((a)) ** In general** The President shall designate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency a Small State and Rural Advocate.

((b)) ** Responsibilities** The Small State and Rural Advocate shall be an advocate for the fair treatment of small States and rural communities in the provision of assistance under this chapter.

((c)) ** Duties** The Small State and Rural Advocate shall—

((1)) participate in the disaster declaration process under and the emergency declaration process under , to ensure that the needs of rural communities are being addressed;

((2)) assist small population States in the preparation of requests for major disaster or emergency declarations;

((3)) assist States in the collection and presentation of material in the disaster or emergency declaration request relevant to demonstrate severe localized impacts within the State for a specific incident, including—

((A)) the per capita personal income by local area, as calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis;

((B)) the disaster impacted population profile, as reported by the Bureau of the Census, including—

((i)) the percentage of the population for whom poverty status is determined;

((ii)) the percentage of the population already receiving Government assistance such as Supplemental Security Income and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits;

((iii)) the pre-disaster unemployment rate;

((iv)) the percentage of the population that is 65 years old and older;

((v)) the percentage of the population 18 years old and younger;

((vi)) the percentage of the population with a disability;

((vii)) the percentage of the population who speak a language other than English and speak English less than “very well”; and

((viii)) any unique considerations regarding American Indian and Alaskan Native Tribal populations raised in the State’s request for a major disaster declaration that may not be reflected in the data points referenced in this subparagraph;

((C)) the impact to community infrastructure, including—

((i)) disruptions to community life-saving and life-sustaining services;

((ii)) disruptions or increased demand for essential community services; and

((iii)) disruptions to transportation, infrastructure, and utilities; and

((D)) any other information relevant to demonstrate severe local impacts; and

((4)) conduct such other activities as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers appropriate.