WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) voted to pass H.R. 5774, the Expediting Disaster Recovery Act, which authorizes FEMA to provide financial assistance for “unmet needs” as a result of a major disaster.
The bill streamlines the delivery of disaster recovery dollars and provides FEMA with expanded flexibility to address unmet needs as a result of a disaster. This includes authorizing funding for:
- Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding assistance for families with permanent housing needs.
- Disaster-related unmet needs for families who cannot access sufficient assistance from other sources.
- Economic and business activities like planning for long-term recovery, infrastructure improvements, business financing, and other activities authorized under a comprehensive economic development strategy.
Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:
“I appreciate Congressman Garret Graves for introducing this legislation, and I am proud to support its passage. This bill provides much-needed flexibility to expedite recovery dollars and enable FEMA to better support families after a disaster. The current method of delivering long-term recovery dollars through the CDBG program is deeply flawed, resulting in extensive delays. We must streamline this process with legislative reforms, and this bill makes major improvements that will help our communities recover more quickly after a disaster.”
