Disaster Survivors Fairness Act of 2022

Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I rise in support of H.R. 8416, the ``Disasters of Survivors Fairness Act of 2022.''

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's mission is to help Americans prepare for, respond, and recover from disasters.

From day one, FEMA has been committed to protecting and serving Americans who have been impacted by disasters.

Unfortunately, though, the toll of disasters is much greater on most Americans than it is on those who are wealthier.

A 2020 FEMA National Advisory Committee report stated that disaster relief programs ``provide an additional boost to wealthy homeowners and others with less need, while lower-income individuals and others sink further into poverty after disasters.''

It is unfair that any survivor of disasters must suffer because of disparities in FEMA disaster response that have gone unchallenged for far too long.

For example, FEMA records show that low-income homeowners were denied 30 percent of the time compared to higher-income owners, who were denied 13 percent of the time, a 17-point difference.

Unfortunately, these disparities reveal the experience of African American and Hispanic Americans.

Threats posed by natural disasters intensify existing social and racial and ethnic inequities. After a natural disaster, people in disadvantaged communities have worse outcomes due to stresses or exposures to other risks associated with a disaster.

Low-income people and people of color are more likely to live in disaster-prone areas, live in lower-quality housing that is less safe when disasters occur, and have chronic illnesses that make them more vulnerable.

As climate change accelerates and intensifies, the natural disasters that it causes take a steeper toll each year.

Since climate change affects health in a variety of ways, disaster mitigation and response planning must be scoped in advance to ameliorate the consequences, hardships, and inequities.

To ensure that FEMA will lead equitable health interventions during disaster response, we must enable it to provide evidence-based policy, programming, and service delivery designed to protect health and promote health equity during disaster response and recovery.

Our nation is ill-prepared to deal with successive extreme weather events occurring nearly simultaneously, just as in 2017, when Hurricanes Harvey, Jose and Maria hit within days of each other, while wildfires burned in California.

One thing is certain after speaking with the people of Houston who, unfortunately, are all too familiar with these problems: We require a disaster recovery system that is designed to help the people who truly need it.

H.R. 8416 would:

develop a universal application for federal disaster assistance;

remove the requirement that households must be rendered uninhabitable;

authorize the president to provide direct assistance to individuals and households;

remove the requirement that a household must be rendered uninhabitable;

allow FEMA to enter agreements with state agencies to provide funding for a website that will have information related to post disaster recovery funding and resources; and save taxpayer dollars by ensuring that FEMA resources are going to those who need the most help.

I have seen the dedication and hard work of FEMA professionals who provide relief to victims of disasters. But the unending string of disasters is stretching the fabric of emergency response systems across the nation. The pain and financial hardship that they cost the American people can be seen in headlines across the country.

We in Congress must do our part to enable FEMA to do more without diminishing the support of communities before, during, and after disasters.

No one was prepared for five days of subfreezing temperatures, ice- and snow-covered roads, and a failed energy grid throughout the state of Texas.

Texas power providers, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Entergy Corporation, did not provide the needed weatherization of power generating and delivery equipment after being warned in 2011 after a cold snap that the system would fail if these steps were not taken.

The number of additional deaths uses mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare the number of deaths from all causes that were reported in Texas during and after the storm with the number of fatalities that are normally reported during ordinary conditions.

That method is known as ``excess fatalities'' and has been employed during other disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic, to estimate related death tolls.

In the aftermath of the storm millions of Texans struggled with the effects of the deadly winter storm, people of color and low-income communities who were disproportionately affected by blackouts and burst pipes could now face the hardest journey to recovery, experts said.

Hurricane Harvey hit a thousand square mile of Texas, just as in the past when Ike struck, but the telling sign of Blue Tarp Roofs are only in low-income, black, and brown communities' years after the storms have passed.

In the past the tools and resources available to FEMA to support disaster reponse and recovery have been limited to meals, water, trap.

Local, tribal, territorial, and state governments had to make request for aid to be provided.

