Sponsors (3)
The bill increases access to and transparency of federal disaster assistance—helping homeowners, renters, small businesses, local governments, and watchdogs—but it also raises implementation costs, potential privacy/security risks, and broader fiscal and compliance obligations.
Homeowners and renters impacted by declared disasters gain explicit coverage (including NFIP flood insurance and HUD recovery programs), increasing their ability to receive federal recovery assistance.
Small-business owners gain clearer access to SBA disaster loans because SBA assistance is explicitly included as covered disaster assistance, improving small-business recovery options.
Taxpayers, researchers, journalists, and watchdogs receive timely, machine-readable quarterly data on federal disaster assistance, improving transparency, oversight, and the ability to analyze aid distribution.
Expanding the statutory list of covered assistance (HUD, SBA, NFIP) may increase federal spending obligations, potentially raising costs for taxpayers.
Publishing project- and award-level data (including locations) could create privacy or security risks for recipients or critical infrastructure if sensitive details are not properly redacted or protected.
Agencies and some governments will face added administrative burden and implementation costs to collect, standardize, and publish quarterly machine-readable project-level data; those costs may ultimately fall on taxpayers or require new contracts/resources.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires quarterly, machine-readable public reporting of federal disaster assistance by covered agencies, including project-level details and locations.
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with Treasury and covered federal agencies, to create and maintain a machine-readable subpage on the federal transparency website that posts quarterly, project-level reporting of federal disaster assistance. Covered agencies must publish totals, amounts obligated or expended, and a detailed project list including award IDs, program identifiers, locations (including ZIP codes), descriptions, completion status, and any reporting requirements. Defines covered agencies (Stafford Act agencies, SBA, HUD), what counts as disaster assistance (including SBA, HUD, NFIP, and Stafford Act programs), eligible recipients (non-individual entities, including States), and which events qualify as specified natural disasters. OMB may contract with private entities to build the subpage and agencies must issue implementing guidance to comply with the reporting schedule and format requirements.
Official title: To provide for an online repository for certain reporting requirements for recipients of Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Mike Ezell · Last progress January 15, 2025