Schatz legislation to deliver faster disaster aid becomes law

A bipartisan housing package, which includes Sen. Brian Schatz’s Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, was signed into law over the weekend.

This legislation establishes a permanent funding process at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure communities receive disaster aid more quickly without waiting for specific acts of Congress.

Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) said the new law will accelerate assistance to disaster stricken communities by reducing red tape, improving federal coordination, and supporting long-term resilience.

“Right now, each time a disaster happens, communities in crisis are forced to wait for Congress to pass a disaster funding bill before HUD can help. Our new law will now mean they no longer have to wait. As soon as a disaster strikes, HUD will be able to help communities begin the process of recovery,” said Schatz.

The provision will accelerate assistance to disaster-impacted communities by:

• Creating a disaster recovery fund to allow HUD to predictably assist communities;
• Authorizing HUD to issue regulations to codify program requirements and reduce unnecessary red tape, delays, and unpredictability that stems from the current process;
• Supporting resilience as a part of – rather than separate from – disaster recovery;
• Authorizing “quick release” funds to support grantee capacity right after an event;
• Improving federal coordination by establishing an office at HUD devoted to disaster recovery and resilience; and
• Reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and interagency requirement conflicts.

The full text of the provision is available here.