FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2017
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 130.
FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through FY2020.
(Sec. 3) The National Advisory Council shall: (1) begin a comprehensive study relating to disaster costs and losses and federal disaster assistance within 30 days of this bill's enactment; and (2) convene to evaluate disaster costs and losses and federal disaster assistance within 120 days of enactment, including consideration of trends and contributing factors, and disaster roles and responsibility.
The council shall develop recommendations to reduce disaster costs and losses in the United States and to more efficiently and effectively deliver federal disaster assistance.
(Sec. 4) The bill amends the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to reauthorize through FY2020 the Center for Domestic Preparedness and the other members of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium.
(Sec. 5) FEMA shall be responsible for the nation's efforts to reduce the loss of life and property, and to protect the nation, from an earthquake, tsunami, or combined earthquake and tsunami event by developing the ability to prepare and plan for, mitigate against, respond to, recover from, and more successfully adapt to such an event.
(Sec. 6) The non-federally funded actions of private parties or state, local, or tribal governments on state, local, tribal, and private land, and the effects of those actions, shall not be attributed to FEMA's actions under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 for purposes of the Endangered Species Act. Such actions that may influence private actions do not create a federal nexus for the purpose of applying the requirements of such Act.
(Sec. 7) The bill makes technical amendments to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on June 23, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 23, 2017: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 130.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Lou Barletta (R-PA) introduced it on May 19, 2017, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 19, 2017, 3401 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3366 days ago, on June 23, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers