United States 119th Congress Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 5 R · 1 D cosponsors

S 861 — Disaster Assistance Simplification Act

Last action — Held at the desk.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced March 05, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 54% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    1 primary, 5 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (5 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Disaster Assistance Simplification ActThis bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop and establish a unified intake process and system for applicants for assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency.The system mustfacilitate a consolidated application for any form of disaster assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency when appropriate to support the nature and purposes of the assistance;carry out the purposes of disaster assistance programs swiftly, efficiently, equitably, and in accordance with specified laws and privacy and data protections; andsupport the detection, prevention, and investigation of waste, fraud, abuse, or discrimination in the administration of disaster assistance programs.Further, the system must, among other thingsaccept applications for disaster assistance programs;permit applicants to receive status updates on such applications;allow applicants to update disaster assistance information throughout their recovery journeys;permit the distribution of information on additional recovery resources to disaster survivors that may be available in a disaster-stricken jurisdiction in coordination with appropriate federal, state, local, and tribal partners; andpermit disaster assistance agencies to communicate directly with disaster survivors.Not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a disaster assistance agency to update questions in the consolidated application needed to administer the disaster assistance programs of the agency, FEMA must make those updates.The bill requires reports and congressional briefings from FEMA, and a report from the Government Accountability Office, relating to the bill's implementation.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

6 added · 14 removed

Plain-language change summary

The text reflects changes where a passage indicating the passage of the bill in the Senate on December 16, 2025, was added. Additionally, references to the bill's introduction and report date from March 5, 2025, were removed. The changes clarify the current status of the bill and streamline its presentation without affecting the content of the legislation itself.

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861 Reported in Senate (RS)] <DOC> Calendar No.
861 Engrossed in Senate (ES)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
264 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
861 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for other purposes.
861 To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 5, 2025 Mr.
Peters (for himself, Mr.
Lankford, Mr.
Paul, Mr.
Tillis, Ms.
Ernst, and Mr.
Budd) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs November 7, 2025 Reported by Mr.
Paul, without amendment _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for other purposes.
Calendar No.
Passed the Senate December 16, 2025.
264 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
Attest:
861 _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for other purposes.
Secretary.
_______________________________________________________________________ November 7, 2025 Reported without amendment
119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
861 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To streamline the sharing of information among Federal disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information provided by disaster survivors, and for other purposes.
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Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

  3. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

  4. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Paul without amendment. Without written report.

  5. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Paul without amendment. Without written report.

  6. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 264.

  7. Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.

  8. Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8763-8764; text: CR S8763-8764)

  9. Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  10. Received in the House.

  11. Held at the desk.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 541 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (5)

Not signed on (541)

541 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 541 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety immigration
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 861 do?
Disaster Assistance Simplification ActThis bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop and establish a unified intake process and system for applicants for assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency.The system mustfacilitate a consolidated application for any form of disaster assistance provided by a disaster assistance agency when appropriate to support the nature and purposes of the assistance;carry out the purposes of disaster assistance programs swiftly, efficiently, equitably, and in accordance with specified laws and privacy and data protections; andsupport the detection, prevention, and investigation of waste, fraud, abuse, or discrimination in the administration of disaster assistance programs.Further, the system must, among other thingsaccept applications for disaster assistance programs;permit applicants to receive status updates on such applications;allow applicants to update disaster assistance information throughout their recovery journeys;permit the distribution of information on additional recovery resources to disaster survivors that may be available in a disaster-stricken jurisdiction in coordination with appropriate federal, state, local, and tribal partners; andpermit disaster assistance agencies to communicate directly with disaster survivors.Not later than 30 days after receiving a request from a disaster assistance agency to update questions in the consolidated application needed to administer the disaster assistance programs of the agency, FEMA must make those updates.The bill requires reports and congressional briefings from FEMA, and a report from the Government Accountability Office, relating to the bill's implementation.
Who sponsors S 861?
S 861 is sponsored by Peters, Gary C. (Democratic), Lankford, James (Republican), Paul, Rand (Republican), Tillis, Thomas (Republican), Ernst, Joni (Republican), and Budd, Ted (Republican).
What is the current status of S 861?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced March 05, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track S 861?
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