HELP Response and Recovery Act

Senate Bill

S. 594

119th Congress

HELP Response and Recovery Act

Held at the desk.

Introduced:Dec 17, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Gary Peters

D - MI

Cosponsors

1

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Emergency Management

Summary

This bill would remove certain contracting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency during emergencies. It requires regular reports on how this change has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.

Latest Action

Held at the desk.

Introduced12/17/2025

StatusHeld at the desk.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

HELP Response and Recovery Act

This bill would remove certain contracting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency during emergencies. It requires regular reports on how this change has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill would remove certain contracting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency during emergencies. It requires regular reports on how this change has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.

Bill Number: 594
Introduced: 12/17/2025
Status: Held at the desk.
Policy Area: Emergency Management

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: HELP Response and Recovery Act
Bill Number: 594
Sponsor: No sponsor
Status: Held at the desk.
Introduced: 12/17/2025
Summary: This bill would remove certain contracting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency during emergencies. It requires regular reports on how this change has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill would remove certain contracting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency during emergencies. It requires regular reports on how this change has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.

Last updated: 12/26/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Helping Eliminate Limitations for Prompt Response and Recovery Act or the HELP Response and Recovery ActThis bill extends the maximum duration of noncompetitive Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contracts for disaster response and recovery from 150 days to one year by repealing a current limitation on such DHS contracts so that standard procurement regulations apply regarding urgent needs. It also requires DHS to report to Congress annually for five years to review how this repeal has prevented waste and provide information on noncompetitive Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Repeals a section of the 2006 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act related to DHS contracting requirements.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit annual reports for 5 years on how the repeal has impacted waste, fraud, and taxpayer savings.
Requires the reports to include details on any FEMA contracts entered into without competitive bidding during emergencies.

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would give the Federal government more flexibility in contracting during emergencies, which could allow for quicker response and recovery efforts. However, the reporting requirements are intended to ensure this flexibility does not lead to waste or abuse of taxpayer funds.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Emergency Management

Related Subjects

Congressional oversight

Disaster relief and insurance

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Public contracts and procurement

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

594, 119th Congress (2025). "HELP Response and Recovery Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/119-s-594

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