Does FEMA Need to Reduce Administrative Costs in Responding to Major Disasters? (S. 2109)

What is S. 2109?

(Updated March 15, 2018)

This bill was enacted on February 29, 2016

This bill would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make a plan to reduce the cost of administering programs that offer grants and technical assistance in areas affected by major disasters.

Specifically, FEMA would be directed to:

• Develop and implement an integrated plan to track, control, and reduce administrative costs when FEMA delivers assistance for major disasters;

• Compare the costs and benefits of tracking administrative data in the following programs: public assistance, individual assistance, hazard mitigation, and mission assignment;

• Clarify FEMA guidance and minimum documentation requirements for a direct administrative cost claimed by a grantee or subgrantee of a public assistance grant program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

FEMA would be required to submit to Congress a report on the development and implementation of the previous fiscal year’s plan, with three-year and five-year updates each year by November 30 that includes:

• The total amount spent on administrative costs and the average percentage of administrative costs of major disasters for each fiscal year;

• An assessment of the plan’s effectiveness;

• An analysis of whether FEMA is achieving its strategic goals for administrative costs, and if not, what is preventing it from doing so;

• Any actions FEMA has identified as useful in improving upon and reaching those goals;

• Any administrative cost data for major disasters, if FEMA determines it is feasible to track such data.

Argument in favor

FEMA should be actively trying to spend as little on administrative costs as possible to conserve resources for disaster relief, and this reporting requirement would help the agency accomplish that.

Argument opposed

This bill is unnecessary because FEMA is already attempting to bring its spending on administrative costs under control, and Congress doesn’t need an annual report to know if progress is being made.

Impact

FEMA grants and programs related to disaster relief; and Congress.

Cost of S. 2109

The CBO estimates that this bill would have an insignificant effect on the federal budget over the 2016-2020 period, as FEMA is already performing some tasks required by this legislation.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Following the passage of this bill by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate as a whole passed this legislation by unanimous consent.

Of Note: According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the proportion spent by FEMA on administrative costs during the 2004 to 2013 period doubled from the preceding 10-year period, to a total of $12.7 billion between 2004-2013. As a result, FEMA has been criticized for failing to meet internal goals to reduce its spending on salaries and administration.

Media:

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Press Release
• CBO Cost Estimate

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user USDAgov)