DISASTER Act

Bill: 117-hr-6115
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-52]
Introduced: 2021-12-01
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing

Appropriations

Budget process

Congressional oversight

Disaster relief and insurance

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Emergency planning and evacuation

Fires

Forests, forestry, trees

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Infectious and parasitic diseases

Marine and coastal resources, fisheries

Natural disasters

Small business
Latest action: action_date: 2021-12-01
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-12-01
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Disclosing All Spending That Ensures Relief Act or the DISASTER Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires federal agencies to track and disclose on a centralized website certain data on funding, outlays, and financial damages relating to disasters and emergencies. </p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6115 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 1, 2021 Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio , and Mr. Quigley ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Disclosing All Spending That Ensures Relief Act or the DISASTER Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) At a time of constrained budgets, it is fiscally prudent to understand the amount and the scope of the Federal Government’s funding and outlays relating to disasters and emergencies affecting communities in need. (2) Understanding the funding and outlays of Federal agencies relating to disasters and emergencies 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 mitigation 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 disasters and emergencies. For example, financial damages associated with wildfires may exceed the amount that Federal agencies actually spend in response to wildfires. The difference in damages and outlays illustrates the Federal Government’s fiscal exposure to wildfires. Although some Federal agencies 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. 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 Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury data on funding, outlays, and, to the extent practicable, financial damages relating to disasters and emergencies for publication on a centralized website; (2) the Comptroller General to study and recommend data quality remediation measures for the 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). 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), respectively; (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Disaster or emergency The term disaster or emergency means— (A) any major disaster or emergency declared by the President under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 34 Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 , 5191); (B) any fire for which assistance is provided under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5187 ); (C) any fire for which fire suppression activities 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 Development 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 regional fishery disaster determined by the Secretary of Commerce under section 312(a) or 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 consultation with the head of any relevant Federal agency. (3) Disaster-related financial damages The term disaster-related financial damages means any financial or economic loss determined by the Director that may inform necessary Federal outlays relating to any disaster or emergency. ; 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 following: (E) search and aggregate Federal funding and outlays relating to disasters or emergencies and other relevant information. . (2) Conforming amendments Section 2 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 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 paragraph (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 subsection (a)(2)(A)(i) and those described in subsection (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 emergencies Section 3 of the Federal Funding Accountability 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 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: (D) from which accounts and in what amount— (i) appropriations are obligated relating 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 accompanied 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 DISASTER Act , the Director and the Secretary shall establish a pilot program to— (i) test and evaluate the collection and accession of data involving and associated with amounts obligated or outlayed relating to any disaster or emergency, as 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 emergency; (III) administrative outlays associated with outlays described in subclause (I) or (II); or (IV) any other category of outlays relating to any disaster or emergency determined by the Director and the Secretary; (ii) test and evaluate the collection and accession of data involving and associated with disaster-related financial damages, as those data are reported under paragraph (2)(A)(iii), which shall be provided as ancillary data to the data described in clause (i); (iii) determine the proper scope and standardization of data elements for the data described in clauses (i) and (ii); (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 standardization 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), including— (I) as appropriate, recommendations for proposed legislation; and (II) challenges in reporting funding or outlays that— (aa) have been reprogrammed from an existing program; (bb) have been subject to a reporting requirement waiver; (cc) involve a need for cost allocation methodology within any individual appropriations account 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 subparagraph (A), the Director and the Secretary shall consult with individuals who are— (i) representatives of relevant governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including Federal agencies and components of Federal agencies of diverse sizes and missions; and (ii) experts in— (I) disaster relief and preparedness; or (II) Federal Government accounting. (C) Termination The pilot program established under subparagraph (A) shall terminate not later than 2 years after the date of the establishment of the pilot program. (2) Reporting of disaster- and emergency-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 Director 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 emergency; (ii) to the extent practicable— (I) each State or locality affected by the disaster or emergency; and (II) the start and end dates of the disaster or emergency; (iii) to the extent practicable, the estimated 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 category 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 reporting of funds obligated or outlayed relating to any disaster or emergency in accordance with subsection (b)(1)(D); (ii) require the tracking and publishing on the website established under section 2(b)(1) of— (I) to the extent practicable, any disaster-related financial damages, which shall be provided as ancillary data to the data described in clause (i); and (II) information relating to any disaster or emergency identified, categorized, and described under subsection (c)(2)(A); (iii) eliminate any tracking, publishing, or reporting that would be duplicative of the information tracked under clauses (i) and (ii); and (iv) not less frequently than annually, give feedback to, and receive updated guidance from, the Director and the Secretary relating to any outlays by Federal agencies and components of Federal agencies that— (I) are not tracked under clause (i); and (II) may qualify as outlays relating to any disaster or emergency. (3) Comptroller general report Not later than 3 years after the date on which the Director and the Secretary issue guidance under paragraph (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 information described in paragraph (2)(B); and (B) if appropriate, includes any recommendations to improve the information described in paragraph (2)(B). . 5. Data quality reports and remediation plans (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives. (2) Comptroller General The term Comptroller General means the Comptroller General of the United States. (3) Data quality issue The term data quality issue means a situation in which a collection 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 Budget. (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 congressional committees relating to current and ongoing data quality issues in the data sources of the website established 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 identified by the Comptroller General; (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 subsection (b) shall include— (1) an identification of data quality issues of the data systems described in subsection (b), as applicable, 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 possesses intentional or unintentional variations in spelling; (D) open text fields are insufficiently informative, such as in award descriptions; (E) required or relevant information is missing, including— (i) as a result of a reporting requirement waiver; and (ii) any information that is collected inconsistently across Federal award types or Federal program types, such an industry information or demographic information; (F) labels and other identifiers are incorrectly or inappropriately assigned, including— (i) any failure to produce or update labels and other identifiers for funding that has been reprogrammed from an existing 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 propagated; (B) a list of the stakeholder groups involved 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 remediate the data quality issue and explain to public data consumers the known and accepted exceptions, including— (i) a proposed timeline for implementation and evaluation by relevant stakeholder groups, which shall not exceed 2 years from the date of the submission of the report, unless justified in writing; (ii) metrics to determine success; (iii) proposed solutions that may involve technological, behavioral, institutional, cultural, educational, regulatory, legislative, or resource allocation changes; and (iv) any other recommendation relating 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 submitted, and every 2 years thereafter until not less than 6 years after such date, the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated 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. (e) Implementation plans Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Comptroller General submits a report required under subsection (b) or (d), the Director and the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a publicly available report that explains, with respect to a recommendation described in subsection (c)(2)(G)— (1) whether and how each relevant stakeholder group should implement the recommendation, including any comments on the recommendation; and (2) if applicable, any challenges and related solutions to implementing the recommendation.