NLIHC, the National Association of Counties, Enterprise Community Partners, and other advocates sent a letter to congressional leaders on January 25 urging them to include the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” in any emergency disaster supplemental appropriation bill or other piece of must-pass legislation. The letter was co-signed by more than 40 other national organizations.
The bill, which was introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representative Al Green (D-TX), would permanently authorize the HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program – the only source of long-term federal disaster recovery funding. The program currently requires HUD to issue new regulations whenever funds are provided under the program, but this requirement slows the distribution of funds and prevents states and municipalities from anticipating and preparing for the receipt of funding before disasters occur. The bill would create a framework of permanent program regulations ensuring that funds reach those most in need of assistance following disasters. For these reasons, passing the bill is a central priority of the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition, a group of over 850 local, state, and national organizations working to ensure that all disaster survivors receive the assistance they need to recover.
A previous version of the bill was passed unanimously by the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives through a bipartisan vote. HUD, its Office of Inspector General, and the Government Accountability Office have agreed that permanently authorizing the CDBG-DR program would vastly improve the operation of the country’s most important long-term disaster recovery program.
“Insurance and short-term federal assistance are unable to cover the cost of a disaster for many low-income homeowners, renters, and people experiencing homelessness,” states the letter. “State and local governments often struggle to repair infrastructure and facilitate economic development in low-income disaster-impacted communities. Many of the lowest-income households – who are disproportionately affected by disasters but receive the least amount of assistance afterward – face homelessness or displacement as shorter-term assistance programs end… The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act will help ensure that long-term disaster recovery funds are made quickly available after disasters and that all disaster survivors and their communities can fully and equitably recover.”
Co-signers of the letter included Catholic Charities USA, Habitat for Humanity, the Hispanic Federation, the International Code Council, the National Disability Rights Network, Natural Resource Defense Council, Pew Charitable Trusts, the Union of Concerned Scientists, UnidosUS, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and more than 40 other organizations.
Read the letter at: https://bit.ly/3ricEOZ
Read NLIHC’s fact sheet on the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act at: https://bit.ly/3o7aVtF
Read the text of the bill at: https://bit.ly/3g1RQVr
Learn more about the CDBG-DR program at: https://bit.ly/3g79wis