Press Releases

Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (U.S. Virgin Islands) passed bipartisan disaster relief legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that would immediately and automatically provide disaster recovery funds in the aftermath of a major disaster. Under the existing process, it may take years to get recovery funding to victims. The bill provides local and State governments with federal grant funding to help get families back in their homes and the economy restored in disaster-impacted communities. This bill, the Expediting Disaster Recovery Act (EDRA), is a bipartisan solution by representatives with disaster expertise to ensure federal resources can get to disaster-struck areas quicker and give states the flexibility to use them effectively. In the case of Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Sally, Zeta and others, it has been two years and recovery funds are yet to be made available to disaster victims.

Through his role on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Graves is leading the charge to improve the federal response to and recovery from disasters and hold FEMA accountable.

"The only thing we dread as much as a hurricane on the horizon is the dark clouds of painfully slow and indifferent bureaucracy that follows. This bill reflects the lessons learned from people who are more experienced than anyone in preparing for and recovering from disasters. It needs, and should, become law fast. If it had been on the books two years ago, Louisianians still waiting for assistance today from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Sally, Zeta and Ida would have been helped. On average, it takes well over a year to get Disaster Recovery funding invested on the ground. In some cases, disaster victims currently wait years to see their first dollar of recovery aid. States and federal bureaucrats are compelled to re-invent programs – like Restore Louisiana and Road Home – that are slow, hard to administer, and hemorrhage too much money for contractors and administrators at the expense of desperate disaster survivors," Graves said. "Our bill, the Expediting Disaster Recovery Act, would make sure that a predictable amount of federal dollars is available to help restore impacted communities. I thank Congresswoman Plaskett for joining in this bipartisan effort to give our constituents a disaster recovery system that matches the urgency that victims feel after having their lives turned upside down. At the end of the day, this bill will expedite recovery and save precious taxpayer funds."

More specifics:

The Expediting Disaster Recovery Act would trigger the FEMA Administrator to allocate 10 percent of the estimated aggregate amounts of grant assistance under Sections 406 (repair, restoration & replacement of damaged facilities) and 408 (Individual Assistance) of the Stafford Act for the major disasters within 30 days of a disaster declaration.

This funding would be available for home repair and rebuilding, unmet needs for families, and emergency assistance for disaster-impacted businesses like food and agriculture.

EDRA would also make improvements to the Stafford Act by giving FEMA more flexibility to make better use of taxpayer dollars when making repairs to a home.

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