H.R. 10514House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated September 25, 2026 at 8:39 AM UTC

The Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026 sets a four‑year window (January 20 2025‑January 20 2029) during which any request by a state governor or tribal chief for a major disaster declaration is automatically treated as approved by the President. The law also requires the President to provide the requested assistance if the damage meets established per‑capita or cost thresholds, or if FEMA’s regional administrator determines individual assistance is needed. It further bars the President from denying assistance solely because a deadline was missed.

Key Provisions

Defines a "covered period" (Jan 20 2025‑Jan 20 2029) and a "covered request" (disaster declaration requests submitted by governors or tribal leaders during that time).
Treats every covered request as if the President has approved it, triggering the provision of disaster assistance under the Stafford Act.
Mandates assistance when FEMA’s preliminary damage assessment meets or exceeds per‑capita or cost thresholds, or when a FEMA regional administrator finds individual assistance warranted.
Prohibits the President from withholding or denying assistance for a covered request solely because a deadline was missed.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

September 21, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 21, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

September 21, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued September 21, 2026

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10514

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 21, 2026

Mr. Amo (for himself, Ms. Friedman, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Costa, Mr. Magaziner, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To approve certain requests for a major disaster declaration, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026.

Approval of major disaster declaration requests

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Covered period

The term covered period means the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on January 20, 2029.

(2)

Covered request

The term covered request means a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists that is submitted by the Governor of a State or a Chief Executive of an Indian tribal government under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the covered period.

(3)

Governor; Indian tribal government; major disaster; State

The terms Governor, Indian tribal government, major disaster, and State have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(b)

Declaration of major disasters during covered period

Notwithstanding the last sentence of subsection (a) and subsection (b)(1) of section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), for purposes of assistance provided under that Act—

(1)

any covered request shall be deemed to have been approved by the President; and

(2)

the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request—

(A)

if the incident in the covered request, based on the joint preliminary damage assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meets or exceeds the per capita indicators or cost of assistance estimates for public assistance under section 206.48(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B)

if the Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the region in which the incident in the covered request occurred determines that individual assistance is warranted, according to the factors outlined in section 206.48(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

(c)

No denial of assistance

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may not withhold or deny assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) with respect to a covered request solely due to a missed deadline relating to that assistance.