Committee approves Davis bill to improve federal disaster response

Legislation led by U.S Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) to make the federal disaster declaration process more equitable cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday with unanimous support.

The Disaster Declaration Improvement Act, H.R. 1665, would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to place more emphasis on the localized impact of a disaster in making determinations on the need for assistance.

“Eighteen million dollars is the magic number Illinois has to reach to receive any federal public assistance when a disaster occurs,” Davis said. “That amount is nearly double that of any of our neighboring states. Time and time again our rural communities have been denied and unfairly punished by this formula. Illinois taxpayers pay into the Disaster Relief Fund and it should be there when they need it. H.R. 1665 simply requires FEMA to put more weight on the localized impact of a disaster, rather than just an arbitrary, per-capita formula, when considering the need for assistance.”

In one example cited by Davis, Illinois sustained $15 million in flood damage in 2015-2016. Public assistance was requested for 16 counties, with one county in particular sustaining $4 million in damages. Because Illinois fell short of the threshold required under the per-capita formula for determining need, assistance was denied.

H.R. 1665 would require FEMA to consider the cumulative impact of multiple storms in an area when making disaster assistance determinations. The bill would ensure that a more level playing field exists for smaller communities that are impacted by severe disasters.

Additional measures approved by the committee would establish a statute of limitations on FEMA’s authority to recover grant assistance from disaster recipients and would modernize FEMA management of grant programs to improve accessibility and transparency.

“(On Wednesday) the committee passed bipartisan, good government bills that ensure our government is more responsive to the needs of Americans trying to rebuild their communities and their lives after disasters, that reduce burdens on state and local governments, and that improve federal agency transparency,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), the chairman of the committee.