Extreme Weather and Heat Response Modernization Act

This bill updates how FEMA prepares for and responds to extreme heat and cold. It tells FEMA to set up an advisory panel of emergency managers from across the country to review how the government decides the official start and end dates of disasters (“incident periods”), including slow-moving and overlapping events. A public report is due in one year, a final report in two years, and then FEMA must write new rules based on the panel’s advice.

It also expands what FEMA can fund to help communities handle extreme temperatures. Examples include buying and installing equipment for families and first responders, emergency voucher programs, and setting up community cooling centers and “resilience centers” that help people before, during, and after emergencies. FEMA must publish clear guidance within one year on extreme heat and cold, including how to include heat risks in hazard mitigation plans and training . The bill orders a national study within a year on how extreme heat and cold affect disadvantaged communities, infrastructure, health, pets and livestock, and more, including how to improve alerts and training; the results and recommendations must be sent to Congress.

Key points

• Who is affected: People facing extreme heat or cold; local, state, Tribal, and territorial emergency managers; first responders; communities that may use cooling or resilience centers.
• What changes: New FEMA advisory panel and reports; more eligible projects to prepare for heat and cold; required FEMA guidance; a national study that can lead to new rules .
• When: Panel convened within 6 months; guidance within 1 year; study and initial report within 1 year; final report in 2 years; rulemaking starts after that.