Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

Title I: Findings, Declarations and Definitions Title I provides the intent of Congress to ensure continued and orderly assistance from the federal government to state and local governments to relieve hardship and damage that result from disasters. As defined by Title I, an emergency is "any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States A major disaster is defined as any natural catastrophe, fire, flood, or explosion, determined by the president to warrant the additional resources of the federal government to alleviate damages or suffering they cause". Title II: Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Assistance Title II authorizes the President to establish a disaster preparedness program that utilizes the appropriate agencies and gives the President the right to provide technical assistance to states in order to complete a comprehensive plan to prepare against disasters. The President can also administer grants to states to provide funding for the preparation and revitalization of emergency plans. Title II articulates the necessity of a disaster warning system. This includes the readiness of all appropriate federal agencies to issue warnings to state and local authorities and the disbursement of warnings to the public. This title authorizes the President to make use of either the civil defense communication system or any commercial communications systems that are voluntarily given to the president to issue warnings to the public. Penalties are set forth in Section 314 of this title. Any person who misuses the funds obtained under the Act may be fined up to one and one-half times the amount that they misused. The Attorney General may also bring a civil action for relief. Any individual who knowingly violates any part of this Act can be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $5,000 per violation. The last portion of Title III, Section 322, sets forth the requirements of mitigation plans. Each plan developed by a local or tribal government must both describe actions to mitigate hazards and risks identified under the plan and it must establish a strategy to implement those actions. State plans must do four things. The first is to describe the actions to mitigate hazards and risks identified under the plan. Then it must show a way to support the development of a local mitigation plan. The plan must then show how it will provide technical assistance to its local and tribal governments for mitigation plans. Lastly, it must identify and prioritize the mitigation actions that it will support as its resources become available. == Amendments ==

The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) Inadequate disaster preparation and response motivated the 2018 DRRA, which significantly amended the Stafford Act. Mainly, it expanded eligibility for hazard mitigation funding by allowing the President to contribute up to 75% of the cost of hazard mitigation measures that they determine to be cost effective and increasing resilience, and to set aside funding for pre-disaster mitigation from the Disaster Relief Fund. It also expanded eligibility for both recipients and providers of disaster relief funds in certain areas. ==Criticism==

There are diffuse criticisms of the Stafford Act. The Institute for Southern Studies has stated that the Act needs to give greater latitude to FEMA on how it responds to disasters that are extraordinarily devastating such as Hurricane Katrina. ==Relevant court cases==

• La Union del Pueblo Entero v. Federal Emergency Management Agency • Davis v. United States • Freeman v. United States • Saint Tammany Parish v. Federal Emergency Management Agency • McCue v. City of New York • Davidson v. Veneman • Hawaii v. Federal Emergency Management Agency • Cougar Business Owners Association v. Washington State ==Proposed amendments==

One proposed amendment to the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is the Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013 (H.R. 592), a bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 13, 2013, during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would make religious organizations and religious non-profits eligible to receive federal funding for repairs and rebuilding of their facilities after a major disaster. The bill passed the House by a large margin, but was criticized by opponents for using taxpayer money to help tax-exempt organizations and for violating the principle of separation of church and state. ==In popular culture==

In 2015, the Stafford Act was used in an episode of House of Cards as a way for President Frank Underwood to fund his signature jobs program, AmericaWorks. In the episode, Underwood used Stafford Act funds under a Title V declaration of emergency for the District of Columbia, citing high unemployment as a disaster in the District. Under Title V of the Act, the president may make an emergency declaration on behalf of an area that is under Federal jurisdiction, which includes Washington, DC. He directed FEMA and other cabinet departments to use the Stafford Funds for jobs programs in the District. ==References==