House Democrats Press for FEMA Benefits
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Legislation that would adjust the cost share of federal disaster assistance recently was introduced by top Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The FEMA Assistance Relief Act is meant to alleviate financial obligations for states, municipalities and tribal communities that received federal emergency disaster aid via declarations.
Specifically, the bill would adjust certain FEMA cost shares declared in 2020 to not less than 90% federal and 10% nonfederal, according to background the lawmakers provided.
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The measure also would adjust the agency’s cost share for COVID-19-related emergency and major disaster declarations to 100%, as well as clarify to the agency that under the COVID-19 declarations, it may reimburse certain expenses pertaining to personal protective equipment.
“Communities across the country — including my district in Oregon — are facing twin crises from climate change-fueled extreme weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), a co-sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said Sept. 16. “As state, local, tribal and territorial governments see their public health and emergency management capacities stretched thin or exceeded — and as their tax bases dwindle — it is important that the federal government step in to ensure they don’t become financially ruined as a result.”
Other sponsors include Reps. Mike Thompson of California, Dina Titus of Nevada, Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Nita Lowey of New York. Lowey is chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.
Lowey
“The toll of this pandemic, compounded by natural disasters across the country, is unprecedented, but FEMA taking on a greater share of emergency response costs is not. Our state and local governments have been on the front lines working to respond to the health and economic impact of the pandemic, and they have been in dire need of additional resources and support to weather this crisis,” Lowey said. “At the same time, our communities continue to battle natural disasters from coast to coast.
“Despite continued urging from Congress and precedent from prior emergencies under past presidents, President [Donald] Trump has failed to step up and relieve astounding state and local cost shares.”
Over the summer, the House Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee, of which Titus is chairwoman, examined FEMA’s efforts in providing relief across areas in which freight and passenger corridors have been affected.
Titus
“The continued failures by our emergency preparedness apparatus at every level of government, to account for the well-being of certain communities prior to, during, and in the wake of disasters, is unacceptable and must be addressed,” Titus said in July.
That month, senior Democrats reached out to the White House to request that agencies develop contingency plans focusing on severe-weather events during the pandemic. Those plans had to utilize the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and the Defense Production Act.
“We request the White House order all appropriate federal agencies to create contingency and surge plans for how to support communities in the case of a compound threat scenario,” they stated in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence.
“Essential public and private sector personnel already stretched thin by the pandemic play vital roles in keeping communities safe and lifelines operational during natural disasters,” the statement said.
Recent hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico, wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, and severe storms and flooding in the Midwest are among the emergency events that have prompted federal responses. Poor access to commercial corridors in these regions have resulted in certain disruptions to supply chains.
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