Bowling Green Today

Mar 13 2024

The House has passed bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to create one application deadline for two Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs that individuals use for federal disaster assistance. The senators' bipartisan legislation would ensure these programs have the same deadline to reduce the burden on people who need them to rebuild their lives after disasters. The bill passed the Senate in July 2023 and now heads to the President to be signed into law.

"When natural disaster strikes, people already have enough stress and confusion to contend with, and it is imperative that the government does not exacerbate the situation by imposing complicated and confusing rules," said Ranking Member Paul.

"Following a natural disaster, survivors shouldn't have to worry about conflicting deadlines when applying to federal disaster assistance programs. This bipartisan legislation will limit confusion within the application process and make it easier for families in need to access these critical resources," said Chairman Peters.

The bipartisan Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act would help reduce confusion for disaster survivors by requiring at least 60 days for survivors to submit applications for both the DUA and IHP programs.

In support of the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act, National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase stated, "Once federal assistance becomes available, residents often must complete complex, arduous applications with inconsistent deadlines during the most stressful times of their lives. The bipartisan Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act would align deadlines between FEMA's Disaster Unemployment Assistance and the Individuals and Households Program, two financial lifelines for our residents."

SBP Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Reese May expressed, "Aligning the application timelines for FEMA's Individuals and Households Program and Disaster Unemployment Assistance prevents further confusion among applicants and eases access to disaster assistance for survivors."

Team Rubicon Chief Programs Officer David Burke added, "By streamlining deadlines for disaster unemployment with other FEMA programs, it can limit the complexity for those impacted. Team Rubicon supports the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act of 2023 as one small step to help disaster survivors."

Chad Berginnis, Executive Director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, highlighted the importance of aligning disaster assistance deadlines, stating, "Aligning Disaster Unemployment Assistance with IHP deadlines which reduces complexity, and giving an extra 30 days or more to file for assistance, will be very helpful to many flood survivors in putting their lives back to normal."

American Flood Coalition Action's Senior Government Relations Director Brandon Renz commended the bipartisan efforts, saying, "We appreciate Chairman Peters and Senator Rubio's bipartisan efforts to support survivors navigating federal programs as they rebuild their lives in the wake of major floods and other disasters."

Cathy M. Clark, President of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM-USA), endorsed the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act, stating, "This bill is another common-sense reform that will align application deadlines between Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and Individuals and Households Program (IHP) when both are approved after a major disaster."