	Introduction

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. FEMA has established the Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program by combining the authority of multiple sections of the Stafford Act. Between FY2000-FY2013, the PA Program has provided $52.6 billion in grant assistance to help communities pay for an array of eligible response and recovery activities, including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the facilities of certain private nonprofit (PNP) organizations. The authorities of the PA Program were most recently significantly amended by the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (Division B of P.L. The report concludes with discussion of several policy issues that Congress may wish to consider when evaluating the PA Program in the future, including considerations of significant prospective changes to the PA Program and the role of the PA Program in the context of other federal agency disaster assistance authorities. Key Elements of the PA Program

This section of the report describes key elements of the PA Program, such as major eligibility considerations, the types of grant assistance provided, and the methods for disbursing grant funding. Eligible Applicants

In order to be eligible for PA grants, an applicant's respective state or tribal government must first receive a major or emergency disaster declaration from the President through Stafford Act procedures. More limited emergency work assistance is also provided for areas receiving Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs). So long as it is in the public interest, FEMA provides grant assistance to communities for both the actual removal of the debris and the management of the process writ large, as authorized by Section 403(a)(3)(A) and Section 407 of the Stafford Act. Examples of eligible activities include the establishment of temporary shelters and community service facilities, critical power generation, demolition of unsafe buildings, operation of emergency communications systems, and more. This policy guidance explains the conditions by which FEMA will approve assistance for hazard mitigation measures (with examples provided). If facility owners fail to obtain and maintain insurance as required by FEMA, the facility is ineligible for permanent work assistance in a future disaster of the same hazard type (this restriction does not apply to emergency work assistance). The PA Program has a minimum federal cost-share of 75%, meaning that the maximum a grantee is responsible for is 25% of the total eligible amount of grant assistance, for both emergency and permanent work. FEMA will either award grants based on the estimated federal share of the total eligible cost for the project, or it will award grants on the federal share of actual eligible costs evidenced through documentation by the applicant/grantee. The actual cost basis method reimburses the applicant for eligible expenses only as actual costs are documented by the applicant. Estimated Cost Basis

Under current practice, FEMA issues grants based on the estimated federal share of eligible costs for PA projects when:
The project is eligible for simplified procedures as authorized in Section 422 of the Stafford Act (a "small project" in FEMA terminology); An applicant has decided to receive an in-lieu contribution through Section 406(c) of the Stafford Act (an "alternate project" in FEMA terminology); Certain projects that include significant improvements for the facility (an "improved project" in FEMA terminology); or An applicant chooses to use the alternative procedure for a permeant work, large project grant to be based on a fixed estimate. For the period FY2000-FY2013, $6.6 billion was obligated by FEMA to PNPs, with the highest spending in FY2005 ($2.0 billion) and FY2013 ($1.4 billion). Inclusion of these costs may increase the amount of general hazard mitigation assistance provided by the PA Program considerably if accounted for in other analysis. Consistent with past precedents, Congress may review current FEMA policies and procedures for the PA Program, and, when desired, override the policies through further clarification in law or submit formal legislative recommendations on policies in committee or conference report language. As described earlier in this report, FEMA created the Public Assistance Alternative Procedures (PAAP) Pilot Program to implement these alternative procedures. P.L. Since then, namely in the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 and in the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988, permanent work assistance has expanded to include certain PNPs with similar reasoning. Privately Owned Facilities

Under past and current law, private entities, such as owners of private infrastructure facilities and individual homeowners, are excluded from PA Program assistance for both emergency work and permanent work. To do so, Congress could consider several options, including, but not limited to,
Requiring the President or FEMA to issue further regulations on the circumstances that Stafford Act authorities will provide assistance in the presence of more specific federal authorities, to possibly include revision of FEMA's regulation for permanent work on the matter; Requesting a formal opinion from the Comptroller General on FEMA's legal interpretation of augmentations of appropriations law to determine if Stafford Act authorities can be used to provide assistance when another federal agency with more specific authority does not have sufficient appropriations to fund an activity; Giving further direction through law or report language to the executive branch regarding the conditions it should to defer to more specific authorities in lieu of the more broadly scoped Stafford Act, perhaps in the form of a delivery sequence outlining the order of precedence of federal programs for assistance; and Revising the Stafford Act to explicitly identify whether Stafford Act authorities may or may not provide assistance in substitution, or at grantee preference, for more specific federal disaster assistance authorities. The main report discusses the notable changes made to the PA Program by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 ( P.L. 113-2 , SRIA).
The Public Assistance Grant Program (PA Program) is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and combines the authorities of multiple sections of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288, as amended, the Stafford Act). The PA Program is only available for states and communities that have received a major or emergency disaster declaration through the Stafford Act (and in a more limited fashion, Fire Management Assistance Grants). The PA Program provides grant assistance for eligible purposes, including
Emergency work, as authorized by Sections 403, 407, and 502 of the Stafford Act, which provide for the removal of debris and emergency protective measures, such as the establishment of temporary shelters and emergency power generation. Permanent work, as authorized by Section 406, which provides for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the facilities of certain private nonprofit organizations (PNPs). PNPs are generally eligible for permanent work assistance if they provide a governmental type of service, though PNPs not providing a "critical" service must first apply to the Small Business Administration for loan assistance for facility projects. At its discretion, FEMA may provide assistance for hazard mitigation measures that are not required by applicable codes and standards. As a condition of PA assistance, applicants must obtain and maintain insurance on their facilities for similar future disasters. Management costs, as authorized by Section 324, which reimburses some of the applicant's administrative expenses incurred managing the totality of the PA Program's projects and grants.
FEMA will either award PA grants based on the estimated federal share of the total eligible cost of the project or award grants on the federal share of actual eligible costs evidenced through documentation from the applicant/grantee.
The federal government provides a minimum of 75% of the cost of eligible assistance, and this cost-share can rise if certain criteria are met. The PA Program is appropriated for in the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). Between FY2000 and FY2013, PA accounted for approximately 47% of all federal spending from the DRF. During this period, the PA Program provided approximately $21.2 billion in federal grants for emergency work assistance, $30.2 billion in permanent work assistance, and $1.2 billion in management assistance. Approximately $6.6 billion of these grant amounts was provided to PNPs for both emergency and permanent work.
The PA Program authorities were most recently significantly amended by the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (Division B of P.L. 113-2, SRIA). SRIA established "alternative procedures" for PA Program assistance, which has allowed FEMA to implement a Public Assistance Alternative Procedures (PAAP) Pilot Program. These procedures revise a number of elements of the PA Program, such as allowing grants for large, permanent work projects (facility restoration projects over $120,000) to be based on fixed estimates, as opposed to actual cost basis; and increasing the federal share of eligible costs when debris is removed more quickly by applicants.
Given the importance of PA Program assistance to communities recovering from disasters, and the amount of federal dollars spent on the assistance, Congress may consider several policy issues related to the PA Program. For example, Congress may consider
Reviewing current FEMA policies implementing the authorizing statute and, when desired, codifying or overriding the policies through further clarification in law; Evaluating major forthcoming changes to the PA Program authorized by SRIA and an earlier law, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-390); Weighing options for decreasing the improper use of PA assistance by applicants, perhaps by revising the conditions of management cost assistance or improving the collection of data in the PA Program; Expanding or restricting the eligibility of the PA Program, possibly to exclude certain PNPs from assistance or to grant assistance to privately owned facilities; Deciding if and how the PA Program should provide hazard mitigation assistance on facility restoration projects; and Defining the role of PA Program as it potentially overlaps with the disaster assistance authorities of other federal agencies.