This bill increases transparency for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program by requiring FEMA to submit detailed pre-grant and annual reports to Congress regarding grant applications, awards, and expenditures.
Bennie Thompson
Representative
MS-2
This bill, the Nonprofit Security Grant Program Transparency Act, enhances oversight of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program by requiring FEMA to submit detailed pre-award and annual reports to Congress. These reports will provide comprehensive data on grant applications, awards by state and high-risk area, and how recipient funds are ultimately spent. The goal is to increase transparency regarding the distribution and use of security grant funds for eligible nonprofits.
Nonprofit Security Grant Program Transparency Act Mandates Pre-Award Disclosures and Detailed Annual Spending Audits
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program Transparency Act is essentially a digital paper trail for federal security funding. It updates the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that when FEMA hands out money to nonprofits—like houses of worship, community centers, or private schools—Congress and the public aren't left guessing where it went. The bill requires FEMA to pull back the curtain at two critical stages: seven days before any grants are actually awarded and again 90 days after the fiscal year ends. This isn't just a simple 'we spent this much' summary; it’s a deep dive into the logistics of who applied, who got picked, and how much the state skimmed off the top for administrative costs.
The Pre-Game Disclosure
Before a single dollar hits a nonprofit's bank account, FEMA's Administrator must hand over a report to House and Senate committees detailing the pipeline. This includes the specific number of applications states received versus how many they actually passed along to FEMA. For the winners, the report must list the organization’s name, address, and whether they are located in a high-risk urban area. If you’re a director at a local community center that applied for a security fence or a camera system, this provision ensures there is a record of your application's journey through the bureaucracy before the final decisions are set in stone.
Accountability After the Fact
Once the year wraps up, the bill mandates a post-game analysis within 90 days. This annual report is designed to catch where money might be stalling. It requires FEMA to disclose exactly how much each state kept for its own administrative fees under section 2009(c)(2) and, more importantly, how the recipients actually spent the cash. For a small business owner or a taxpayer, this means seeing if the funds intended for 'security' were used for their intended purpose or if they were swallowed up by overhead. It also forces the program office to report on its own staffing and operations, making it harder for the office to hide inefficiency behind vague progress reports.
Mapping the High-Risk Zones
A significant portion of this bill focuses on 'high-risk urban areas.' By requiring FEMA to break down grant totals and recipient counts specifically for these zones, the legislation creates a heatmap of where the government believes the greatest threats exist. For people living in major cities, this data provides a clearer picture of which local institutions are receiving federal protection. By linking these impacts directly to the reporting requirements in Section 2, the bill moves the program from a 'black box' system to one where the data is available to verify if the most vulnerable spots are actually getting the support they were promised.