Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, Charles Schumer, Majority Leader, and Peter Defazio, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee - Modernize FEMA through Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

Letter

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and Chairman DeFazio:

We write to express our support for emergency disaster supplemental appropriations due to the
ramifications of Hurricane Ida and respectfully request that such act eliminate barriers to federal
disaster relief caused by title-documentation challenges. We recommend doing so by including language
put forth in H.R. 3037 -- the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2021, which recently passed
through the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure with bipartisan support.

Ida's consequences are far reaching, especially as we mourn the tragic loss of 82 Americans across eight
states- a death toll we fear is steadily rising. In the aftermath of the natural disaster, New York,
Louisiana, New Jersey, and Texas have deployed substantial resources for critical infrastructure repairs
such as power restoration, reopening of roads, and public transportation recovery. While the country
continues to survey the economic damage of the storm, it is estimated Ida's total cost could figure as
high as $95 billion--if not higher.

Identifying this significant impact, compounded by a decade of unprecedented natural disasters and a
global pandemic, we must also recognize the hurdles that families face when trying to rebuild their lives
and receive desperately needed aid. We have heard from our constituents that being denied FEMA
disaster assistance due to title-documentation issues has left them stranded in dire times- searching for
safe, stable, and affordable housing. In the rural South alone, FEMA has rejected up to a quarter of
applicants because they cannot document ownership and in Puerto Rico roughly 77,000 households
were denied assistance following the devastating Hurricane Maria for the same issue. As we work to
build back better, it is critical that we modernize our disaster relief programs to ensure that every family
receives the much-needed assistance they require.

Recently, FEMA amended its Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG) to allow multiple
forms of documentation to prove ownership. H.R. 3037 would codify and expand this timely FEMA
policy which allows disaster survivors to use a "declarative statement" form attesting to their ownership
of the property or through the submission of utility bills, credit card statements, pay stubs, and school
registration. The FEMA policy applies retroactively to August 23, though H.R. 3037 would extend that
timeframe back to 2017. These changes ensure that disaster survivors with low incomes would be able
to access the assistance they need without being forced to endure a lengthy and complicated title
clearing process or otherwise go without aid.

As we prepare to see more natural disasters brought on by the climate crisis, it is imperative that that
the aid we offer is inclusive and accessible. H.R. 3037 -- the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of
2021 is commonsense legislation that modernizes our disaster relief programs and will improve the
immediate health and safety of thousands of US citizens across the country. It will allow the federal
government to continue serving low-income individuals and communities of color who face
unimaginable situations after natural disasters. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look
forward to working together to address this crisis.

Adriano Espaillat
Member of Congress

Grace Meng
Member of Congress

Jerrold Nadler
Member of Congress

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