[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2047-S2048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Kirk):
S. 870. A bill to require rulemaking by the Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency to address considerations in
evaluating the need for public and individual disaster assistance, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am proud to introduce today a bill to
try to bring some transparency and fairness into FEMA's disaster
declaration process. It is the Fairness in Federal Disaster
Declarations Act.
The inspiration for the bill was a tragic one. On February 29, 2012,
leap day, a category F-4 tornado tore through southeastern Illinois,
causing damage in 11 Illinois counties and causing major damage in the
small towns of Harrisburg and Ridgway. Eight people in Harrisburg,
alone, died in the event and 15 people were killed in total. Winds
reached 175-miles per hour. It is not too much of a stretch to say
these two small towns were almost wiped off the map.
Requests for Federal assistance after a disaster are made by the
Governor of each State. The state emergency management agency typically
does a preliminary damage assessment and then the Governor decides
whether State resources are adequate to absorb the costs of clean up
and recovery. In the case of the Harrisburg and Ridgway tornado, the
Governor's request for federal emergency designation for Individual
Assistance was denied, as was the State's appeal of that decision. With
that denial, individuals whose homes or properties were damaged were
precluded from direct federal help.
I asked FEMA why it denied the Governor's request--which was
supported by my colleague Senator Kirk and me, along with the entire
Illinois delegation--and we were told it was because the disaster did
not meet or exceed the State's per capita. In other words, because
Illinois is a highly populous state, it is presumed it can absorb the
costs of cleanup and recovery from disasters up to a certain level.
FEMA said the deadly tornado event did not exceed the state's presumed
capacity.
Currently, FEMA multiplies the number of people in a state by $1.35
to determine a threshold of the amount of damage a state would have to
have incurred to be considered for Assistance. In Illinois, that figure
is about $18 million. Well, Harrisburg, Ridgway, and the surrounding
communities had about $5.5 million in Public Assistance damages. $5.5
million is a lot of loss, particularly in a rural area--but not enough
to qualify for Federal assistance under FEMA' s rules.
From 2002 to 2015, Illinois was denied federal disaster assistance
seven times. Texas was denied thirteen times--for damage caused by
everything from
[[Page S2048]]
wildfires to tropical storms. Florida was denied Federal disaster
assistance eight times during that 13-year period, and California, New
Jersey, and New York were each denied four times. FEMA's formula does
not work for large, populous states, particularly those with a
concentrated urban area, like Illinois.
Although the ultimate decision whether to award Federal assistance is
made by the President, by statute, under the Stafford Act, FEMA is
required to consider six factors when determining whether assistance is
warranted. After the Harrisburg and Ridgway tornado, we pushed FEMA a
little harder and asked what else, in addition to the per capita, was
considered in the denial. After all, 15-people died in the event and
the damage was startling. We were told that specifics of FEMA's
analysis is not public and wouldn't be disclosed.
Illinois ran into the same issue in November 2013 when, once again,
tornadoes swept through the State. This time six people were killed and
whole neighborhoods were nearly destroyed. The Cities of Washington,
Gifford, and New Minden, Illinois, experienced the worst tornado damage
I have ever seen. Public infrastructure was decimated, but because
Illinois did not meet one of FEMA's criteria, we were denied Federal
Public Assistance. These events inspired my colleague, Senator Kirk,
and me to introduce a bill to try to build in a bit more transparency
and fairness into FEMA's process.
The Fairness in Federal Disaster Declaration seeks to improve the
disaster analysis by assigning a value to each of the factors FEMA must
consider when determining whether Federal disaster assistance will be
made available. When it comes to Individual Assistance--funding to help
people repair and rebuild their homes--the breakdown would be as
follows:
Concentration damages--the density of damage in an individual
community--would be considered 20 percent, Trauma--the loss of life and
injuries and the disruption of normal community functions--would be 20
percent of the analysis, Special Populations--including the age income
of the residents, the amount of home ownership, etc.--would comprise 20
percent, Voluntary agency assistance--a consideration of what the
volunteer and charitable groups are providing--would make up 5 percent,
the amount of Insurance coverage--20 percent, and the average amount of
individual assistance by State, which includes the per capita
analysis--would make up 5 percent of the analysis.
The bill also would add a seventh consideration to FEMA's metrics--
the economics of the area, which will receive 10 percent consideration.
This includes factors such as the local assessable tax base, the median
income as it compares to that of the state, and the poverty rate as it
compares to that of the state.
For Federal Public Assistance, the breakdown would be similar, with a
greater emphasis placed on the Localized Impacts of the disaster, which
would warrant 40 percent of the analysis.
It is reasonable that FEMA should take into consideration the size of
the state requesting assistance, but as the regulations stand, large
states are being penalized. Assigning values to the factors will help
ensure that the damage to the specific community weighs more than the
state's population. Illinois is a relatively large State,
geographically, and has a concentrated urban area. The State--
particularly downstate--is being punished for this fact.
If the Cities of Washington and Gifford, and Harrisburg and Ridgway,
do not qualify under FEMA's current criteria for federal assistance,
something is wrong. This legislation is necessary because the way FEMA
evaluates whether to declare an area a Federal disaster is not working.
It is done behind closed doors and it works against states with large
populations.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 870
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness in Federal Disaster
Declarations Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. REGULATORY ACTION REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (in this Act referred to as the
``Administrator'' and ``FEMA'', respectively) shall amend the
rules of the Administrator under section 206.48 of title 44,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act, in accordance with the provisions of
this Act.
(b) New Criteria Required.--The amended rules issued under
subsection (a) shall provide for the following:
(1) Public assistance program.--Such rules shall provide
that, with respect to the evaluation of the need for public
assistance--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to each
criterion, as follows--
(i) estimated cost of the assistance, 10 percent;
(ii) localized impacts, 40 percent;
(iii) insurance coverage in force, 10 percent;
(iv) hazard mitigation, 10 percent;
(v) recent multiple disasters, 10 percent;
(vi) programs of other Federal assistance, 10 percent; and
(vii) economic circumstances described in subparagraph (B),
10 percent; and
(B) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of--
(i) the local economy of the affected area, including
factors such as the local assessable tax base and local sales
tax, the median income as it compares to that of the State,
and the poverty rate as it compares to that of the State; and
(ii) the economy of the State, including factors such as
the unemployment rate of the State, as compared to the
national unemployment rate.
(2) Individual assistance program.--Such rules shall
provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the severity,
magnitude, and impact of the disaster and the evaluation of
the need for assistance to individuals--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to each
criterion, as follows--
(i) concentration of damages, 20 percent;
(ii) trauma, 20 percent;
(iii) special populations, 20 percent;
(iv) voluntary agency assistance, 10 percent;
(v) insurance, 20 percent;
(vi) average amount of individual assistance by State, 5
percent; and
(vii) economic considerations described in subparagraph
(B), 5 percent; and
(B) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of the
affected area, including factors such as the local assessable
tax base and local sales tax, the median income as it
compares to that of the State, and the poverty rate as it
compares to that of the State.
(c) Effective Date.--The amended rules issued under
subsection (a) shall apply to any disaster for which a
Governor requested a major disaster declaration under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and was denied on or after
January 1, 2012.
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