This bill amends federal disaster law to add "extreme temperature" to the official definition of a "major disaster" under the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. This change would allow the President to declare a major disaster in response to dangerously high or low temperatures, opening the door for affected states, tribes, and local communities to access federal disaster relief funds and assistance programs that are currently available for events like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. The bill specifically targets communities vulnerable to heat waves and extreme cold events, which have increasingly caused deaths, strained infrastructure, and created public health emergencies but have not historically qualified for the same federal disaster response as other natural disasters. Notably, the legislation does not authorize any additional funding to be appropriated for this purpose, meaning it changes eligibility rules without guaranteeing new financial resources. The bill was introduced in July 2024 and reported out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in December 2024 with an amendment broadening the term from "extreme heat" to "extreme temperature."
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