Velázquez Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Require FEMA to Address Challenges U.S. Territories Face Recovering from Natural Disasters
Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act. This bill would require the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to create a program to identify and address specific capability gaps and challenges that the U.S. territories (government entities, NGOs, and other grant recipients) experience while conducting recovery activities after a major disaster.
“Our territories face numerous inequities because of their status including how the federal government assists these jurisdictions in responding to natural disasters,” said Congresswoman Velázquez. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation, which will help FEMA identify and address the vulnerabilities our territories face and ultimately help the territories better prepare and recover from future natural disasters.”
The U.S. territories' geographic, economic, social, and institutional vulnerabilities make them particularly prone to natural disasters. As extreme weather events have increased in frequency and strength, U.S. territories have faced long and difficult disaster recovery processes.
The Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act would allow FEMA to build on its efforts to bring equity to disaster recovery efforts by creating a new program requiring the administrator to periodically identify the limitations of public and private entities in the U.S. territories in performing recovery activities. Specifically, those activities related to Essential Assistance, Repair, Restoration, and Replacement of Damaged Facilities, Debris Removal, Federal Emergency Assistance, and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Under the bill, the FEMA Administrator would also be required to develop training and best practices to support the administration of recovery projects and help identify disaster recovery shortcomings.
This bill is also cosponsored by Reps. Díaz Barragán (D-CA), Torres (D-NY), Vargas (D-CA), Grijalva (D-AZ), Meng (D-NY), Espaillat (D-NY), Al Green (D-TX), Goldman (D-NY), Clarke (D-NY), Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Tlaib (D-MI), Titus (D-NV).
Additionally, this legislation is supported by three territorial delegates: González Colón (R-PR), Plaskett (D-USVI), Sablan (D-NMI). This bill is also endorsed by Climate Strong Islands Network, Right to Democracy, and The Resiliency Law Center.
For a copy of the bill, click here.
“Despite years of relief aid and funds from the federal government, U.S. islands are still not recovering in the wake of strong hurricanes and tropical storms. In the aftermath of Hurricanes María and Fiona in the Caribbean and Typhoon Mawar in the Pacific, U.S. islands remain ill equipped, vulnerable, and severely under prepared for the next, stronger storm. In order to become climate resilient, U.S. islands need a functional and prompt response to any natural disaster with support from the federal government that recognizes the unique challenges islands face. All U.S. islands, including the territories, deserve reliable, expedient, and efficient response after natural disasters. The Climate Strong Islands Network is composed of many community-based non-profits who are already providing on the ground support in the wake of disasters. We encourage FEMA to study and analyze how they can better work with these organizations and support their existing work. We applaud Congresswoman Velázquez for addressing this critical issue and ensuring federal recovery investments are being made in the people and communities of the U.S. Territories. The Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act is one step FEMA can take to develop islands’ capacities, decrease reliance on inefficient federal funding mechanisms, and enable U.S. territories to become more resilient in the face of climate change.” — Climate Strong Islands Network
“As the only national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing democracy, equity and self-determination for the 3.6 million people in U.S. territories, we believe that this legislation is an important step towards addressing the urgent need for the people and communities living in the territories to have better agency and participation in the planning and implementation of disaster emergency aid and recovery programs. We urge Congress to act swiftly on this legislation.”- Right to Democracy
“The Resiliency Law Center, would like to express our strong endorsement and support for the bill that will establish the Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act, introduced by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. This crucial legislation aims to establish a Territorial Disaster Recovery Program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to facilitate a more robust disaster recovery process for Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, promoting a more efficient, equitable, and faster recovery experience.”- The Resiliency Law Center
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