To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for public and individual disaster assistance, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · December 12, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to update its rules for deciding when to approve disaster assistance requests from states and local governments. Currently, FEMA has broad discretion in evaluating disaster declarations, but this legislation would establish specific weighted criteria that must be considered for both public assistance (helping communities repair infrastructure) and individual assistance (helping people recover). For public assistance, the rules would weigh factors like localized impacts, the local economy's condition, and recent multiple disasters, while individual assistance decisions would consider damage concentration, trauma to residents, vulnerable populations, and insurance availability. FEMA would have 120 days after the bill becomes law to write these new rules, which would then apply retroactively to any disaster declarations that were denied since January 1, 2012. The bill aims to make disaster aid decisions more consistent and fair by reducing FEMA's subjective judgment.
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