Technical assistance pilot program

(a) Establishment Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator may establish a program under which, upon the request of a Governor or Chief Executive of a State or Indian Tribal government, the Administrator may award assistance to the State or Indian tribal government that includes— (1) the assignment of employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the State or Indian tribal government to provide technical assistance for low-capacity jurisdictions throughout the public assistance process, including with the respect to— (A) project scoping; (B) damage documentation; (C) training State or Indian tribal government personnel to be knowledgeable about all available programs under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); and (D) other related tasks; or (2) funding to hire additional employees or contractors of the State to help low-capacity jurisdictions navigate the process of applying for and receiving for assistance under this Act, including— (A) project scoping; (B) damage documentation; (C) the grant application process; and (D) other related tasks. (b) Selection In selecting States and Indian tribal governments to which to award assistance under this section, the Administrator shall determine the need of the State or Indian tribal government for assistance based on— (1) the hazard risk of the State or Indian tribal government based on the National Risk Index; (2) the existing disaster management capacity of the State or Indian tribal government, as measured by the number of available personnel and the amount of resources of the State or Indian tribal government; (3) the availability of a nongovernmental disaster response and recovery capacity in the State or Indian tribal government; and (4) any other factor determined necessary by the Administrator. (c) Termination The program established under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the establishment of the program. (d) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of the establishment of the program under subsection (a), and annually thereafter until the date described in subsection (d), the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the program that includes— (1) a list of the States and Indian tribal governments that have received assistance under the program; and (2) an account of the form and scope of the assistance provided under the program to each State and Indian tribal government. (e) GAO Audit Not later than 3 years after the date of the establishment of the program under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall— (1) conduct an audit of the program; (2) study the effectiveness of the program; and (3) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a recommendation whether to extend or expand the program. (f) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to carry out this section.