To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the response to an emergency or disaster.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask all of my colleagues for their support of H.R. 1117, the FEMA Relief Improvement Act, which will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to refocus their efforts on the core of their mission, which is helping people recover from grave loss in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

In August of 2013, as the chairman and the ranking member mentioned, the southern portion of my district experienced a major disaster involving heavy flooding which devastated infrastructure, and it caused significant hardship for many of my constituents.

Unfortunately, the Federal recovery efforts to this devastated region added insult to injury. Local officials dealt with multiple uncoordinated teams conducting duplicative site visits due to lost paperwork, inconsistent messages between various survey and evaluation teams, and unnecessarily long

delays in recovery and reimbursement. Such a response to any disaster is unacceptable, and change is necessary.

As I work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I have learned that these issues are not unique to central Missouri. I have worked diligently with Chairman Barletta in crafting this bill to call attention to and to rectify FEMA's shortcomings.

This legislation is designed to address the deficiencies of the FEMA response to the 2013 flooding in my district to ensure future disaster recoveries in Missouri and elsewhere are as painless and efficient as possible.

Specifically, this bill requires FEMA to create an action plan to address inconsistent guidance, to establish appropriate recordkeeping procedures, and to improve overall assistance to local officials.

Additionally, this simple bill directs FEMA to issue a forward- looking report to identify new technologies that could further aid the disaster workforce in partnering with private nonprofits as well as State and local governments in the wake of a disaster or an emergency.

FEMA processes need to be streamlined and consistent in order to help those recovering from a disaster feel supported and assured relief will come in a timely, efficient manner.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to bring the certainty and the assurances of quick relief to all of our constituents because they deserve the best. I ask my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 1117, the FEMA Relief Improvement Act, which passed by voice vote out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in February.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairmen Shuster and Barletta and Ranking Members DeFazio and Johnson, as well as their staffs, for working with me in this bipartisan, commonsense effort to make the people get the help and assistance they so desperately need in times of crisis.

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1117.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1117) to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the response to an emergency or disaster, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1117, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand in my district how disasters devastate communities and their citizens. In the aftermath of these disasters, while facing the devastation and the daunting task of recovery, many communities encounter even more challenges caused by FEMA, which has been sent there to help.

I continue to hear from my colleagues in Congress about conflicting guidance received from FEMA officials, who constantly change on the ground. I have heard stories of lost documents, lengthy delays, and huge administrative burdens placed on communities doing their best to recover from disasters. And in the worst cases, the guidance provided by FEMA results in the community losing disaster assistance.

Unfortunately, in Missouri, they have faced many of these challenges following floods in August 2013. Congresswoman Hartzler has taken the lead to push FEMA to fix these issues by introducing this bill. I am proud that we are moving H.R. 1117.

One of my focuses as chair of the subcommittee is how we can make disaster assistance programs more effective and efficient and ensure the wise investment of taxpayer dollars. H.R. 1117 will certainly help us do that.

This legislation helps communities struggling to recover from disasters by improving transparency, consistency, and communication with FEMA. It also requires FEMA to leverage technologies to ease the administrative burden on local governments for maintaining documents, applying for assistance, and providing information to FEMA to speed recovery. The House adopted similar language last year when it passed the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act.

Again, I commend the gentlewoman from Missouri for introducing this bill to ensure that those impacted by disasters are receiving accurate, up-to-date information about their assistance and the status of recovery.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1117 to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report on how it will improve field staff transition.

As the gentleman from Pennsylvania has explained, there has been a good deal of confusion with high turnover, repetitive and lost paperwork, and inconsistent guidance.

FEMA has implemented several new technologies to manage its full-time employees, but they have not made similar efforts for field and temporary disaster response personnel. It is time for FEMA to do so.

This bill requires FEMA to submit a report on how it plans to address the disaster workforce issues, their continuing inconsistent guidance, and keeping appropriate records.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on March 27, 2017, I was absent from the House and missed roll call votes 195 through 196.

Had I been present for roll call 195, a vote on H.R. 1117, a measure to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the response to an emergency or disaster, I would have voted ``Aye.''

Had I been present for roll call 196, a vote on H.R. 654, The Pacific Northwest Earthquake Preparedness Act of 2017, I would have voted ``Aye.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 222, H.R. 1117.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.