For more substantial assistance, government contracting, and awards must be put into place, which can take months and in some cases years to get resources to victims.

This is too much time for survivors to have to wait for help.

The historic winter weather exacerbated pre-existing disparities like poor infrastructure and lack of resources in marginalized communities. Black and Latino communities who were disproportionately hit by COVID- 19 now must struggle to recover from one of the worst weather events to ever hit Texas.

The nine-county Houston metro area impacted by Hurricane Harvey covers 9,444 square miles, an area larger than five states. Including New Hampshire, New Jersy, and Connecticut.

Hurricane Harvey dropped 21 trillion gallons of rainfall on Texas and Louisiana, most of it on the Houston Metroplex.

At its peak on September 1, 2017, one-third of Houston was underwater.

Hurricane Harvey is the largest housing disaster to strike the U.S. in our nation's history.

Hurricane Harvey damaged 203,000 homes, of which 12,700 were destroyed.

These are not simply numbers, these are families. Son and daughters, mothers and fathers, friends, mentors, and caretakers, all who are deserving of ample disaster response and recover efforts.

There was no way to pre-prepare for Hurricanes Harvey, Katrina, Ian, or any of the other major disaster event.

What we can do is learn as much as possible and apply those lessons to future disaster response and recovery efforts.

When there is a catastrophic event, like Hurricane Harvey, there are important and valuable lessons that can help us to meet future challenges.

My constituents in Houston understand that our capacity to deal with hurricanes directly reflects our ability to respond to a terrorist attack in Texas or New York, an earthquake in California, or a nationwide pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID- 19 was a pandemic, which had by that date reached at least 114 countries, sickening over 100,000 people, and killing more than 4,000.

It is the duty of Congress to make sure that FEMA is prepared to meet any challenge while bringing equity to the response made during disasters.

The work of the FEMA Office of Disaster Recovery and the Office of Disaster Recovery are critical when disaster strikes and for this reason, they should be a permanent part of the agency.

This is one of the reasons, I introduced the FEMA Modernization Act (H.R. 3060) in the 116th Congress.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8416) to improve individual assistance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 8416, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8416. This legislation, introduced by Subcommittee Chair Dina Titus, significantly improves disaster assistance programs for individuals and families.

It is undeniable that climate change has transformed the nature and severity of natural disasters in the United States. This has caused real and devastating impacts for those who find themselves living in the path of these disasters. Their lives will be upended by the loss of savings, homes, loved ones, and peace of mind.

Survivors turn to their government, especially to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, for support after what may have been the worst day of their lives. We know this by firsthand experience in my home State of Louisiana. In Congress, we must do everything in our power to ensure that Federal Government offers a hand of support that is fair, capable, and compassionate.

This package includes several key provisions to improve disaster assistance programs and survivor outcomes. First, this package will create universal application for direct Federal assistance and enable Federal agencies to share relevant disaster assistance information with each other.

The bureaucracy of the current application and evaluation process can leave survivors so overwhelmed that they give up hope on accessing the aid they are, in fact, entitled to. I have heard this from my own constituents. It is a travesty. It adds insult to injury. That is why I support this substantial step forward to cut red tape, streamline survivors' access to assistance, and reduce the time it takes for our communities to recover.

Second, this legislation gives FEMA new authorities that significantly expand the agency's ability to make disaster damaged homes more resilient. It is common sense to encourage mitigation activities in disaster-prone areas. Homes that were impacted once by a disaster are likely to be impacted again, and those hard-hit households may need extra help to rebuild stronger.

Third, several amendments were made to the Stafford Act which enables FEMA to support innovative post-disaster housing solutions. Natural disasters can exacerbate housing crises already existing in communities much like those which I represent. This bill seeks to help.

For example, it authorizes the agency to provide direct repair assistance to homeowners, which may reduce the amount of time survivors spend in temporary shelters or housing before returning home. It also authorizes FEMA to reimburse States that implement their own innovative post-disaster housing solutions.

