After natural disasters hit, white survivors and those with higher incomes are often more likely to receive help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, studies and reports show.
The disparities are the target of legislation introduced Thursday to make FEMA’s disaster response more equitable. The bill, sponsored by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would require FEMA to center equity in its programs and change the way it collects data to flag and fix disparities.
The bill would also require the Government Accountability Office to review whether the criteria FEMA uses to consider states’ requests for help affect “equity for underserved communities.”
The legislation follows an NBC News analysis in March showing that the federal government was less likely to grant aid through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program following storms with highly localized damage. From fall 2018 to fall 2021, the federal government rejected nearly 40 percent of states’ requests for assistance from the program, which helps people whose homes have been damaged in disasters, NBC News found. Residents lacking insurance coverage and communities with high poverty rates were particularly affected by the lack of assistance.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fema-disaster-aid-equity-bill-rcna27597
The disparities are the target of legislation introduced Thursday to make FEMA’s disaster response more equitable. The bill, sponsored by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would require FEMA to center equity in its programs and change the way it collects data to flag and fix disparities.
The bill would also require the Government Accountability Office to review whether the criteria FEMA uses to consider states’ requests for help affect “equity for underserved communities.”
The legislation follows an NBC News analysis in March showing that the federal government was less likely to grant aid through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program following storms with highly localized damage. From fall 2018 to fall 2021, the federal government rejected nearly 40 percent of states’ requests for assistance from the program, which helps people whose homes have been damaged in disasters, NBC News found. Residents lacking insurance coverage and communities with high poverty rates were particularly affected by the lack of assistance.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fema-disaster-aid-equity-bill-rcna27597
