WASHINGTON, D.C. (KMTV) — Monday, the House passed the bipartisan Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, co-sponsored by U.S. Representative of Iowa Cindy Axne.
The legislation would ensure funds appropriated by Congress are given to disaster victims quickly and would protect taxpayer dollars by "increasing safeguards against misuse of program resources," according to a press release from a spokesperson for Rep. Axne.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
“I spent a decade at the State of Iowa streamlining government programs to improve services while saving taxpayer dollars, so I know inefficiency when I see it. Our federal disaster recovery programs are inefficient. Following the devastating flooding that hit Southwest Iowa, I heard countless stories of constituents who couldn’t get access to the resources they needed because of Washington dysfunction. That’s unacceptable,” said Rep. Axne. “This legislation will streamline federal recovery programs in order to ensure that Iowans receive the resources they need to recover as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Specifically, the bill would do the following, according to the press release:
- Authorize HUD to provide for consistency in the disaster recovery process. Once enacted, the bill directs HUD to undertake a formal rulemaking pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act in order to develop generally-applicable procedures and program requirements for all future disasters, with notice to and comment from all interested parties.
- Ensure the timely and efficient distribution of relief funds appropriated by Congress to the disaster victims. By setting reasonable timeframes for agency action on approval, disapproval, and amendment of grantee action plans, the bill eliminates long delays that currently plague the program, and that are now approaching two years since being appropriated.
- End bureaucratic delays and impediments to the prompt and fair distribution of disaster relief resources as intended by Congress. By codifying the ground rules within federal statute, the bill will eliminate the need under current appropriations for HUD to reinvent the wheel after every disaster, as it does now, through serial, labor-intensive and time-consuming notice and comment processes. It is because of this broken process that grantees have yet to receive billions of dollars in funds Congress appropriated for disaster mitigation in 2017, in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
- Safeguard against misuse of program resources at all levels. The bill protects taxpayer dollars against the risk of fraud or misuse by dedicating substantial resources to fund oversight, audits, and inspections of funded activities by HUD’s Office of the Inspector General, which has contributed to the drafting of the legislation.
- Incorporate 21st Century mitigation resiliency standards. These standards will help ensure CDBG-DR funds are invested into projects that are better able to withstand future disasters.
