II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2109 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 30, 2015 Mr. Johnson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop an integrated plan to reduce administrative costs under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015 . 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term administrative cost means a cost incurred by the Agency in support of the delivery of disaster assistance for a major disaster; (2) the term Administrator means the Administrator of the Agency; (3) the term Agency means the Federal Emergency Management Agency; (4) the term direct administrative cost means a cost incurred by a grantee or subgrantee of a program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. ) that can be identified separately and assigned to a specific project; (5) the term hazard mitigation program means the hazard mitigation grant program authorized under section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170c ); (6) the term individual assistance program means the individual assistance grant program authorized under sections 408, 410, 415, 416, 426, and 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174 , 5177, 5182, 5183, 5189d, and 5192(a)); (7) the term major disaster means a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 ); (8) the term mission assignment has the meaning given the term in section 641 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 ( 6 U.S.C. 741 ); and (9) the term public assistance program means the public assistance grant program authorized under sections 403(a)(3), 406, 418, 419, 428, and 502(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170b(a)(3) , 5172, 5185, 5186, 5189f, and 5192(a)). 3. Integrated plan for administrative cost reduction (a) In general Not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall— (1) develop and implement an integrated plan to control and reduce administrative costs for major disasters, which shall include— (A) steps the Agency will take to reduce administrative costs; (B) milestones needed for accomplishing the reduction of administrative costs; (C) the assignment of clear roles and responsibilities, including the designation of officials responsible for monitoring and measuring performance; and (D) a timetable for implementation; (2) compare the costs and benefits of tracking the administrative cost data for major disasters by the public assistance, individual assistance, hazard mitigation, and mission assignment programs, and if feasible, track this information; and (3) clarify Agency guidance and minimum documentation requirements for a direct administrative cost claimed by a grantee or subgrantee of a public assistance grant program. (b) Congressional update Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the plan required to be developed under subsection (a)(1). (c) Updates If the Administrator modifies the plan or the timetable under subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report notifying Congress of the modification, which shall include the details of the modification. 4. Limitations for administrative costs (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), of the total amount obligated for major disasters by the Agency from the Disaster Relief Fund for a fiscal year, the amount obligated for administrative costs shall not exceed the milestones set by the Agency in the plan developed under section 3(a)(1). (b) Waiver (1) In general The Administrator may waive a requirement described in subsection (a) if the Administrator— (A) has completed an assessment described in paragraph (3); and (B) submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a written explanation as to why the Agency exceeded the milestones set by the Agency in the plan developed under section 3(a)(1) for administrative costs of major disasters for the specified fiscal year. (2) Public availability Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Administrator submits the written explanation to Congress under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make the explanation publicly available on the website of the Agency. (3) Assessment Not later than 60 days after the last day of a fiscal year, the Administrator shall conduct an assessment of the administrative costs of major disasters for the fiscal year in order to determine whether a waiver is needed under this subsection.