Lastly, this legislation includes a series of reports and studies that may identify existing challenges in the administration of current post-disaster housing programs and propose new solutions.

H.R. 8416 is designed to put survivors first and get them back on their feet after disasters faster. Disasters recognize no boundaries, and we must in turn strengthen and continually improve our disaster preparedness, response, and recovery systems from sea to shining sea.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to support this effort, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Small Business,

Washington, DC, September 23, 2022.

Hon. Peter A. DeFazio,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman DeFazio: I am writing with respect to H.R.

8416, the ``Disaster Survivors Fairness Act of 2022''. Thank

you for consulting with the Committee on Small Business

regarding the matters in H.R. 8416 that fall within the

Committee's jurisdiction.

As a result of your consultation with us on this measure

and in order to expeditiously move the bill to the floor, I

forego further consideration of H.R. 8416. The Committee on

Small Business takes this action with our mutual

understanding that we do not waive any jurisdiction over the

subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and

the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

the bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may

address any remaining issues that fall within our

jurisdiction. Further, I request your support for the

appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from the

Committee on Small Business during any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation.

Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter

confirming our understanding regarding H.R. 8416 and would

ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Committee Report and the Congressional Record

during floor consideration of the measure. Thank you for the

cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding this

matter and others between our respective committees.

Sincerely,

Nydia M. Velazquez,

Chairwoman.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the distinguished gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus), who is the author of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this legislation includes a series of reforms that will streamline Federal assistance and benefit survivors like they have never been benefited before. It is our duty to make disaster assistance fair and accessible to each and every survivor.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this good, bipartisan legislation, and I applaud my colleagues for joining us in working in unison to do what is best for the American people. I completely support this incredible legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I want to first thank my friend from Nevada for working with us on this legislation. This is important. I thank my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Carter) as well as Miss Gonzalez-Colon from Puerto Rico. These are all folks, Madam Speaker, who have been through the aftermath of disasters. Of course, the lead sponsor whom we are working on this legislation with is the chair of the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee.

Just to explain what happens here, in the aftermath of a disaster-- and as the gentleman from California noted, this can be a forest fire, it could be a flood, it could be a hurricane, an earthquake, or other types of disasters--you have an alphabet soup of agencies that come in and offer assistance. It could be FEMA, it could be the Small Business Administration, it could be the Department of Agriculture, it could be the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or others.

Madam Speaker, the last thing in the world the victim of a disaster needs is to be revictimized by their own government bureaucracy. Whether your home was destroyed in a forest fire, it was blown away in a hurricane, or it was destroyed in a flood, you need help. You don't need bureaucracy. Yet, each agency has its own process.

This bill brings common sense to that. It relieves the stress of being a disaster victim, and it provides a universal application. You do it one time, the data is shared. You don't have to come in and fill out the same information over and over and over again.

I wish somebody could do this at a doctor's office. Just make a note.

Madam Speaker, this bill goes beyond there though. It also ensures that as taxpayers we are not coming in and

spending money over and over and over again on the same homes. It changes the threshold for assistance to come in and offer hazard mitigation assistance for these homes to make them more resilient and to address vulnerabilities. It ensures that if someone floods or there is a repetitive flood, we don't allow it to continue happening. We bring solutions to the table.

I am embarrassed to admit this, but in the district that I represent, there was a home that had flood insurance claims 42 times--42 times. As ridiculous as it is as a taxpayer to see that happen--can you imagine the homeowner having to go through this over and over and over again?

Thankfully, we have solved that problem in that case, but this bill prevents further similar problems from occurring.

Lastly, Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Louisiana for working with us on section 12 of this legislation. This clarifies something that we did in the Disaster Response Reform Act of 2018 that ensures if you have a local entity like a sheriff's office or others that brings a housing solution to the table that is at least 50 percent or less the cost of what a similar solution would cost the Federal Government, they can get reimbursed for that.

