Should FEMA Disaster Recovery Grants be Available for More Small Projects? (H.R. 1214)

What is H.R. 1214?

(Updated April 19, 2018)

This bill would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to temporarily increase the threshold for what constitutes a small disaster relief project under the Public Assistance Grant Program from $123,000 to $500,000. In effect, this would allow more projects to be designated as small disaster recovery projects and get expedited assistance. The threshold increase would sunset on September 30, 2021 at which point FEMA would have the ability to adjust the threshold through regulatory action.

Under current law, FEMA’s disaster recovery projects under $130,100 are run in a similar manner to an insurance settlement — they review the damage, estimate the cost, and issue a repair grant. Local governments then assume responsibility for keeping the recovery project funded by the grant on time and on budget in exchange for greater flexibility in how they rebuild and enhance projects with their own funds. That process would be unchanged by this bill except for the grant threshold being increased to $500,000.

FEMA would be required to provide a report reviewing the program to specified congressional committees by May 1, 2021 that includes an assessment of cost-effectiveness, speed of recovery, capacity of the grantees, past performance, and accountability measures.

Argument in favor

FEMA should increase the threshold that applies to small disaster recovery projects from $123,000 to $500,000 in order to help even more local communities that need assistance to rebuild following a disaster.

Argument opposed

The threshold that FEMA is currently using for its small disaster recovery grants — $123,000 — is enough to cover the majority of projects requesting funding and small communities can pursue funding elsewhere if needed.

Impact

Local governments seeking disaster recovery grants; and FEMA.

Cost of H.R. 1214

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would cost less than $500,000 annually over the 2018-2022 period and any year thereafter.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) introduced this bill to “expedite disaster assistance to local communities trying to recover from disasters” by giving them access to larger grants from FEMA and flexibility in rebuilding:

“In one of the townships in my congressional district, FEMA reversed its prior approval and has been fighting for years with a local government over whether or not they should have paved a temporary access road that was built after a major flood. The cost of the gravel road was $230,000. The extra cost to pave it, which the community covered with its own funds, was about $50,000 dollars. The amount of money FEMA has wasted in salaries, administration, and legal fees trying to take back the $230,000 dollars likely exceeds the entire project cost. This is red tape out of control, and it does not serve the taxpayers well. My bill would prevent other local governments from facing this nightmare.”

This legislation was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a voice vote. It currently has the support of two Republican cosponsors in the House.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate