Rep. Carter Praises Disaster Survivors Fairness Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-La.) issued the following statement after the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed H.R. 1796, the Disaster Survivors Fairness Act of 2023. Congressman Carter led this bipartisan legislation with Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-Nv.) and Congressman Garret Graves (R-La.).

“Disasters don’t recognize borders or political party, and neither should our nation’s disaster preparedness or recovery systems,” said Rep. Carter. “We filed this bill last congress in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Ida, a storm that ravaged my district and so many others along the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. Our current disaster recovery system needs serious reform. With this bill I am once again committing to advocate for effective preparedness and recovery measure programs that best serve Americans and don’t leave anyone behind.”

Background

The Disaster Survivors Fairness Act, which passed the U.S. House last session, includes a series of reforms to improve disaster assistance programs and survivor outcomes by: 

• Creating a universal application for federal disaster assistance and enabling federal agencies to share relevant disaster assistance information with each other;
• Giving FEMA new authorities that significantly expand the Agency’s ability to fund mitigation projects that make disaster damaged homes more resilient;
• Expanding the types of repairs FEMA may approve for disaster damaged homes and authorizes FEMA to provide direct repair assistance to homeowners; 
• Authorizing FEMA to reimburse states that implement their own innovative post-disaster housing solutions;
• Requiring FEMA to develop new post-disaster solutions for renters and share them with Congress; 
• Supporting efforts to shelter working emergency response personnel immediately following a disaster; and 
• Requiring FEMA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete a series of reports and studies that would identify additional challenges regarding the administration of post-disaster assistance for survivors and boost transparency. 

In addition to Reps. Carter, Titus, and Graves, this bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-Ny.) and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer A. González Colón (R-Pr.) and was endorsed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), BuildStrong Coalition, Disaster Recovery Coalition of America (DRCA), International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), National Association of Counties (NACo), and SBP USA.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

###