DHRC-Supported “Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act” Unanimously Passes House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee

The Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act” (H.R. 2914), introduced by Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), was unanimously approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 26 – thanks in large part to the hard work and advocacy of the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC). The bill was written with input from DHRC members and includes many of the coalition’s top disaster recovery priorities.

The legislation addresses the significant title-documentation challenges that have resulted in thousands of eligible disaster survivors being wrongfully denied FEMA assistance. These challenges have been common in many disaster-impacted areas but occurred at a higher rate in Puerto Rico, where it is estimated that 77,000 households were wrongfully denied assistance for such reasons. The bill would ensure eligible survivors can more easily navigate the FEMA application process.

The bill would provide a new framework to make it easier for disaster survivors to prove residency in disaster-impacted areas, either by completing a “declarative statement” form or by submitting a broader range of acceptable documents such as utility bills, credit card statements, pay stubs, and school registration, in lieu of a formal title to property or leases. The creation and distribution of a declarative statement form – like the one created by DHRC Puerto Rico Working Group members after Hurricane Maria - is especially important to help low-income renters, people experiencing homelessness, residents of manufactured housing, people living on tribal lands, and other survivors get the assistance to which they are eligible. After past disasters, FEMA turned away many of these survivors because they lacked updated title or lease documentation, even though they were eligible for help.

The bill would also require FEMA and HUD to analyze and publish a report on temporary disaster housing solutions, including the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP). DHAP, which provides housing assistance and wrap-around services to disaster survivors, has been considered a best practice – particularly for marginalized households – by past Republican and Democratic administrations. But FEMA has failed to join with HUD in providing DHAP after the most recent disasters. NLIHC and other DHRC advocates argue the study and report that would be required by this bill would help build the case for why survivors need DHAP and why it should be used in all future disaster recovery efforts. 

“As the recent events in Puerto Rico have shown,” stated NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in press release announcing the bill’s passage out of committee, “when the most vulnerable survivors are unable to access assistance programs, thousands are forced to return to uninhabitable homes, sleep in cars or shelters, double- or triple-up with other low-income families, or pay far too much of their incomes on rent, putting them at higher risk of evictions and, in worst cases, homelessness. Congress should immediately enact this legislation and hold FEMA accountable for its continued failure to address the housing needs of the lowest-income disaster survivors in Puerto Rico and across the country.”

The committee passage of this bill would not have been possible without the leadership of Senator Warren and Representative Espaillat or the concerted efforts of DHRC members and partners. The DHRC will continue working to improve the legislation as it goes to the House floor for a vote.  Advocates should urge their members of Congress to vote in favor of the bill.

Read the text of the “Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act” at: https://bit.ly/398bvO6

Read a press release from Representative Adriano Espaillat’s office at: https://bit.ly/3a5c0Zs

Read an article by DHRC member Ivis Garcia on title issues in Puerto Rico at: https://bit.ly/3caYZzs