The Federal Emergency Management Agency would be reorganized under legislation in the U.S. House.
The “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act,” or FEMA, is co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo. 6th District. The bill would restore the agency to cabinet-level status and the director would report directly to the president.
The measure would reduce the amount of paperwork disaster victims are required to fill out. It would also ban FEMA funding from being spent on housing for illegal immigrants and for other non-disaster events. In addition, the bill would make it illegal to discriminate against disaster victims based on politics.
Other provisions of the FEMA Act include:
- Replacing the current rebuilding process with project-based grants, which supporters say will set a faster pace of recovery, reduce dependence on costly consultants, and prioritize the highest need projects without having to take out expensive loans or wait years for reimbursement.
- Reforming federal permitting and procurement processes to speed up rebuilding projects and avoid delays.
- Creating a Recovery Task Force charged with closing out more than 1,000 lingering disaster declarations dating back to Hurricane Katrina and directing FEMA to improve coordination across all federal agencies involved in disaster recovery.
- Disaster survivors will complete a single, streamlined application when applying for assistance, in an effort to reduce paperwork.
- FEMA must provide clear, understandable notices to disaster survivors that does not contain “complex and jargon-filled” phrases.
- Removing disincentives that have discouraged donations from charities, religious organizations, and the public, to encourage more non-federal support for disaster survivors.
- Requiring an assessment of identity theft and disaster fraud risks, and directing reviews related to insurance coverage and the effectiveness of public alerting systems.
The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Washington 2nd Dist.
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