DISASTER Act Mandates Public Report on All Federal Disaster Spending, Starting FY2027

The federal government spends billions of dollars every year cleaning up after hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other major events. But if you’ve ever tried to figure out exactly where all that money goes, you know it’s like trying to untangle a bowl of spaghetti. The Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief Act of 2025—or the DISASTER Act—aims to fix that by forcing a massive, public accounting of every federal dollar spent on emergencies.

The Annual Receipt for Disaster Cleanup

This bill (SEC. 4) is pretty straightforward: it requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to produce an annual, comprehensive report detailing all federal money spent on disaster response, recovery, and mitigation. This isn't just about FEMA; this report has to track spending across nearly every major department—from the Department of Defense and the Army Corps of Engineers to HUD and the Small Business Administration. Crucially, it must include administrative costs, too. Think of it as the government having to produce an itemized annual receipt for all disaster-related services.

This new reporting requirement kicks in with the President's budget submission for Fiscal Year 2027 (SEC. 5). What makes this data useful is the detail required. The OMB can’t just give a total number; they have to break down the spending by agency, specific budget account, and even the type of disaster (like flood versus fire). They also have to separate money spent on immediate response versus long-term mitigation—the money spent now to reduce damage later.

Why This Matters to Your Wallet

For anyone concerned about government accountability and efficiency, this is a big deal. Right now, when a major storm hits, money flows from dozens of different pots across the federal government, making it incredibly difficult for Congress—or taxpayers—to get a clear picture of the true cost of a disaster. The stated purpose of this Act (SEC. 2) is to give Congress the data it needs to make smarter budget decisions and, more importantly, figure out where investing in prevention (mitigation) can save massive amounts of money later.

For example, if the data shows that Agency X spent $50 million on road repair after a flood, but Agency Y spent $5 million building a flood wall that prevented $100 million in damage elsewhere, Congress can use that information to prioritize future mitigation funding. It moves disaster policy from reactive cleanup to proactive investment. This is the kind of data that can help ensure your tax dollars aren't repeatedly paying to rebuild the same bridge that keeps washing away.

The Transparency Clause

The biggest win for the public is the transparency mandate (SEC. 4). Once the OMB sends the report to Congress, they must also make it publicly available on the OMB website. This isn’t just dumping a PDF online; the bill requires the data to be searchable, sortable, and downloadable. This means that community groups, journalists, and everyday citizens can actually dig into the numbers to see exactly how much money their local area received, whether it was a grant or a loan, and what it was spent on.

Of course, there’s always a catch. This level of detailed tracking means a significant administrative lift for the dozens of federal agencies involved. They now have to meticulously track and categorize every dollar spent on a disaster, which adds complexity to their accounting systems. However, the trade-off—comprehensive, public data on billions in spending—seems worth the administrative headache for the sake of true accountability.