Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2020

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4358 is going to improve consistency in FEMA's preliminary damage assessments to better help communities hit by disaster.

Inconsistencies in FEMA training and personnel on the ground following a disaster often slow the recovery process down dramatically. This bill is going to help ensure that there is more consistency within FEMA to support State and local communities as they navigate the preliminary damage assessment process to determine eligibility for assistance.

Ultimately, the bill is about helping Americans impacted by disasters to get the help that they need sooner and more reliably.

I want to thank Ranking Member Katko for his leadership and work on this piece of legislation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4358, as I mentioned earlier, is going to improve FEMA support for communities that have been hit by disasters by ensuring more consistency in the preliminary damage assessment process.

This bill will provide much better and faster government assistance to those whose lives have been impacted by floods, by hurricanes, and by so many other disasters that we see.

Again, I want to thank and I want to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko) for his leadership on this issue.

I urge support of this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source