McMorris Rodgers leads legislation to hasten disaster recovery in rural America

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) on Nov. 15 sponsored legislation to ensure a declaration for a major disaster or emergency is made on a timely basis so that rural areas nationwide receive faster federal assistance.

Specifically, the Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act, H.R. 6435, would improve coordination between federal, state, and local agencies to better deploy resources to rural communities, according to a bill summary provided by the congresswoman’s staff.

“Rural communities in eastern Washington are too often at a disadvantage when it comes to wildfire recovery, especially when it takes weeks, or sometimes even months, to reach a decision on a disaster declaration,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said. “The MALDEN Act helps bridge that gap … to get the most effective possible resources on the ground so people can begin putting their lives back together more quickly.”

H.R. 6435 is named after the town of Malden, Wash., which was devastated by the Babb Road Fire in 2020.

“While it won’t fix everything, this bill takes what we learned from the devastating Babb, Gray, and Oregon Road Fires and turns it into action we can count on in the future,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers.

If enacted, H.R. 6435 would amend the Stafford Act to ensure rural communities receive recovery assistance by requiring FEMA to work in coordination with state leadership to provide guidance to local emergency managers on developing a recovery team, the summary says. 

FEMA also must assist in identifying short and long-term recovery resources — including resources to prevent secondary natural disasters like flooding, mudslides, and rockslides — and work with the state emergency management agency to make disaster case workers available for rural communities when a request for individual assistance is made and denied, states the summary.

The bill has garnered support from the Mayor of Malden, the National Association of Counties, Babb Road Fire Recovery, and Spokane County Emergency Management.