A bipartisan movement to change the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency does business took a step forward thanks to Congress approving funding for the Department of Homeland Security, a move that includes a new rule known as Section 313.
According to analysis from the National Association of Counties, the provision requires FEMA to "publish an interactive, publicly accessible dashboard tracking all requests for reimbursement under FEMA's Public Assistance Program."
The PA program is the primary grant awarding tool used by the agency to disperse disaster recovery funds.
"For too long, counties have submitted project worksheets and waited — sometimes years — without clear visibility into where our reimbursement stands or why it was delayed," said NACo President J.D. Clark. "Section 313 changes that. This is accountability in action, and it is a direct result of county leaders coming to Washington and demanding better."
Municipalities damaged by natural disasters and waiting for FEMA relief risk credit rating and outlook downgrades which raises the costs of borrowing.
The new law requires FEMA to post reimbursement request data no more than 90 days after receiving it, and within 60 days of a project entering final review at the Department of Homeland Security.
The dashboard will include project-level detail, including cost estimates, applicant identifiers, submission dates, project descriptions and the federal and non-federal cost-share breakdown for every grant.
The dashboard may add some clarity to the complex relationship between FEMA and the state and local governments it's designed to support.
The Trump administration launched FEMA reform efforts last year by forming the FEMA Review Council and has been moving towards shifting more responsibility for establishing "recovery centers," to the states and localities hit by the disaster.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office is also weighing on FEMA reform via a
"Officials from one FEMA region told us that many states do not have the financial resources to hire staff and provide assistance directly to survivors following a large-scale disaster," said the GAO.
Leadership at FEMA remains somewhat fluid with Karen Evans, a long-term government employee currently serving as the acting director.
Evans succeeded David Richardson, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps, who was made the acting director by Kristi Noem, the former Department of Homeland Secretary. He held the position for seven months.
Former Navy SEAL Cameron Hamilton was Trump's first pick for the job, he lasted less than five months.
Earlier this week Rep. Bennie Thompson D-Miss., the Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee published an article on the MS NOW website (formerly MSNBc), blasting staffing cuts at FEMA.
He's also questioning the December hiring of Gregg Phillips, as the administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery at FEMA.
Phillips is a Republican political operative who has made headlines by claiming he has been teleported against his will to a Waffle House in Georgia.
Last week, the agency announced the rehiring at least 15 whistleblowing employees who were placed on leave in August after signing a public letter protesting Noem's policies.
