Should Congress expand FEMA’s authority to provide more assistance in the aftermath of a natural disaster?

Awaiting Vote
Bill Summary

The bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish and maintain a web-based interagency electronic information-sharing system, to facilitate the administration of a universal application for federal disaster assistance and for other specified purposes. The President may provide financial or other assistance to respond to the disaster-related housing needs of individuals and households displaced from their predisaster primary residence. FEMA may enter into a cooperative agreement to provide funding to a state agency to establish and operate a website to provide information relating to postdisaster recovery funding and resources to a community or an individual impacted by a major disaster or emergency and FEMA may reimburse a state, tribal, or local government for certain costs relating to sheltering emergency response personnel for a major disaster. This bill does not appropriate a specific amount of funding, but will raise federal costs for FEMA depending on the assistance it provides states and other groups in response to future disasters. Sponsor: Rep. Dina Titus (Democrat, Nevada, District 1)
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Opponents say

•   At the time of research and publication, no official opponent statements were found. This does not necessarily mean that nobody opposes the bill, no does it mean that statements won’t be made in the future.

Proponents say

  "It is no surprise that climate change, and the related severe weather events, are changing the emergency management landscape because today’s disasters cause more damage, have greater impacts on communities, and require more time to recover. These new challenges to the recovery process make it imperative that FEMA cut red tape within its assistance programs, deliver resources to individuals and communities in need, and ensure we are being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. The Disaster Survivors Fairness Act is common-sense legislation that will do just that while also providing states with more flexibility to pursue post-disaster housing solutions that best accommodate their residents’ needs." Source: Rep. Dina Titus (Democrat, Nevada, District 1)


  "The bill (1) includes provisions implementing a common application across all federal disaster recovery agencies via a new website, (2) directs FEMA to create a system for sharing granular data with academic and research institutions, (3) permits FEMA to provide assistance to individuals whose homes have been rendered inaccessible due to disability, (4) permits IA funds to be used for home hazard mitigation projects, and (5) creates a dashboard on the FEMA website to show topline data on disaster assistance applications, such as the number of approved or denied applications, a list of the top reasons for denial, the dollar amount of assistance, and the estimated percentage of residential properties destroyed by a disaster. Several of these measures have been priorities for the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), a group of more than 850 local, state, and national organizations working to ensure that all disaster survivors – including those with low-incomes – have the resources they need to fully recover." Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition


  "We need a disaster recovery system that looks like it was designed on purpose. The current process involves at least four federal agencies and at least five headaches. This legislation solves these inefficiencies and more. After a hurricane makes landfall, disaster victims are left to deal with an alphabet soup of federal agencies and each one has their own confusing requirements. Our bill helps to cut through the red tape and recognize that government bureaucracy is the last thing disaster victims need to deal with. Folks need to be spending less time filling out forms and more time focusing on their actual recovery." Source: Rep. Garret Graves (Republican, Louisiana, District 6)