Bill · S. 3895· Senate(119-S-3895)
Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2026
- Introduced
- 2/24/2026
- Last activity
- 2/24/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text: CR S652-653)
- Sponsored by
- Richard Durbin
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2026 requires the FEMA Administrator to amend existing rules regarding how the need for disaster assistance is evaluated. The bill mandates the use of specific weighted valuations for both public assistance and individual assistance programs. For public assistance, weights are assigned to factors like localized impacts, cost, and insurance coverage. For individual assistance, weights are assigned to factors such as trauma, concentration of damages, and special populations. The rules must also consider specific economic circumstances of the affected area and the State. These amended rules will apply to major disaster declaration requests denied on or after January 1, 2012.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Standardized Evaluation for Public Assistance: The bill requires specific weighted valuations for evaluating the need for public assistance, which includes factors like localized impacts at 40 percent and recent multiple disasters at 10 percent (Section 2(b)(1)(A)).
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Economic Consideration for Public Assistance: The Administrator must consider the local economy, including the local tax base, median income, and poverty rates compared to the State (Section 2(b)(1)(B)(i)).
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Standardized Evaluation for Individual Assistance: The bill mandates specific weighted valuations for individual assistance, including factors like trauma at 20 percent, special populations at 20 percent, and concentration of damages at 20 percent (Section 2(b)(2)(A)).
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Economic Consideration for Individual Assistance: The rules must consider the economic circumstances of the affected area, such as the local tax base, median income, and poverty rates compared to the State (Section 2(b)(2)(B)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Specific Limitations on Individual Assistance Weights: The bill assigns a weight of only 5 percent to the average amount of individual assistance by State and 5 percent to economic considerations for individual assistance (Section 2(b)(2)(A)(vi)-(vii)).
- 2/24/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text: CR S652-653)
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Tammy DuckworthDemocrat · Illinois