The House Financial Services Committee voted unanimously on July 16 to approve H.R. 3702, the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019,” thanks in large part to the strong advocacy of the more than 800 organizations that make up NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC). The bill now heads to the House floor for a vote. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate as soon as this week.
These bills are an important milestone for equitable disaster housing recovery and rebuilding. The DHRC’s members worked closely with Representatives Al Green (D-TX) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) over the past two years to draft and advance this legislation. The final bill includes virtually all the critical reforms proposed by DHRC members to help ensure the federal government’s long-term disaster recovery program – Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grants – better serve the lowest-income survivors and their communities. If enacted, the bill would help target CDBG-DR resources to survivors with the greatest needs, ensure greater data transparency and oversight, protect civil rights and fair housing, and encourage disaster mitigation and resiliency.
This strong bill is the result of the hard work of advocates and key congressional champions, including Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and Representatives Green and Wagner. For more details on the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, see the DHRC’s factsheet and NLIHC’s press release on the vote.
To help build on this success, we are asking all NLIHC members and partners to call your representatives and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 3702.