On November 22, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), George Helmy (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), reintroduced the “Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act.” This bill, endorsed by NLIHC, would remove significant barriers that many disaster survivors face in demonstrating ownership over their home for the purpose of receiving FEMA assistance after disasters.
NLIHC and its Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) worked to draft earlier versions of the bill in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. After Hurricane Maria struck in 2017, 77,000 households in Puerto Rico were wrongfully denied assistance by FEMA due to title-documentation issues. While FEMA ultimately made accommodations for those in informal housing and for those who had lost documents in the hurricane, those accommodations were implemented unevenly, and FEMA did not reconsider prior denials of assistance.
NLIHC leads the DHRC, a coalition of over 900 local, state, and national organizations, including many with first-hand experience recovering after disasters, that work to ensure that federal disaster recovery efforts reach all impacted households, including the lowest income and most marginalized disaster survivors. NLIHC has worked on disaster recovery issues since 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The bill would increase the number of forms able to demonstrate ownership of a disaster damaged home, allow FEMA funds to be used for a wider variety of repairs, and require the creation of a form allowing disaster survivors to self-certify eligibility for assistance.
“The federal government should be a partner in helping families rebuild their lives, not a roadblock,” said Senator Warren in a press release announcing the reintroduction. “As hurricanes and other natural disasters continue to ravage communities, leaving many without housing or support, this bill will help expedite the process for families to receive aid in their time of need.”
“Despite recent changes to FEMA policy to address decades-long title documentation barriers that wrongfully prevented many of the lowest-income and most marginalized disaster survivors from accessing FEMA assistance, persistent challenges remain,” said Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition in the same press release. “The Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act from Senator Warren and Representative Espaillat addresses these issues, providing greater flexibility to ensure disaster survivors receive the assistance for which they are eligible. NLIHC and our Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition of more than 900 organizations urge Congress to quickly advance this bill.”
Read the press release here.
Read the bill text here.