Sponsors (6)
This bill streamlines and speeds disaster recovery by creating a single, shareable federal application and related procedures, but it raises significant privacy risks, concentrates operational reliance on centralized systems, and imposes implementation costs and temporary transparency trade-offs.
Disaster survivors (including low-income households) can apply to multiple federal disaster assistance programs using a single, consolidated application, reducing paperwork and speeding access to help.
Agencies can share application data to coordinate and speed distribution of recovery funds and services, which can accelerate when and how assistance is delivered to state, local, and tribal communities.
Applicants will receive application status updates and copies of their documentation, improving transparency for survivors and enabling better planning during recovery.
Broader interagency data sharing plus exemptions from multiple Privacy Act provisions could increase the risk of improper disclosure and reduce individuals' ability to control or challenge how their personal and financial data are used.
Centralizing application processes creates single points of failure—technical outages or bureaucratic mismanagement of the unified system could delay assistance to survivors and strain state and local recovery operations.
Federal agencies will incur implementation costs (IT systems, training, interagency agreements) that could require new appropriations or divert resources from other programs, imposing costs on taxpayers and agency budgets.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires FEMA to build a single, unified intake process and system for federal disaster assistance to streamline applications and reduce duplication.
Introduced March 5, 2025 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress December 17, 2025
Creates a single, unified intake process and system for applicants to federal disaster assistance programs, to be developed and established by the FEMA Administrator within 360 days of enactment. It defines who counts as an applicant, which federal agencies and kinds of assistance are covered, and requires the intake system to support consolidated applications, faster and fairer administration, and appropriate privacy and data protections. The provision applies broadly to individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and State, local, and tribal recipients of disaster assistance, and covers a wide range of federal disaster programs including housing, long-term recovery, economic revitalization, certain SBA loans, and specified food benefits. The goal is to reduce duplication and streamline access while maintaining legal and privacy safeguards.