H.R. 5395, the Disaster Relief Disbursement Accountability Act, amends federal disaster relief law to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to disburse disaster aid funds to eligible recipients as quickly as possible after projects are approved. The bill affects states, local governments, and other entities that receive federal disaster assistance through programs like hazard mitigation grants and public assistance following major disasters or emergencies. To track disbursement speed, the legislation requires aid recipients to report to FEMA how long it typically takes them to pass funds along to subrecipients, with initial reports due within one year for existing disasters and annual reports thereafter for future disasters. FEMA must then summarize this data in reports to Congress starting three years after the bill's enactment and annually afterward. The bill contains no specific funding authorization but aims to improve the speed of disaster relief payments to communities recovering from emergencies.
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