HR 5395119th CongressIntroduced

Disaster Relief Disbursement Accountability Act

Introduced: Sep 16, 2025

Economy & Taxes

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Disaster Relief Disbursement Accountability Act would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to push for faster distribution of disaster funds and to increase reporting on how quickly those funds reach subrecipients. Specifically, it requires the FEMA Administrator to take actions to ensure expedient disbursement of funds under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (Section 404) and the Public Assistance Program (Sections 403, 406, 407, 428, and 502) after a project is approved. The bill also creates new reporting obligations: retroactive reporting for disasters declared before enactment and annual reporting for disasters declared after enactment, detailing the average time it takes to disburse funds to subrecipients. Additionally, the Administrator would report to Congress on these metrics on a defined schedule. In short, the bill aims to speed up disaster funding and increase transparency by requiring ongoing timeliness data and regular congressional briefings on how quickly aid is disbursed to subrecipients.

Key Points

1Adds a new Sec. 630 (Expedient Disbursement of Funds) to Title VI of the Stafford Act, directing the Administrator to take actions to disburse eligible disaster funds as quickly as possible after project approval (covering HMGP and PA programs).
2Retroactive reporting requirement: for disasters declared under sections 401 or 501 and currently disbursing aid as of enactment, recipients must report within 1 year on the average time to disburse to subrecipients.
3Annual reporting requirement: for disasters declared after enactment, recipients must annually report the average time to disburse to subrecipients.
4Congressional reporting: the Administrator must provide a summary of the reporting data to House and Senate committees not later than 3 years after enactment and then annually thereafter.
5No new funding authority: the bill focuses on expediting disbursement and reporting within existing program structures (HMGP and PA), rather than creating new appropriations.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- State and local governments, tribal governments, and eligible private nonprofit organizations that receive Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds or Public Assistance funds (and their subrecipients). These entities would face new expectations to report disbursement timelines and may experience changes to internal processes to expedite funding.Secondary group/area affected- FEMA and the program administrators responsible for HMGP and PA funding, who would be tasked with implementing expedited disbursement procedures and handling increased reporting requirements.Additional impacts- Enhanced accountability and transparency around disaster funding timelines for Congress and the public.- Potential administrative and compliance burden on recipients to track and report disbursement times; potential need for process improvements, data systems, and reporting workflows.- Possible improvement in speed of aid delivery to impacted communities, helping rebuild and mitigate more quickly, though actual time savings would depend on implementation.

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