Under the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was required to provide a report to the Congress identifying goods and services that the agency is capable of contracting for in advance of disasters, as well as a strategy outlining how the agency could use advance contracts in a practical and cost-effective manner.
S. 979 would require FEMA, within 6 months of enactment, to provide an updated report and strategy to the Congress that includes new information about how advance contracts can be better employed by the agency. The bill also would require FEMA to undertake a variety of actions with respect to contracts including communicating complete and up-to-date information on available advance contracts to state and local governments.
FEMA’s Office of Chief Procurement Officer employs 54 staff focused on implementing advance contracts and is currently performing all of the activities required by S. 979, with the exception of communicating with state and local governments.
Using information from FEMA, CBO estimates that the agency would need about $150,000 to develop a strategy for communicating information to state and local governments and would complete the strategy in 2020. After that, CBO expects the agency would start conducting two briefings each year with state and local officials. CBO estimates the agency would require the equivalent of 3 full-time employees for those briefings, at an annual cost of about $400,000. In total, CBO estimates that the briefings would cost $2 million over the 2020-2024 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
