Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2026

This bill would require the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to change, within 120 days, the rules used to decide whether a disaster qualifies for federal aid. For aid to governments (public assistance), the rules would give set percentage weights to factors, with local impacts counting for 40 percent and six other factors, including local and state economic conditions, counting for 10 percent each. For aid to individuals, the rules would give set weights to factors such as concentration of damages, trauma, special populations, and insurance, and would consider local economic conditions like tax base, median income, and poverty rate. The new rules would apply to any disaster declaration request from a Governor that was denied on or after January 1, 2012.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Richard J. Durbin Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors