The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) held a business meeting on February 2 and approved the “Achieving Equity in Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act of 2022” through unanimous vote. Two Republican senators recorded “No” votes after the passage of the bill. The legislation, endorsed by NLIHC and its 850-member Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), will now head to the Senate Floor.
Sponsored by Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), the bill would create an Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Inclusion at FEMA to improve the quality of services and expand accessibility for households with low incomes, non-white households, individuals with disabilities, and members of other historically marginalized communities. Based on an expansion of the existing Office of Equal Rights within FEMA, the new office would focus on eliminating disparities in the delivery of disaster assistance to underserved communities. The bill would also require the hiring of a disability coordinator, who would provide guidance, coordination, and oversight related to the needs of individuals with disabilities during disasters and work with stakeholders from the disability justice community to better understand community needs.
“Recent emergencies in Michigan and across the nation have shown clear disparities in our federal disaster responses,” said Chairman Peters in a press release accompanying the bill’s passage out of committee. “From severe weather events to the ongoing pandemic, we must ensure that marginalized and rural communities do not feel the impact of natural disasters more severely than others. This commonsense bill is critical to ensuring no community has difficulty obtaining assistance from the federal government following extreme weather events and other emergencies.”
“From wildfires to floods, natural disasters disproportionately impact marginalized and underserved communities, and these communities often face additional challenges in receiving federal disaster assistance,” Senator Padilla said. “I’m glad to see this legislation move forward to help close these gaps and improve equity in disaster relief efforts. This bill will empower FEMA to work closely with underserved communities in California and across the country and help reduce disparities in the delivery of disaster assistance.”
NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel also lauded the progress of the bill. “When disasters strike, the lowest-income and most marginalized survivors are often hardest hit,” she said in the HSGAC press release. “Despite the clear need, FEMA frequently leaves these survivors without the assistance they require for a complete and equitable recovery. The Achieving Equity in Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act is a first, important step to ensure that disaster recovery efforts are centered on survivors with the greatest needs and to ensure equity among survivors, especially for people of color, low-income people, people with disabilities, and other marginalized people and communities.”
Read the text of the “Achieving Equity in Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resiliency Act” at: https://bit.ly/3onheJw
Read the press release addressing the bill’s passage out of committee at: https://bit.ly/3rm2EnI