Key leaders in the House and Senate are discussing the need to enact a disaster relief package to help communities impacted by disasters in recent years, including those communities devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. NLIHC and the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) of more than 900 local, state, and national organizations urge Congress to quickly enact a disaster relief package to help ensure a complete and equitable recovery for disaster survivors, including those with the lowest incomes and those who are most marginalized. Contact your members of Congress today!
Urge your senators and representatives to include the DHRC’s top priorities in any disaster relief package:
- Robust funding for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program to help communities rebuild housing and infrastructure.
- Funding for the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) to provide the lowest-income disaster survivors with longer-term rental assistance and case management.
- The bipartisan “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” (S. 1686, H.R. 5940) to permanently authorize the CDBG-DR program and put in place critical safeguards.
- The bipartisan “Disaster Assistance Simplification Act” (S. 1528) to streamline the process for disaster survivors to apply for assistance.
Background
The disaster relief package provides an immediate opportunity for Congress to address long-term housing recovery needs in impacted communities, as well as to enact bipartisan legislation to reform our nation’s broken disaster housing recovery system and allow assistance to more quickly reach households with the greatest needs.
When disasters strike, the lowest-income survivors – including people of color, seniors, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, people with limited English proficiency, and other individuals – are often hardest hit and have the fewest resources and face the longest, steepest path to recovery. Despite the clear need, federal efforts frequently leave these survivors without the assistance needed to get back on their feet and their communities less resilient to future disasters. The result is a disaster housing recovery framework that exacerbates and reinforces racial, income, and accessibility inequities at each stage of response and recovery.
By providing robust disaster recovery resources and enacting bipartisan reform legislation, Congress can help improve outcomes for disaster survivors and their communities.
Take Action
Congress needs to hear from you!
Please contact your senators and representatives and urge them to include the DHRC’s top priorities in any disaster relief package to help ensure disaster survivors and their communities can achieve a complete and equitable recovery.