Fema Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan measure before us today. H.R. 1471, the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015, as amended, contains several provisions important to State and local governments and emergency managers. I will only highlight a few of them. I also want to acknowledge Chairman Barletta and my good friend, Ranking Member DeFazio.

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the most important aspect of this bill is that it clarifies compensation and liability issues for urban search and rescue team members. These members provide critical services and put themselves in harm's way to help others involved in a disaster.

In Indianapolis, my city, our own urban search and rescue team, which consists of firefighters, paramedics, civilians, and others responded to Hurricane Sandy. They did so despite the uncertainties that they would be covered for any injuries. These protections, Mr. Speaker, are long overdue. Team members can now rest assured that they will be taken care of when activated for Federal service if they are injured.

Another important provision grows out of the individual States' and local governments' need to know that they can rely on FEMA's decisions and reimbursement amounts. Local governments make major decisions during the disaster recovery phase in reliance on FEMA's initial approval. There comes a time, Mr. Speaker, when FEMA should not be able to reverse its initial decisions or award amounts. Statute of limitations protections for individuals, States, and local governments will provide peace of mind and certainty needed to go forward with the recovery process.

Climate change, Mr. Speaker, is causing more extreme weather patterns. So in order for us to become more resilient, we must encourage more local governments, communities to undertake mitigation measures. Some communities may forgo mitigation actions because they do not have the capacity to administer the funds. Ensuring that local governments will be reimbursed for management costs should help us all obtain more resilient communities.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, our subcommittee has embarked on discussions related to the trends and causes of rising disaster costs and losses. In furtherance of this discussion, the bill requires FEMA's National Advisory Council to study the issue and make recommendations to Congress and address causes and trends. Specifically, the bill requires the Council to examine mechanisms and incentives to promote mitigation and to make recommendations regarding the same.

The last few years, Mr. Speaker, I have introduced a bill to reauthorize the disaster mitigation program. Mr. Speaker, mitigation saves taxpayer funds over the long haul. I look forward to any recommendations from the National Advisory Council on how we can strengthen this available and very effective program.

I want to thank Chairman Barletta again and Ranking Member DeFazio for their leadership on this very important measure. As an original cosponsor of this measure, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting H.R. 1471.
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Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Frankel), my good friend and a member of the committee.
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