Graves' Bills to Fix FEMA Approved in Transportation Committee

WASHINGTON, DC – Bipartisan bills to address red tape and enable the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to better prepare for and respond to disasters cleared the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today.

Introduced by Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06), Ranking Member of the Transportation Committee, the Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act and the Resilient AMERICA Act, both passed the Committee unanimously.

“These bills will go a long way towards enabling FEMA to simply do a better job. We rely on them to both help our communities prepare for possible disasters and get back on their feet when they occur,” Graves said. “Cutting the bureaucratic red tape at FEMA while strengthening the programs they utilize to help prevent and recover from disasters will improve recovery efforts, save lives, and limit the severity of damage when disaster strikes.”

The SPEED Recovery Act was introduced last week to help small communities recover from disasters more quickly by allowing more small recovery projects to proceed under simplified procedures—giving communities more control and more tools to rebuild and recover. It would raise the threshold for what qualifies as a “small project” in order to expedite recovery efforts.

Click here to read the SPEED Recovery Act.

Yesterday, Graves cosponsored the Resilient AMERICA Act,  which would strengthen FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation and Pre-Disaster Mitigation programs. The bill would capture unspent funds from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for predisaster mitigation, which ensures that these expiring and unspent funds will still help our communities prepare for and mitigate against disasters. The bill would also more than double the funding stream dedicated to FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation program and extend eligibility for the program to include private non-profits (PNPs), which ultimately will reduce the impact and damage from a disaster. It will also pilot a program to assist individuals in mitigation measures for their homes.

Clickhere to read the Resilient AMERICA Act.

Graves introduced both bipartisan bills along with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR); Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member Daniel Webster (R-FL); and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chair Dina Titus (D-NV).

Click here to view Graves’ remarks during the Transportation Committee hearing. 

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