Congressional Black representatives are urging President Trump to revise procedures for recovery from natural disasters.
Congressional Black Caucus
The chairman of the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressman Cedric L. Richmond, a Democrat from Louisiana, has dispatched a letter to President Donald Trump and congressional leaders urging them to modernize federal policies and procedures.
Richmond said this is necessary “so that the people most affected by natural disasters get the help they need to get back on their feet and communities are stronger and better protected than before.”
Long term disaster principles
The letter included long-term disaster principles that the CBC would like the US federal government to adopt.
“Bad recovery policies can also destroy a community by turning a natural disaster into a manmade one,” Richmond wrote. “The key to a successful recovery is making sure that it includes everyone, allows people to participate in their own recovery, and invests in mitigation to ensure that communities are rebuilt stronger than before.
Some of the principles would require new legislation, and others would require amendments to the Stafford Act.The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) is a United States federal law designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.
According to reports, Congress’s intention was to encourage states and localities to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, prepare for better intergovernmental coordination in the face of a disaster, encourage the use of insurance coverage, and provide federal assistance programs for losses due to a disaster.
The Stafford Act is a 1988 amended version of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. It created the system in place today by which a presidential disaster declaration or an emergency declaration triggers financial and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
On Friday, the White House sent the US Congress a US$44 billion disaster aid request that legislators have already described as too small.
