UNITY Act

House Votes

This bill aims to improve disaster help for remote U.S. places not connected to the mainland (noncontiguous communities). It tells FEMA to study how to better hire and keep local staff in these areas and then update its policies based on what it learns. It also directs an independent review of how disaster response and recovery work in these communities, including lessons from Super Typhoon Yutu, and asks for recommendations to make things work better compared with mainland areas. Finally, it launches a pilot to use new technology to speed up early damage checks after a major disaster in one of the most remote communities, with clear deadlines and an end date for the pilot.

Key points

• Who is affected: People in remote U.S. communities, FEMA’s disaster workforce, and federal and state emergency managers.
• What changes: FEMA must study hiring and retention and fix problem policies; the Government Accountability Office must review disaster response and recovery and recommend improvements; FEMA must test new tech for faster damage assessments in a pilot program focused on very remote areas .
• When: FEMA briefs Congress on the workforce study within 6 months; the GAO report is due within 18 months; the pilot starts within 1 year, includes a briefing within 3 years, and ends by September 30, 2030 .