Overview: The Stafford Act authorizes the President to “direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to utilize its authorities and the resources granted to it under Federal law” in support of State and local response efforts for emergencies (42 U.S.C. § 5192(a)(1)) and State and local response and recovery efforts for major disasters (42 U.S.C. § 5170a(1)). This tasking authority, delegated to the FEMA Administrator, is carried out through a MA. A MA is a work order issued to a Federal agency directing completion by that Agency of a specific task and citing funding, other managerial controls and guidance (44 C.F.R. § 206.2(a)(18)).

B. Mission Assignment Categories: The two categories of MAs are Federal Operational Support (FOS) and Direct Federal Assistance (DFA)

 1. Federal Operational Support:

MAs categorized as FOS task Federal agencies to provide Federal to Federal support allowing FEMA to execute its response and recovery missions (44 C.F.R. §§ 206.5, 206.7, 206.8). FOS MAs can be issued before or after a declaration.

 a) Cost Share: FOS assistance is internal to the Federal Government and related costs are not appropriately passed on to a State or tribal government, therefore there is no State or tribal cost share. FOS is 100 percent federally funded.

 b) FOS MAs Pre-Declaration: In accordance with FEMA Directive 125-2, “Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) Pre-Disaster Declaration (Surge) Funding,” FEMA may issue FOS MAs prior to a declaration for Federal activities  required to prepare for an incident for which a declaration is reasonably likely and imminent.  

2. Direct Federal Assistance:

MAs categorized as DFA task Federal agencies to provide eligible emergency work and/or debris removal services to State, local, tribal, and territorial governments following an Emergency or Major Disaster Declaration. FEMA may not issue DFA MAs prior to an Emergency or Major Disaster Declaration. DFA MAs are issued as a result of a request from a State, local, tribal, or territorial government for Federal assistance (44 C.F.R. § 206.208(a)). DFA MAs must be signed by the State, tribal, or territorial Authorizing Representative and is subject to the eligibility criteria contained in Subpart H – Public Assistance Eligibility (44 C.F.R. §§ 206.220-228).

 a) Cost Share: The Stafford Act requires a State or tribal government to share the costs associated with requests for Federal assistance pursuant to the terms provided for in the President’s declaration. Pursuant to the Stafford Act, the Federal share of DFA shall not be less than 75 percent of the cost of eligible work (42 U.S.C. §§ 5170b(b)), 5193(a); 44 C.F.R. § 206.208(a).

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