Sponsors (2)
The bill improves transparency and coordination of federal disaster assistance and clarifies which programs count as aid—helping oversight, targeting, and recipients—but does so at the cost of added reporting burdens and administrative complexity, potential privacy risks, and increased fiscal exposure for taxpayers.
Taxpayers, state and local governments, nonprofits, and researchers gain quarterly, machine-readable visibility into federal disaster-assistance obligations and expenditures, enabling tracking, mapping, and third-party analysis that increases public accountability and can reduce waste.
State and local governments and recovery organizations can use detailed project-level data (including ZIP codes and award IDs) to coordinate relief, target aid, and avoid duplication of effort during recovery.
Homeowners, small-business owners, and subnational governments benefit from clarified program scope and eligibility because commonly used disaster funding streams (e.g., NFIP flood insurance, SBA and HUD disaster programs) and a broad set of disaster declarations are explicitly counted as “disaster assistance,” reducing legal ambiguity about what programs qualify.
Taxpayers face greater fiscal exposure because the bill's broad definitions could expand which entities and programs receive federal disaster funds, increasing potential federal spending.
Federal agencies and staff will face added administrative burden and reporting pressure from quarterly, 30-day deadlines and the need to prepare detailed, machine-readable project data, which could divert staff time from program delivery.
Including multiple programs (NFIP, SBA, HUD, etc.) without added eligibility limits may complicate program administration and slow disbursement of funds to recipients during emergencies.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced May 6, 2025 by James Lankford · Last progress May 6, 2025
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), working with the Treasury and heads of covered federal agencies, to create and maintain a machine-readable subpage on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act website that posts quarterly data on federal disaster assistance. Covered agencies (including Stafford Act agencies, the SBA, and HUD) must submit specified quarter-by-quarter information within 30 days after each calendar quarter, including totals, amounts obligated or expended, and detailed project-level data (names, descriptions, completion status, award IDs, FEMA catalog numbers, and project locations including ZIP codes). The bill defines covered agencies, the types of federal disaster assistance covered (stafford-act assistance, SBA disaster loans, HUD disaster-related programs, NFIP flood insurance, etc.), and eligible recipients (non-individual entities, including states). OMB may issue guidance and may contract with private entities, including nonprofits, to build or maintain the subpage.