[Senate Report 111-103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress
1st Session SENATE Report
111-103
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 223
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE
COMPACT GRANT REAUTHORIZATION
ACT OF 2009
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1288
TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR GRANTS TO THE STATES PARTICIPATING IN
THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
December 9, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
JON TESTER, Montana ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
PAUL G. KIRK, Jr., Massachusetts
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Mary Beth Schultz, Counsel
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Adam J. Killian, Minority Professional Staff Member
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 223
111th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 111-103
======================================================================
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT GRANT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF
2009
_______
December 9, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1288]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1288) to authorize
appropriations for grants to the States participating in the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section by Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as reported............4
I. Purpose and Summary
The bill authorizes additional appropriations to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to
administer the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC),
a mutual aid agreement that enables states to better share
disaster response and recovery resources.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The EMAC, an interstate mutual aid agreement approved by
Congress in 1996, facilitates the sharing of personnel and
other resources among member states during or after
disasters.\1\ The use of the EMAC for resource sharing has
grown substantially since its creation. After the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks, for example, New York requested just 26
support staff under the EMAC. In 2005, in contrast, the EMAC
oversaw the deployment of approximately 66,000 personnel to
respond to that year's Gulf Coast hurricanes.\2\
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\1\Public Law 104-321, 100 Stat. 3877.
\2\Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Enhancing EMAC's
Collaborative and Administrative Capacity Should Improve National
Disaster Response, GAO-07-854, June 2007, p. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The EMAC proved itself an especially valuable tool during
the response to Hurricane Katrina, when it brought critical
resources from throughout the country to the Gulf Coast.
Nonetheless, as found in the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee's report, Hurricane Katrina: A
Nation Still Unprepared, the magnitude of the demand of
responding to Hurricane Katrina strained the EMAC process and
exposed limitations in the system.\3\ To help overcome these
limitations and to provide necessary support for this valuable
tool, Congress, as part of the Post-Katrina Emergency
Management Reform Act of 2006,\4\ authorized FEMA to make up to
$4 million in grants in fiscal year 2008 to support EMAC
administration.
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\3\Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared, p. 10, S. Rept.
109-322 (2006).
\4\Section 661 of P.L. 109-295.
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The Committee believes that since Hurricane Katrina, the
EMAC has continued to provide extraordinary assistance in
responding to and recovering from disasters. Therefore, the
Committee believes it is important to reauthorize the FEMA
Administrator to provide up to $4 million in grants each year
to support the EMAC's administration in order to facilitate the
effective sharing of state and local resources during disaster
response and recovery.
III. Legislative History
S. 1288 was introduced by Senator Pryor and the bill's co-
sponsors, Senators Landrieu, Burris and Collins, on June 18,
2009, and was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs.
On July 29, 2009, the Committee considered S. 1288 and
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by
Senators Pryor, Lieberman, Collins, Landrieu, and Burris. The
substitute amendment modifies S. 1288 by eliminating the bill's
findings and its section specifying additional uses for the
grants. The substitute amendment also extends the program's
authorization from fiscal year 2008 to each of the fiscal years
2010 through 2012. The Committee adopted the substitute
amendment by a voice vote and then ordered the bill, as
amended, favorably reported to the full Senate, also by a voice
vote. The members present for both votes were: Chairman
Lieberman; Senators Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill
and Burris; Ranking Member Collins; and Senators Coburn and
Voinovich.
IV. Section by Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
This section of the bill states that the short title of the
Act is the ``Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant
Reauthorization Act of 2009.''
Section 2. Emergency Management Assistance Compact grants
Section 2 extends the authorization of the FEMA
Administrator to make grants to administer the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact from fiscal year 2008 to each of
the fiscal years 2010 through 2012. Although the bill's
official title suggests the bill authorizes grants to states,
the bill actually authorizes grants to the entity or entities
that administer the EMAC, and not directly to the states.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirement of paragraph 11(b)(1) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. CBO states that
the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Estimated Cost of Legislation
August 7, 2009.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1288, the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization Act of
2009.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel
Hoople.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 1288--Emergency Management Assistance Compact Grant Reauthorization
Act of 2009
Summary: S. 1288 would authorize the appropriation of $4
million a year over the 2010-2012 period for grants to
administer and coordinate activities under the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This compact enables
member states to provide assistance to each other during
disasters and specifies the general structure for such
assistance. Based on historical expenditure patterns and
assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO estimates
that implementing this legislation would cost $12 million over
the next five years. Enacting S. 1288 would not affect direct
spending or revenues.
S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1288 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 450
(community and regional development).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010-2014
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level..................................... 4 4 4 0 0 12
Estimated Outlays....................................... 3 4 4 1 0 12
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Basis of estimate: EMAC was ratified by the Congress in
1996 (Public Law 104-321) as an interstate mutual-aid agreement
that enables member states to share resources during a declared
disaster. Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are currently
EMAC members and may provide or receive assistance through the
compact. Any state or territory receiving assistance under EMAC
may still request additional resources from the federal
government. In addition to providing a means of sharing
resources during a disaster, the compact allows for interstate
coordination of emergency-related exercises and training.
S. 1288 would authorize appropriations totalling $12
million over the 2010-2012 period for grants to help administer
and coordinate activities under EMAC. EMAC is currently
administered by the National Emergency Management Association,
a private association representing state emergency management
directors. Based on historical expenditure patterns, CBO
estimates that providing those grants would cost $12 million
over the 2010-2014 period, assuming appropriation of the
specified amounts.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1288
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. State governments benefit from the EMAC
program, and any costs those governments incur to participate
in the program would result from conditions of federal
assistance.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Daniel Hoople; Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell;
Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing
law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows:
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
SEC. 661. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT COMPACT GRANTS.
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) * * *
(d) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section $4,000,000 for [fiscal year 2008]
each of fiscal years 2010 through 2012. Such sums shall remain
available until expended.