HR 4058119th CongressIntroduced

Enhancing Stakeholder Support and Outreach for Preparedness Grants Act

Introduced: Jun 20, 2025

InfrastructureTechnology & Innovation

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Enhancing Stakeholder Support and Outreach for Preparedness Grants Act would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically FEMA, to improve and formalize stakeholder outreach for two major grant programs: the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP). The bill adds new duties for FEMA to engage with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners before, during, and after grant awards, including conducting annual feedback surveys and producing summaries showing how feedback influenced grant notices. It also creates mandatory oversight: a GAO review within two years to assess the effectiveness of FEMA’s outreach, and a congressionally directed progress report within three years detailing actions taken in response to the new outreach requirements. In short, the bill aims to create ongoing feedback loops between FEMA and grant recipients to improve grant processes, transparency, and responsiveness to stakeholders’ needs.

Key Points

1Adds new outreach obligations for UASI and SHSGP:
2- FEMA must provide ongoing stakeholder outreach, engagement, education, technical assistance, and support before, during, and after grant awards.
3Annual feedback from stakeholders:
4- Requires conducting annual surveys of state, local, tribal, and territorial stakeholders about grant awarding and FEMA’s outreach effectiveness.
5Transparency of feedback and actions taken:
6- Requires summaries of survey results and explanations of how feedback influenced subsequent grant funding notices and opportunities.
7- Allows other feedback mechanisms as FEMA determines appropriate.
8Independent review and reporting:
9- Comptroller General (GAO) must review within two years the effectiveness of FEMA’s stakeholder outreach for UASI and SHSGP and report to FEMA and relevant congressional committees.
10- FEMA must report to House and Senate committees within three years detailing actions taken pursuant to the new subsections, including survey and summary results.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- State, local, tribal, and territorial governments and agencies applying for or managing UASI and SHSGP grants; FEMA and DHS program offices responsible for these grants.Secondary group/area affected- Federal oversight bodies (GAO, Congress), grant administrators, and potentially nonprofit or private sector partners involved in preparedness activities.Additional impacts- Increased transparency and accountability in how grants are awarded and how stakeholder feedback informs funding notices.- Potential increases in administrative workload and resources (survey design, data collection, analysis, and reporting) for FEMA.- A formal mechanism to continually improve grant notices and engagement with stakeholders, which could affect how quickly or flexibly funding opportunities are issued.UASI and SHSGP are DHS programs designed to bolster preparedness in urban areas and across states, respectively.The bill uses standard congressional language to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002, adding subsections to codify outreach and feedback processes.The act does not specify funding increases or reductions; it focuses on governance of outreach, feedback, and reporting.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 2, 2025