To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a review relating to disasters caused by water infrastructure failures, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the existing FEMA funding available after water infrastructure failures like water main breaks. The study must examine funding availability both when emergency declarations have and have not been issued, and the resulting report must recommend ways to identify at-risk areas and suggest how Congress could fund disaster prevention through water infrastructure improvements.
Who Benefits and How
State and local governments benefit by potentially gaining access to more federal funding for water infrastructure failure preparedness and response. Small businesses and individuals in areas with aging water infrastructure benefit from recommendations that could lead to preventive federal investment. Water infrastructure construction and engineering firms could benefit if the study leads to increased federal spending on infrastructure repairs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Government Accountability Office bears the burden of conducting the review within 6 months. FEMA may face scrutiny regarding the adequacy of its existing disaster funding programs for water infrastructure failures.
Key Provisions
- GAO must complete its review within 6 months of enactment
- Review covers FEMA funding for water infrastructure failures both with and without emergency declarations
- Report must include recommendations for federal-state partnerships to identify at-risk areas
- Report must recommend ways Congress could fund disaster mitigation through infrastructure repair
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to review existing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding available to states, localities, individuals, and small businesses following water infrastructure failures, and to recommend ways to identify at-risk areas and provide Congressional funding for prevention.
Key Policy Areas
Infrastructure, Emergency Management, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to review existing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding available to states, localities, individuals, and small businesses following water infrastructure failures, and to recommend ways to identify at-risk areas and provide Congressional funding for prevention.
Policy Domains
GAO Water Infrastructure Study
Identified Gains
- State and local governments
- Small businesses in areas with aging water infrastructure
- Water infrastructure construction firms
- Communities affected by water main breaks
Identified Costs
- Government Accountability Office (study resources)
- FEMA (scrutiny of existing programs)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Pou introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology