Sponsors (2)
The bill increases public and government transparency and accountability over FEMA disaster spending—helping officials, watchdogs, and the public track funds and stalled projects—but imposes modest administrative costs, potential redaction/delay risks, and heightened expectations for faster disbursement.
Taxpayers, journalists, researchers, and the general public will see monthly FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) obligation and disbursement data, increasing transparency about how disaster dollars are spent.
State, local, and Tribal officials will receive clearer, timely breakdowns by disaster declaration so they can track funds obligated and disbursed for their jurisdictions.
Communities, local governments, and watchdogs will be able to identify projects pending obligation for more than 180 days, enabling accountability and potential pressure to resolve delays.
FEMA will incur administrative costs and need staff time to prepare monthly reports and implement the open-data template, which may divert agency resources.
State and local partners may face slower reporting or additional redaction if frequent public disclosure reveals sensitive program details that require review.
Taxpayers and affected communities may expect faster disbursements once spending is more visible, creating political pressure even where legal or logistical constraints limit speed.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires FEMA to produce monthly public, machine-readable reports on Disaster Relief Fund obligations and disbursements with per-declaration and project-level details.
Requires FEMA to provide Congress and the public with monthly reports on Disaster Relief Fund obligations and disbursements, starting within 60 days of enactment. Reports must show unobligated balances, totals obligated and disbursed, and a per-declaration breakdown naming affected States/territories/tribal areas and percent disbursed. Also requires lists of public assistance projects (submitted, approved, disbursed), identification of projects pending obligation for more than 180 days, explanations of any funds withheld/deferred/reprogrammed with estimated timelines, public posting of each report on FEMA’s website within 10 days, and a uniform open-data reporting template to be adopted within 90 days and updated monthly.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Wesley Bell · Last progress February 10, 2026