C) any fire for which fire suppression ac-
tivities are carried out by the Department of 
the Interior or the Department of Agriculture; 
‘‘(D) any national emergency declared by 
the President under section 201 of the National 
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621); 
‘‘(E) any disaster or emergency relating to 
assistance provided under section 7(b) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); 
‘‘(F) any natural disaster declared by the 
Secretary of Agriculture under section 321(a) 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop-
ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)); 
‘‘(G) any public health emergency declared 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
under section 319 of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 
‘‘(H) any commercial fishery failure due to 
a fishery resource disaster or catastrophic re-
gional fishery disaster determined by the Sec-
retary of Commerce under section 312(a) or 
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315(a), respectively, of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1861a(a), 1864(a)); and 
‘‘(I) any other potential or actual disaster 
or emergency identified by the Director, in con-
sultation with the head of any relevant Federal 
agency. 
‘‘(3) 
DISASTER-RELATED
FINANCIAL
DAM-
AGES.—The term ‘disaster-related financial dam-
ages’ means any financial or economic loss deter-
mined by the Director that may inform necessary 
Federal outlays relating to any disaster or emer-
gency.’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated— 
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(E) search and aggregate Federal fund-
ing and outlays relating to disasters or emer-
gencies and other relevant information.’’. 
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(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2 of 
the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans-
parency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note), as 
amended by paragraph (1), is further amended— 
(A) in subsection (a)(9)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘paragraph (2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (6)(A)(i)’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘paragraph 
(2)(A)(ii)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘paragraph (6)(A)(ii)’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c)(5), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (a)(2)(A)(i) and those described in sub-
section (a)(2)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(a)(6)(A)(i) and those described in subsection 
(a)(6)(A)(ii)’’. 
(b) FUNDING RELATING TO DISASTERS AND EMER-
GENCIES.—Section 3 of the Federal Funding Account-
ability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 
note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (E); and 
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(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
the following: 
‘‘(D) from which accounts and in what 
amount— 
‘‘(i) appropriations are obligated relat-
ing to any disaster or emergency, which 
shall be accompanied by the information 
described in subsection (c)(2)(A); and 
‘‘(ii) outlays are made relating to any 
disaster or emergency, which shall be ac-
companied by the information described in 
subsection (c)(2)(A); and’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) FULL DISCLOSURE OF FUNDING AND OUTLAYS 
RELATING TO DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.— 
‘‘(1) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of the DIS-
ASTER Act, the Director and the Secretary 
shall establish a pilot program to— 
‘‘(i) test and evaluate the collection 
and accession of data involving and associ-
ated with amounts obligated or outlayed 
relating to any disaster or emergency, as 
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those data are reported under subsection 
(b)(1)(D), which may include— 
‘‘(I) outlays in the wake of any 
disaster or emergency; 
‘‘(II) outlays in advance of any 
potential or actual disaster or emer-
gency; 
‘‘(III) administrative outlays as-
sociated with outlays described in sub-
clause (I) or (II); or 
‘‘(IV) any other category of out-
lays relating to any disaster or emer-
gency determined by the Director and 
the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) test and evaluate the collection 
and accession of data involving and associ-
ated with disaster-related financial dam-
ages, as those data are reported under 
paragraph (2)(A)(iii), which shall be pro-
vided as ancillary data to the data de-
scribed in clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) determine the proper scope and 
standardization of data elements for the 
data described in clauses (i) and (ii); 
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‘‘(iv) determine the proper frequency 
of reporting for the data described in 
clauses (i) and (ii), which shall be not less 
frequently than once every 2 weeks; 
‘‘(v) produce a strategic plan, which 
shall be made publicly available not later 
than 90 days after the date on which the 
pilot program terminates, for implementing 
a program across the Federal Government 
for reporting the data described in clauses 
(i) and (ii) using the scope and standard-
ization determined under clause (iii) and 
the frequency determined under clause (iv); 
and 
‘‘(vi) identify and propose solutions 
for any challenges in implementing the 
program described in clause (v), includ-
ing— 
‘‘(I) as appropriate, recommenda-
tions for proposed legislation; and 
‘‘(II) 
challenges 
in 
reporting 
funding or outlays that— 
‘‘(aa) 
have 
been 
repro-
grammed from an existing pro-
gram; 
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‘‘(bb) have been subject to a 
reporting requirement waiver; 
‘‘(cc) involve a need for cost 
allocation 
methodology 
within 
any individual appropriations ac-
count in order to identify outlays 
associated with any disaster or 
emergency, such as an outlay for 
salaries of Federal employees 
who are engaged in response to 
any disaster or emergency; or 
‘‘(dd) relate to any disaster 
or emergency that lacks a clear 
start or end date. 