Said another way, Madam Speaker, this saves the Federal Government 50 percent of the money or more of housing solutions whenever a local agency like a sheriff's office or others bring solutions to the table for their own victims. As my friend from Nevada has said, in some cases we have seen FEMA spending $250,000 per trailer--$250,000.

We have seen local entities come in and bring solutions to the table for $32,000, turning around and selling the trailers back, and recouping everything but $7,000.

This is about taxpayers. It is about efficiency. It is about better solutions, more resilient communities.

Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this amendment.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 8416, Disaster Survivors Fairness Act, makes a series of changes to FEMA's Individuals and Households Programs.

Federal disaster assistance programs will be accessed through a new, universal application that cuts through the bureaucracy and red tape survivors face when seeking disaster assistance.

In my own district, we have had so much suffering from wildfire. The Camp fire destroyed the town of Paradise and displaced so many, as well as the Dixie fire last year. We just lost folks in a community called Klamath River, as well as Beckwourth and Happy Camp. I could name many others.

But, Madam Speaker, when a disaster hits you and when it hits a family, they need solutions, and they need them soon because they are going to live in a hotel or a motel. They are going to live with friends. They are going to live on someone's couch. They are going to have to leave the State. So when we can more immediately get them the assistance they need, it is more humane. It certainly allays a lot of suffering for folks who have already suffered too much already.

So with a streamlined application process we will update an existing website to view that application through disasterAssistance.gov, an interagency information-sharing system between FEMA and other Federal agencies involved in disaster recovery. This will serve a dual purpose of increased coordination and reduce waste, fraud and abuse.

The Disaster Survivors Fairness Act also opens up and clarifies FEMA's authority related to home rebuilding and repairs allowing commonsense solutions that prioritize the survivors' needs in returning home and mitigating for future disasters, as my constituents are dealing with in the town of Greenville in northern California. We would like to expedite that process and not have red tape slow down their ability to rebuild and come back home.

So, Madam Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), who is the lead Republican sponsor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, whether you have, as a victim, endured a wildfire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, or any other calamity, and the different forms of government are there to assist, in earnest, in good faith, let's get them an easier process to do so.

One-stop shopping is much preferable to folks that have suffered disaster and are displaced, their families spread out, and they are struggling. Via this legislation, I appreciate my colleague from Nevada pushing this forward and recognizing that.

We struggle in my own district with the Camp fire and the Dixie fire and so much devastation there. Two entire towns disappeared with Paradise and Greenville, and another small town, Canyondam. These folks are displaced, and they are looking for answers.

With the programmatic changes that are available in H.R. 8416, it will indeed streamline the application process, via disasters, through the several Federal agencies to help them navigate what we are calling today the alphabet soup of agencies to get a faster recovery. That is what we all want.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I appreciate the efforts my colleagues have been able to bring forward. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Disaster Survivors Fairness Act which I introduced to address housing needs for victims in the aftermath of disasters.

In June, my subcommittee held an informal roundtable with stakeholders to identify post-disaster housing needs when it comes to emergency management and what the government can do to be helpful.

It is no surprise that climate change and the related severe weather events are changing the emergency management landscape. Today's disasters cause more damage, they have greater impacts on communities, they are more expensive, and they require more time to recover.

This legislation will cut red tape by providing States more flexibility to pursue the most appropriate post-disaster housing solutions for them, for their locations, for their geography, and for their demography.

It will deliver valuable resources to those in need by expanding eligibility for hazard mitigation assistance. It will provide oversight to ensure assistance is not being prioritized for wealthy homeowners and that everyone will benefit from the program. It will save taxpayer dollars by reducing the need for long-term sheltering that can cost FEMA upwards of $300,000 per unit. We all remember the pictures of the trailers after Katrina.

So, Madam Speaker, I believe that this is commonsense legislation, it is broadly supported, and I ask my colleagues to vote for it. I thank the chair for yielding me time.