Peters introduces bill to require tracking of federal spending on disaster relief
GRAND RAPIDS — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters is introducing legislation he argues will improve transparency when it comes to federal spending on disaster relief.
Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, introduced The Disclosing All Spending That Ensures Relief, or “Disaster” Act in the Senate Wednesday, Dec. 1. The bill would require federal agencies to track spending and relief expenditures on disasters.
Specifically, the Office of Management and Budget and Treasury Department would provide federal agencies with plans to track all spending and expenditures related to disaster relief. Damages incurred from disasters would also have to be recorded, something Peters office believes would provide lawmakers with more information when determining federal spending.
Spending and damages incurred from disasters would also be made public. In a press release, Peters pointed to emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic and inclement weather events caused by climate change as areas that need to be addressed transparently.
“Michiganders and all Americans have a right to know how much natural disasters – that are worsening due to climate change – and other emergencies are costing taxpayers. This information will also be critical to Congress so we can effectively allocate resources to agencies leading the federal response to these events,” Peters said.
“This commonsense, bipartisan bill will not only strengthen our federal disaster response, but also increase accountability and transparency on how the federal government is working to protect American communities from the growing threat of natural disasters and other emergencies.”
According to Peters’ office, federal disaster response currently doesn’t have requirements for financial tracking.
By creating an accessible database containing how much the federal government has spent on disasters, Peters argues lawmakers would have a blueprint on how much money has been allocated for addressing future emergencies.
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Alex Padilla, D-California, joined Peters in introducing the bill. The Disaster Act has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which Peters chairs.
