Jenniffer González Leads Federal Legislation on National Emergencies in The House of Representatives

Press Release

Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón presented eight measures to amend laws and procedures on disaster assistance in order to expedite work and have it carried out in a more transparent manner. The bills are: HR 2016 -author- To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to develop a study on streamlining and consolidating the collection of information and preliminary damage assessments. The measure, which features Scott Peters (D-CA) as the Democratic leader, will be discussed Wednesday at a hearing by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The bill would be known as the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act and would amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to help federal agencies streamline and consolidate data collection and preliminary post-disaster damage assessments. .

The measure was made with technical assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure their collaboration in its implementation. This bill establishes a federal task force led by FEMA with representatives of various agencies associated with disaster relief, which, in collaboration with the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, would identify areas where provisions to carry out conflict assessments done to administer disaster assistance for individuals, households, and states.

It also directs the task force to determine whether emerging technologies, such as unmanned aircraft systems (drones), can be used to help speed up federal assessments; and recommend whether a single agency can collect the information necessary for claims assessment processing rather than each agency conducting its own information collection. HR 2020 - author- To create a digital file for certain reporting requirements for recipients of federal disaster assistance. The measure that would become known as the Online Post Disaster Liability Act

, seeks to create a tracking system through a website with reports and information on federal disaster assistance, in order to be more effective in supervising Congress and letting the public know where public money is invested.

"This measure aims to facilitate access to information on where to invest and the status of the funds once a disaster occurs. In the case of Puerto Rico, we have witnessed the stumbling blocks in the disbursement of the billions of dollars in funds that we have obtained for the recovery of Puerto Rico. This web portal would be accessible to citizens, those who work with these funds and to all those who have to supervise them as in Congress, facilitating the identification of the status of each one of them ", explained the resident commissioner.

The measure would work with the Project on Government Oversight (POBOG), establish a section within USASpending.gov. for transparency of disaster assistance. Also, it would require agencies that offered disaster assistance to submit the information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and ensure that the data is available to the public on the new subpage. The data would include: the amount of disaster assistance provided by the agency in a quarter; the amount of disaster assistance spent or obligated to projects or activities; and a detailed list of all the projects or activities for which the disaster assistance assigned by the agency was spent, forced or used, among others. HR 2019

-author- To amend the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to include certain services in the definition of critical services for the purpose of repair, restoration and replacement of damaged facilities. This measure is co-authored by Stacey Plaskett (D-USVI). HR 2053 -coauthor- To amend the Bipartite Budget Act of 2018 to extend the provisions for critical services in relation to certain disasters and other purposes. This measure is authored by Stacey Plaskett (D-USVI).

Both measures seek to extend the meaning given to the term "critical services" in the law. The commissioner first filed measure HR 2019, leaving her as the leader of the measure and then filed a second, HR 2053, where the delegate from the Virgin Islands serves as the author. Both legislators work together to move this initiative.

The HR 2019 led by González Colón, seeks to include in this definition of a "critical service", vital elements such as first aid personnel (police, firefighters), solid waste management, port and surface transport systems, including roads. access to hospitals and others. Currently, only energy, water (including water supplied by an irrigation organization or facility), sewerage, wastewater treatment, communications, education, and emergency medical care are considered "critical services" according to defined in section 406 (a) (3) of the Stafford Law.

In the last Congress, the commissioner managed to get this initiative approved in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Together with the then congressman, José Serrano, González Colón managed to amend the Staford Law in this area; Therefore, HR 2019 would be the second part to finally cut the FEMA bureaucracy and speed up the process of rebuilding the island. HR 2018 -author- To grant a waiver of certain provisions in the event of an emergency declaration under the Emergency Assistance and Disaster Relief Act, Robert T. Stafford.

When during the pandemic, the FEMA administrator explained that the requirement to only buy products made in the United States or the Buy America Act that is included within the Stafford Act, will be applied only to Puerto Rico and Washington DC, not to the states who may have the freedom to buy personal protective equipment from foreign suppliers, the commissioner acted quickly by claiming to the FEMA administrator, even at the press conference, that this measure could put the residents of the territories at risk by limiting access to essential equipment.

The following day, FEMA responded to the commissioner's complaint and announced that it would leave the territories the power to decide whether or not they have to resort to foreign sources to acquire medical equipment and supplies. With HR2018, the commissioner seeks to make this determination permanent, by law, and not give room for interpretation by the heads of the agency. HR 2017 -author- To modify certain requirements to encourage the recovery of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

The bill contains three proposed amendments to the Stafford Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, to address the issues raised during the post-Irma and Maria recovery. Many of these were raised and eventually managed administratively by the agencies, but the congresswoman seeks to do so by law. The measure seeks a revision of the guidance definitions for critical services infrastructure, so that multi-component systems or facilities are inspected and evaluated as a whole, rather than component by component. It would make mandatory the mechanism of using locally licensed professionals to carry out inspections, which is allowed by law but not mandatory.

It includes replacing or restoring components of the facility or system that have not been directly damaged by the disaster, when necessary to fully restore facility or system function to industry standards. I would further make a categorical objective of the use of Section 428 of the "Alternative Procedure" to ensure that work performed by suppliers and contractors of federal, state, or local governments or non-profit organizations is paid for and reimbursed in a timely manner.

Establish global matching application or global cost share for use of funds under specific disaster declarations. In this way, instead of applying the matching or cost-sharing requirement to each project that the beneficiary can carry out, it could be applied to the totality of the beneficiary's expenses under a disaster declaration, in different projects. HR 2052 -coauthor- To require the director of the Federal Office of Management and Budget to present to Congress an annual report on all disaster-related aid provided by the federal Government . This measure is authored by Scott Peters (D-CA).

"When natural disasters occur, the recovery process can be slow and costly. San Diegans know this after coming together multiple times to rebuild after the deadly wildfires, "said Rep. Peters. "As natural disasters become more frequent and devastating, we must more accurately budget for disaster relief each fiscal year. These three bipartisan bills (HR 2052, HR 2020, and HR 2016) will go a long way to better track and deploy federal disaster assistance. Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and this legislation would increase government transparency and accountability. " HR 539

-co-author- To amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to waive certain debts owed to the United States related to covered assistance provided to an individual or home, and for other purposes. This measure is authored by Sam Graves (R-MO). The measure would be known as the Law to Prevent Revictimization by Disaster.

The project seeks that if FEMA makes a mistake in granting assistance and there is no fraud involved, it cannot take it away from those who requested it. The bill also ensures that FEMA is reporting to Congress the number of errors they make in individual assistance award determinations. In addition, it forces them to put a plan in place to minimize the number of mistakes they make.

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