President Joe Biden recently signed into law bipartisan legislation cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) to help disaster-affected areas recover more quickly.
“This is big news for Louisiana. Our bill that was signed into law is going to cut through the bureaucracy and allow for faster recovery from disasters,” Rep. Graves said on Oct. 21. “This will deliver solutions for Louisiana. This is an important win for our communities trying to recover from Hurricane Ida and other disasters.”
The president on Oct. 10 signed into law the Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act, H.R. 5641, which U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) sponsored in October 2021 with cosponsors including Rep. Garret Graves and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR).
The new law increases to $1 million the threshold for eligibility for assistance for what qualifies as a small project under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. This will allow more recovery projects to proceed under simplified procedures, according to the congressional record bill summary, which says the threshold must be reviewed every three years.
Additionally, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security must conduct an audit and report to Congress on whether there has been waste and abuse as a result of the change in the threshold, the summary says.
The U.S. House of Representatives on April 4 voted 414-11 to approve H.R. 5641, which passed the U.S. Senate on Sept. 20 by unanimous consent before being presented to the president on Oct. 4.
Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson, St. Charles Parish President Matt Jewell, St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard, Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Baker Mayor Darnell Waites, Denham Springs Mayor Gerard Landry, and Casey Tingle, director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, thanked Rep. Graves for supporting the bill.