FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the subcommittee chairman and ranking member for their assistance, and I also want to thank our lead cosponsor, Mr. Sires of New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is an unfortunate situation, that Congress actually has to step in. I want to give you a little bit of background.

In August of last year, we had once again what was known as the fourth most costly flood disaster in U.S. history. We had areas of south Louisiana that actually experienced over 32 inches of rain within about a 36-hour period. By comparison, the average American, as I recall, receives somewhere between 26 and 28 inches of rain in a year, and we received that in approximately 36 hours--an extraordinary rainfall event.

As you can imagine, in a 1,000-year flood event, you had thousands and thousands of people that were flooded, people living well outside of the floodplain. So, yes, there were thousands of people that were seeking assistance, trying to do everything from buy clothes to buy food, essential needs.

We assisted thousands of constituents trying to get information and answers from FEMA, but the way that

the process worked is that you had to call an 800 number. If someone answered, they would log on a computer system and update the constituent on what their status is: if they received the application, if additional information was needed, if they were approved or denied.

I, myself, on many occasions called the 800 number just to see how long it would take to get through. In some cases no one would answer. In other cases, the questions couldn't be answered.

It is a very simple situation here, Mr. Speaker. This bill simply requires that FEMA establish an online database that citizens of this country can access directly. I can go right now and I can look at hotel reservations; I can look at airline reservations, train reservations. You can do virtually anything online. You can pay your utility bills. You can call an Uber. But with FEMA, they had thousands of employees that were there to answer phones to simply log on to the system.

There is no need for that step to be there. It is more efficient to get people direct access. I would rather see those FEMA employees helping us recover.

So I will say it again. I am disappointed that this takes an act of Congress. This is common sense, and you are seeing this type of innovation and utilization of technology happen all across the marketplace. Unfortunately, Congress has to intervene here, albeit in a bipartisan way, to make sure that Americans are getting the service that they deserve and to make sure that our taxpayer dollars are being used in an efficient way.

Once again, I want to thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Barletta, Ranking Member Johnson, and I want to especially thank the lead cosponsor on this legislation, Mr. Sires of New Jersey, who I know has gone through extraordinary challenges in New Jersey with the 2012 Hurricane Sandy impacts on his State.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1679, the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017. Our State and local partners are the first responders to any emergency disaster or terrorist attack. They do an outstanding job, given their limited resources and irregular nature of the events to which they respond.

We need to make sure that our partners, States, local governments, first responders, and nonprofits have access to the latest equipment, technology, training, and other resources needed to address any gaps in preparedness and to ensure that they remain as responsive as possible in an emergency. To assist them in their efforts, the Department of Homeland Security provides several discrete types of preparedness grants to help our partners meet the core capabilities needed to prepare our Nation for any hazard.

FEMA's 2016 National Preparedness Report found that much more work is needed in areas such as cybersecurity, economic recovery, housing, infrastructure systems, and supply chain integrity and security in order to meet our goal of being prepared and resilient.

Despite the valuable benefits these grants provide, President Trump proposed to cut funding for these grants in his so-called skinny budget. President Trump has proposed prioritizing a border wall over the lives and safety of our residents. I am pleased to note that this week Congress will be voting on an omnibus fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill that funds these programs at sufficient levels.

Since 2015, FEMA has been modernizing its management of these grant programs by making information technology platforms more user friendly. As FEMA continues to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its grants management, this bill will ensure that FEMA ensures that the system is more accessible and transparent to applicants.

The bill requires FEMA to include mechanisms to eliminate duplication of benefits and enable the sharing of information among agencies and with State, local, and tribal governments, where appropriate, while FEMA continues its modernization efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on H.R. 1679.

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

The purpose of H.R. 1679, the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017, is to enhance FEMA grant applicants' access to information.

I commend my colleague from Louisiana for working so hard for the people of his State to tackle the challenges those communities and individuals have been facing in the wake of last August's floods and other disasters.

On average, FEMA distributes almost $6 billion a year in assistance to individuals, communities, and organizations impacted by disasters. That taxpayer money must be managed in an efficient and transparent way to prevent duplication and provide disaster survivors with needed access and visibility.

More efficient and transparent delivery of disaster assistance will help speed disaster recovery and reduce the administrative burden on applicants. This legislation requires the FEMA Administrator to include online access and information sharing as the agency modernizes its disaster grant delivery system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1679, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 223, H.R. 1679.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1679) to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current efforts to modernize its grant management system includes applicant accessibility and transparency, and for other purposes.