S. 861

Disaster Assistance Simplification Act

This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop and establish a unified intake process and system for applicants for assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency.

The system must

• facilitate a consolidated application for any form of disaster assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency when appropriate to support the nature and purposes of the assistance;
• carry out the purposes of disaster assistance programs swiftly, efficiently, equitably, and in accordance with specified laws and privacy and data protections; and
• support the detection, prevention, and investigation of waste, fraud, abuse, or discrimination in the administration of disaster assistance programs.

Further, the system must, among other things

• accept applications for disaster assistance programs;
• permit applicants to receive status updates on such applications;
• allow applicants to update disaster assistance information throughout their recovery journeys;
• permit the distribution of information on additional recovery resources to disaster survivors that may be available in a disaster-stricken jurisdiction in coordination with appropriate federal, state, local, and tribal partners; and
• permit disaster assistance agencies to communicate directly with disaster survivors.

Not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a disaster assistance agency to update questions in the consolidated application needed to administer the disaster assistance programs of the agency, FEMA must make those updates.

The bill requires reports and congressional briefings from FEMA, and a report from the Government Accountability Office, relating to the bill's implementation.