‘‘(B) CONSULTATION WITH EXPERTS.—In 
establishing the pilot program under subpara-
graph (A), the Director and the Secretary shall 
consult with individuals who are— 
‘‘(i) representatives of relevant gov-
ernmental and nongovernmental organiza-
tions, including Federal agencies and com-
ponents of Federal agencies of diverse sizes 
and missions; and 
‘‘(ii) experts in— 
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‘‘(I) disaster relief and prepared-
ness; or 
‘‘(II) Federal Government ac-
counting. 
‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The pilot program 
established under subparagraph (A) shall termi-
nate not later than 2 years after the date of the 
establishment of the pilot program. 
‘‘(2) REPORTING
OF
DISASTER- AND
EMER-
GENCY-RELATED
FUNDING.—Using 
information 
learned from the pilot program established under 
paragraph (1)(A) and not later than 1 year after the 
date of the termination of the pilot program, the Di-
rector and the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) establish data standards by which to 
identify, categorize, and describe each disaster 
or emergency, including— 
‘‘(i) a label for the identification and 
categorization of the disaster or emer-
gency; 
‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable— 
‘‘(I) each State or locality af-
fected by the disaster or emergency; 
and 
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‘‘(II) the start and end dates of 
the disaster or emergency; 
‘‘(iii) to the extent practicable, the es-
timated disaster-related financial damages, 
which shall be— 
‘‘(I) disaggregated by affected 
States or localities; 
‘‘(II) itemized by standardized 
categories to demonstrate the need for 
specific types of Federal outlays; and 
‘‘(III) collected on an ongoing 
basis; and 
‘‘(iv) any other information or cat-
egory determined by the Director and the 
Secretary; and 
‘‘(B) issue guidance to Federal agencies 
and components of Federal agencies to— 
‘‘(i) require the tracking and report-
ing of funds obligated or outlayed relating 
to any disaster or emergency in accordance 
with subsection (b)(1)(D); 
‘‘(ii) require the tracking and pub-
lishing on the website established under 
section 2(b)(1) of— 
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‘‘(I) to the extent practicable, 
any disaster-related financial dam-
ages, which shall be provided as ancil-
lary data to the data described in 
clause (i); and 
‘‘(II) information relating to any 
disaster or emergency identified, cat-
egorized, and described under sub-
section (c)(2)(A); 
‘‘(iii) eliminate any tracking, pub-
lishing, or reporting that would be duplica-
tive of the information tracked under 
clauses (i) and (ii); and 
‘‘(iv) not less frequently than annu-
ally, give feedback to, and receive updated 
guidance from, the Director and the Sec-
retary relating to any outlays by Federal 
agencies and components of Federal agen-
cies that— 
‘‘(I) are not tracked under clause 
(i); and 
‘‘(II) may qualify as outlays re-
lating to any disaster or emergency. 
‘‘(3) COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
REPORT.—Not 
later than 3 years after the date on which the Direc-
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tor and the Secretary issue guidance under para-
graph (2)(B), the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 
House of Representatives a report that— 
‘‘(A) assesses the completeness, timeliness, 
quality, accuracy, and usefulness of the infor-
mation described in paragraph (2)(B); and 
‘‘(B) if appropriate, includes any rec-
ommendations to improve the information de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(B).’’. 
SEC. 5. DATA QUALITY REPORTS AND REMEDIATION 
PLANS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Oversight and Re-
form of the House of Representatives. 
(2) 
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL.—The 
term 
‘‘Comptroller General’’ means the Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States. 
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(3) DATA
QUALITY
ISSUE.—The term ‘‘data 
quality issue’’ means a situation in which a collec-
tion of quantitative or qualitative data represent or 
suggest inaccurate, misleading, or insufficiently clear 
information in a common way. 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit a publicly available report to the appropriate con-
gressional committees relating to current and ongoing 
data quality issues in the data sources of the website es-
tablished under section 2(b)(1) of the Federal Funding 
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 
6101 note), including data quality issues of— 
(1) the Federal Funding Accountability and 
Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System; 
(2) the Federal Procurement Data System; 
(3) any business system operated by a Federal 
agency or a component of a Federal agency identi-
fied by the Comptroller General; 
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(4) any successor system of a system described 
in this subsection; and 
(5) any other data source identified by the 
Comptroller General. 
(c) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-
section (b) shall include— 
(1) an identification of data quality issues of 
the data systems described in subsection (b), as ap-
plicable, including situations in which— 
(A) outlayed amounts exceed obligated 
amounts; 
(B) subaward amounts exceed prime award 
amounts; 
(C) inappropriate variations exist for how 
a single entity or location is identified, such as 
a situation in which— 
(i) the same legal entity possesses 
multiple different unique identifiers; or 
(ii) the same geographic location pos-
sesses intentional or unintentional vari-
ations in spelling; 
(D) open text fields are insufficiently in-
formative, such as in award descriptions; 
(E) required or relevant information is 
missing, including— 
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(i) as a result of a reporting require-
ment waiver; and 
(ii) any information that is collected 
inconsistently across Federal award types 
or Federal program types, such an indus-
try information or demographic informa-
tion; 
(F) labels and other identifiers are incor-
rectly or inappropriately assigned, including— 
(i) any failure to produce or update 
labels and other identifiers for funding 
that has been reprogrammed from an ex-
isting program; and 
(ii) any inaccurate identification of 
funds obligated or outlayed relating to any 
disaster or emergency; and 
(G) any other potential or actual problem 
is identified by the Comptroller General; and 
(2) for each data quality issue identified under 
paragraph (1)— 
(A) a list of each relevant system in which 
the data quality issue is created and propa-
gated; 
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(B) a list of the stakeholder groups in-
volved in creating and reviewing the data in 
which the data quality issue is found; 
(C) an explanation of known and accepted 
exceptions to instances of the data quality issue 
that— 
(i) may appear problematic; and 
(ii) are justified in some cases; 
(D) an assessment of the root cause of the 
data quality issue; 
(E) a discussion of any tradeoffs on data 
quality versus cost or effort; 
(F) a list of existing mechanisms to detect 
or prevent instances of the data quality issue; 
and 
(G) any recommendations for relevant 
business systems and stakeholder groups to re-
mediate the data quality issue and explain to 
public data consumers the known and accepted 
exceptions, including— 
(i) a proposed timeline for implemen-
tation and evaluation by relevant stake-
holder groups, which shall not exceed 2 
years from the date of the submission of 
the report, unless justified in writing; 
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(ii) metrics to determine success; 
(iii) proposed solutions that may in-
volve technological, behavioral, institu-
tional, cultural, educational, regulatory, 
legislative, or resource allocation changes; 
and 
(iv) any other recommendation relat-
ing to the efficiency or effectiveness of the 
data systems described in subsection (b). 
(d) UPDATES.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
on which the report required under subsection (b) is sub-
mitted, and every 2 years thereafter until not less than 
6 years after such date, the Comptroller General shall sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees an up-
dated and publicly available report that includes— 
(1) the information required to be included in 
the report under subsection (c); 
(2) any newly identified data quality issues; 
(3) information relating to the success of the 
remediation recommendations included in previous 
reports; and 
(4) a determination of whether any additional 
updated reports with the same submission schedule 
and requirements as the report required under this 
subsection are needed. 
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