Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015
Public Law 114-132 · S. 2109 · 114th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Feb 29, 2016 · Emergency Management
Sponsor: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Cosponsors (2): Sen. James Lankford, Sen. Kelly Ayotte
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015
(Sec. 3) This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to:
• develop and implement an integrated plan to control and reduce administrative costs incurred by FEMA in support of the delivery of assistance for major disasters;
• compare the costs and benefits of tracking the administrative cost data for major disasters by the public assistance, individual assistance, hazard mitigation, and mission assignment programs;
• track such information; and
• clarify FEMA guidance and minimum documentation requirements for a direct administrative cost claimed by a grantee or subgrantee of a public assistance grant program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
(Sec. 4) FEMA must submit to Congress, by November 30 of each year for seven years beginning on the date of this Act's enactment, and make publicly available on its website, a report on the development and implementation of the plan for the previous fiscal year, with three-year and five-year updates. Each report shall contain:
• the total amount spent on administrative costs and the average annual percentage of administrative costs for the fiscal year period for which the report is being submitted;
• an assessment of the effectiveness of the plan;
• an analysis of whether FEMA is achieving its strategic goals for the average annual percentage of administrative costs of major disasters for each fiscal year and, in the case of it not achieving such goals, what is preventing it from doing so;
• any actions FEMA has identified as useful in improving upon and reaching those goals; and
• any administrative cost data for major disasters, if FEMA determines it is feasible to track such data.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 19 actions.
- Feb 29, 2016Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 114-132.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Feb 25, 2016FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Feb 23, 2016FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 2109.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Katko moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Feb 10, 2016FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
- Feb 9, 2016FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · The committee substitute as amended agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Dec 7, 2015CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 313.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-173.
- Oct 7, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Sep 30, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
S.Amdt. 3296SenateSen. Ron JohnsonR-WI· offered Feb 9, 2016Agreed to
To sunset the reporting requirement after 7 years.
Feb 9, 2016: Amendment SA 3296 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.