Representative Adriano Espaillat Urges House Passage of His Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act Amid Hurricane Fiona.
Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act (H.R. 3037) Would Ease Access to Vital Resources for Natural Disaster Survivors, Critical During Hurricane Season.
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) released the following statement in response to Hurricane Fiona, which has caused catastrophic flooding in Puerto Rico as the island was hit this weekend and remains without power.
This weekend, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico, which authorizes Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aid to help bolster the island’s emergency disaster relief efforts.
“Across the nation, millions of people now confront dangerously hot and dry conditions, terrible wildfires, and stronger hurricanes. It is well recognized that the most disadvantaged and low-income households in America are frequently the ones who suffer the most from natural disasters and have the fewest resources to recover afterwards. These households frequently encounter unnecessary and avoidable roadblocks to receiving the support they require to recover despite the obvious need,” said Espaillat.
“We witnessed catastrophic devastation across Puerto Rico this past weekend, and I stand ready to assist my congressional colleagues in providing the necessary resources to the island’s recovery,” he continued. “In the wake of past major disasters, it became apparent that many survivors were having their housing assistance applications denied by FEMA because of the overwhelming documentation the agency requires to prove ownership of damaged property. These actions have resulted in families waiting months to receive housing assistance simply due to unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. In some cases, they never receive housing assistance at all. This is unacceptable and a terrible flaw in our assistance for major disaster survivors, and we urge House passage of this critical legislation to help remedy this critical failing in our system to help families address the desperate and basic humanitarian needs. "I have been working with authorities in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to address what resources are needed and stand ready to ensure these resources throughout the region to help individuals and families who urgently need our help now,” Espaillat concluded.
Reps. Espaillat and Jenniffer González-Colón (PR-At-Large) reintroduced the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act, which passed favorably out of committee earlier this year. The bill will enable applicants to declare ownership of their homes without having to undertake efforts to locate deeds, leases, or other previously required documentation following a natural disaster. It will broaden the array of possible proof of residence, making it easier for families to access critical assistance after a storm. Additionally, the bill prohibits FEMA from requiring the notarization of disaster housing assistance applications, often an impossible requirement to meet when communities are in the initial stages of recovering from natural disasters and a bottleneck in the processing of applications for assistance. And most importantly, this bill would expand housing assistance eligibility to other forms of housing, such as mobile homes.
The Senate companion bill will be introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has championed the legislation in the Senate. Last Congress, the bill was co-sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Amy J. Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), and Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR).
The Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act has been endorsed by the Hispanic Federation, UnidosUS, and the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
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