§791 — Title 6 Domestic Security | U.S. Code

Summary

The Administrator must, within 180 days after October 4, 2006, send a report to the appropriate committees of Congress naming which disaster needs can be pre‑contracted in a cost‑effective way, which cannot, and a strategy to make the best use of advance contracts. Within 1 year after October 4, 2006, the Administrator must put into place one or more advance contracts for each type of good or service the report says can be pre‑contracted, while considering section 5150 of title 42. The Administrator must work with State and local governments and other federal agencies to coordinate these prenegotiated contracts and encourage States and locals to set up their own. The Agency must keep appropriate contract levels over time and, starting with the first fiscal quarter at least 90 days after October 4, 2006, send Congress a quarterly report listing any disaster contract the Agency awarded without competition. By 180 days after December 31, 2020, the Administrator must give Congress an updated report with the same lists and a revised strategy that states the goals of advance contracts, how they help response, how to maximize awards to small businesses (per section 632 of title 15), and whether advance contracts should be prioritized over new post‑disaster awards. The head of contracting must, within 270 days after December 31, 2020, update the Disaster Contracting Desk Guide with guidance on using advance contracts and outreach to States and locals, keep contract files complete, meet a 3‑day rule for entering award documents, revise reporting to include all disaster contracts within 180 days after December 31, 2020, keep a single up‑to‑date list of advance contracts, and share that information. The Administrator must also update acquisition planning guidance within 180 days after December 31, 2020.

Title 6, §791

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than 180 days after October 4, 2006, the Administrator shall submit a report under paragraph (2) identifying—

(A)recurring disaster response requirements, including specific goods and services, for which the Agency is capable of contracting for in advance of a natural disaster or act of terrorism or other man-made disaster in a cost effective manner;

(B)recurring disaster response requirements, including specific goods and services, for which the Agency can not contract in advance of a natural disaster or act of terrorism or other man-made disaster in a cost effective manner; and

(C)a contracting strategy that maximizes the use of advance contracts to the extent practical and cost-effective.

(2)The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress.

(b)(1)Not later than 1 year after October 4, 2006, the Administrator shall enter into 1 or more contracts for each type of goods or services identified under subsection (a)(1)(A), and in accordance with the contracting strategy identified in subsection (a)(1)(C). Any contract for goods or services identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) previously awarded may be maintained in fulfilling this requirement.

(2)Before entering into any contract under this subsection, the Administrator shall consider section 5150 of title 42.

(3)The Administrator, in coordination with State and local governments and other Federal agencies, shall establish a process to ensure that Federal prenegotiated contracts for goods and services are coordinated with State and local governments, as appropriate.

(4)The Administrator shall encourage State and local governments to establish prenegotiated contracts with vendors for goods and services in advance of natural disasters and acts of terrorism or other man-made disasters.

(c)After the date described under subsection (b), the Administrator shall have the responsibility to maintain contracts for appropriate levels of goods and services in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(C).

(d)At the end of each fiscal quarter, beginning with the first fiscal quarter occurring at least 90 days after October 4, 2006, the Administrator shall submit a report on each disaster assistance contract entered into by the Agency by other than competitive procedures to the appropriate committees of Congress.

(e)Not later than 180 days after December 31, 2020, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an updated report that contains—

(1)the information required in the initial report under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1); and

(2)an updated strategy described in subsection (a)(1)(C) that clearly defines—

(A)the objectives of advance contracts;

(B)how advance contracts contribute to disaster response operations of the Agency;

(C)how to maximize the award of advance contracts to small business concerns, as defined in section 632 of title 15; and

(D)whether and how advance contracts should be prioritized in relation to new post-disaster contract awards.

(f)(1)The Administrator shall ensure that the head of contracting activity of the Agency—

(A)not later than 270 days after December 31, 2020, updates the Disaster Contracting Desk Guide of the Agency to provide specific guidance—

(i)on whether and under what circumstances contracting officers should consider using existing advance contracts entered into in accordance with this section prior to making new post-disaster contract awards, and include this guidance in existing semi-annual training given to contracting officers; and

(ii)for contracting officers to perform outreach to State and local governments on the potential benefits of establishing their own pre-negotiated advance contracts;

(B)adheres to hard copy contract file management requirements in effect to ensure that the files relating to advance contracts entered into in accordance with this section are complete and up to date, whether the files will be transferred into the Electronic Contract Filing System of the Agency or remain in hard copy format;

(C)notifies contracting officers of the 3-day time frame requirement for entering completed award documentation into the contract writing system of the Agency when executing notice to proceed documentation;

(D)not later than 180 days after December 31, 2020, revises the reporting methodology of the Agency to ensure that all disaster contracts are included in each quarterly report submitted to the appropriate congressional committees under this section on disaster contract actions;

(E)identifies a single centralized resource listing advance contracts entered into under this section and ensures that source is current and up to date and includes all available advance contracts; and

(F)communicates complete and up-to-date information on available advance contracts to State and local governments to inform their advance contracting efforts.

(2)Not later than 180 days after December 31, 2020, the Administrator shall update and implement guidance for program office and acquisition personnel of the Agency to—

(A)identify acquisition planning time frames and considerations across the entire acquisition planning process of the Agency; and

(B)clearly communicate the purpose and use of a master acquisition planning schedule.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 116–272 added subsecs. (e) and (f).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Findings Pub. L. 116–272, § 2, Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3349, provided that: “Congress finds that— “(1) the Post-Katrina Emergency Management and Reform Act of 2006 [Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006] (Public Law 109–925 [Pub. L. 109–295, title VI]; 120 Stat. 1394) required the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish advance contracts, which are established prior to disasters and are typically needed to quickly provide life-sustaining goods and services in the immediate aftermath of a disaster; “(2) the catastrophic hurricanes and wildfires in the United States in 2017 highlighted the importance of these advance contracts in disaster response; “(3) in a report issued by the Government Accountability Office entitled ‘2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Better Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance Contracts’, the Government Accountability Office identified a number of challenges with advance contracts and recommended actions to improve management by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of these contracts for future disasters; and “(4) section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791) should be amended to incorporate the recommendations made by the report described in paragraph (3) to ensure more effective use and management of advance contracts.” Report Pub. L. 116–272, § 3(b), Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3351, provided that: “The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall regularly update the appropriate committees of Congress (as defined in section 602 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 701)) on the progress of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in implementing the recommendations of the Government Accountability Office in the report entitled ‘2017 Disaster Contracting: Action Needed to Better Ensure More Effective Use and Management of Advance Contracts’, as required under section 691 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 791), as amended by subsection (a).”

§791 Advance Contracting