The DISASTER Act of 2025 requires the Office of Management and Budget to submit an annual report to Congress detailing all federal disaster-related assistance spending, making the information publicly accessible online.
Scott Peters
Representative
CA-50
The DISASTER Act of 2025 requires the Office of Management and Budget to submit an annual report to Congress detailing all federal disaster-related assistance spending, including obligations for response, recovery, and mitigation, starting with the fiscal year 2027 budget. This report will provide a comprehensive overview of disaster spending by agency, account, specific disaster, and type of assistance, and will be publicly available in a searchable format. The goal of this act is to improve transparency and inform budget decisions related to disaster relief.
Feds Mandated to Track Every Disaster Dollar: New Bill Requires Annual Spending Report by 2027
The DISASTER Act of 2025 sets up a new requirement for the federal government: tracking and reporting exactly how much money is spent on disaster-related assistance each year. Starting with the budget submission for Fiscal Year 2027, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – think of them as the government's main accountants – must give Congress a detailed annual breakdown of these costs. The core idea, as stated in the bill's findings (Sec. 2), is to get a clear, single picture of federal disaster spending to make smarter budget decisions and potentially reduce future costs by investing wisely.
Cracking Open the Books on Disaster Aid
So, what's actually in this report? Section 4 lays out the specifics, and it's pretty comprehensive. The OMB report needs to detail the total amount obligated for disaster aid across numerous federal agencies – from FEMA and HUD to the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and even Defense. It requires breaking down the spending by the specific disaster (like Hurricane Ida or the California wildfires), the type of disaster (flood, fire, etc.), and the purpose: was the money for immediate response, long-term recovery, or mitigation (actions taken before a disaster to lessen its impact)? The report also has to distinguish between loans and grants and include administrative costs.
Following the Money Trail: Why This Matters
Right now, the government doesn't have one single place to see the total cost of federal disaster aid across all agencies (Sec. 2). This bill aims to fix that. For taxpayers, it means more transparency – you can see where the money goes after a major disaster. For policymakers, it provides data to potentially budget more effectively and see if spending on mitigation – like strengthening infrastructure before a storm – actually saves money in the long run. Crucially, Section 4 mandates this report be posted publicly online in a format anyone can search, sort, and download, making the information accessible beyond the halls of Congress.
Getting it Done: The Rollout and Reality
The first report isn't due until the President submits the budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (Sec. 5), giving OMB and the various agencies time to set up the tracking systems needed. Pulling together consistent, detailed spending data from so many different parts of the government will likely be a significant operational task. However, the goal outlined in Section 3 is clear: create a standardized, comprehensive annual accounting of federal resources deployed for disasters, offering a clearer financial picture than currently available.