Article 17: FEMA Mission Assignments
(Category: costs-eligilbilty)
Article Summary
The Stafford Act authorizes the President to direct any Federal agency to utilize its legal authorities and resources to support State, local, tribal, and territorial response and recovery efforts. Delegated to the FEMA Administrator, this tasking authority is executed via a Mission Assignment (MA)—a formal work order that directs a specific Federal agency to complete a task and defines funding and managerial controls under 44 CFR § 206.2(a)(18).
MAs are divided into two operational categories:
- Federal Operational Support (FOS): These task other Federal agencies to provide internal Federal-to-Federal support, allowing FEMA to execute its response and recovery missions. FOS MAs are 100% federally funded with no local cost share, and they can be issued either before or after a formal disaster declaration to prepare for an imminent incident.
- Direct Federal Assistance (DFA): Issued only after an Emergency or Major Disaster Declaration, DFA tasks Federal agencies to provide eligible emergency work and/or debris removal services directly to local governments when their own resources are overwhelmed. DFA MAs must be requested by the State or Tribe, signed by an Authorizing Representative, and are subject to a minimum 75% Federal cost share, meaning the local recipient must pay the remaining non-Federal match.
Five Key Takeaways for CTA FEMA Compliance
- Differentiate Pre- and Post-Declaration Tasking: Remember that FOS MAs can be issued pre-declaration to build up surge capacity, while DFA MAs can only legally be generated after a formal disaster declaration is signed.
- Budget for the 25% Non-Federal Match on DFA: Plan local finances around the rule that DFA is subject to standard cost-sharing provisions, meaning your agency is responsible for the non-Federal share (typically up to 25%) of the performing agency's costs.
- Ensure State/Tribal Executive Signature on Requests: Verify that any request for Direct Federal Assistance is officially signed by your Authorizing Representative to legally bind the cost-share terms before federal work begins.
- Confirm the Requesting Jurisdiction's Inability to Perform: Only request DFA if you can explicitly document that both your internal staff resources and available local contract markets are completely overwhelmed and unable to execute the required emergency work.
- Exempt Internal FOS from Local Financial Ledgers: Do not account for or worry about cost-sharing for Federal Operational Support assignments, as these are entirely internal to the Federal Government and funded 100% by FEMA.
