Tampa Republic

On January 13, 2025, Congresswoman Laurel Lee of Florida's 15th district cast her vote in favor of H.R. 152, known as the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act. This bill seeks to amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 by mandating a study aimed at streamlining and consolidating information collection and preliminary damage assessments within two years of its enactment.

Congresswoman Lee highlighted the importance of this legislation for her state, saying, “Given Florida’s vulnerability to hurricanes and need for swift disaster recovery resources to our communities, the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act takes a critical step in ensuring that aid reaches communities more quickly and effectively." She emphasized that by simplifying the application process for disaster recovery and minimizing bureaucratic obstacles for survivors, both applicants and grantees are better equipped to rebuild swiftly while maintaining transparency through publicly accessible data.

The bill tasks the Administrator of FEMA with collaborating with agencies such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a study. The goal is to develop a plan that modifies, streamlines, expedites, consolidates, and simplifies information collection from disaster assistance applicants and grantees. It aims to make the disaster aid process less burdensome by creating an efficient system that includes a publicly available website detailing awarded assistance.

Furthermore, the legislation calls for establishing a working group dedicated to identifying duplications in preliminary damage assessments. This group will explore whether it is feasible for one federal agency to handle all damage assessments across agencies and look into new technological applications.

A comprehensive report containing developed plans and findings will be submitted to Congress. The report will also be made publicly available alongside a briefing on its contents.