A bill co-sponsored by Oklahoma U.S. Senator James Lankford was signed into law by President Obama this week, reining in administrative costs for major disasters.
The Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015 was co-sponsored by Lankford along with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) and Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire).
It requires the Federal Emergency Management agency to work to control and reduce its internal administrative costs for major disasters.
“In the wake of destruction, FEMA is in place to assist Americans in rebuilding their lives after a major natural disaster,” said Sen. Lankford. “Unfortunately, too much of the agency’s resources are being skimmed off for administrative costs instead of supporting families in need.”
He says the General Accountability Office found that the Agency’s administrative costs increased at alarming rates since 1981.
“It is time to force FEMA to address their overspending, require them to create a plan to immediately reduce administration costs, track where the money is being cut and find effective ways to manage the agency while still serving families in their greatest time of need,” said Lankford.
The GAO found that between Fiscal Years 1989 and 2011, the percentage of disaster assistance that was spent on administrative costs doubled, increasing from 9 to 18 percent.
