Sponsors
The bill shifts more federal aid and faster approval authority toward communities hit by winter storms—especially rural and disadvantaged areas—reducing local recovery burdens but increasing federal costs and raising risks of uneven assistance and trade‑offs in long‑term mitigation priorities.
Residents, local governments, and homeowners in rural, low‑income, and disadvantaged areas will receive much higher federal cost shares (up to ~90%) for emergency assistance, debris removal, and cost‑effective mitigation projects, lowering local recovery expenses and making rebuilding faster.
Local governments, homeowners, utilities, and other public entities affected by winter storms will gain clearer and expanded Stafford Act coverage (debris removal, roads/bridges, utilities, public buildings, parks) and a waiver mechanism for strict statewide thresholds so FEMA can approve major‑disaster assistance more quickly.
State and local governments can use certain mitigation funds to purchase snow‑removal equipment, enabling communities to reduce future winter‑storm damage and response costs.
Taxpayers nationwide may face higher federal disaster spending and fiscal pressures because broader waiver criteria and larger FEMA cost shares increase federal liabilities.
Homeowners and communities may lose long‑term risk‑reduction benefits if mitigation dollars are diverted to purchase snow‑removal equipment instead of other enduring hazard‑mitigation projects.
Local governments and states could experience uneven or inconsistent access to assistance because giving weight to State determinations and waiving thresholds may produce different definitions or response zones across states.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Permits hazard‑mitigation and Stafford Act assistance for winter‑storm measures and raises the federal cost share to 90% for aid in rural or disadvantaged areas.
Introduced January 15, 2025 by Timothy M. Kennedy · Last progress January 15, 2025
Allows FEMA hazard-mitigation and certain Stafford Act disaster assistance to be used for reducing future winter-storm damage (including buying snow‑removal equipment) and creates a process to ease major-disaster eligibility rules for winter storms when specific conditions are met. Raises the federal cost share for many types of disaster and emergency assistance from a floor of 75% to a minimum of 90% when the aid is provided in a defined “rural or disadvantaged area.”