By Laura DeKoven Waxman
March 22, 2010

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Des Moines Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie and Rochester (NY) Mayor Robert Duffy told a House Subcommittee March 4 that the Stafford Act is badly in need of major overhaul and outlined a series of legislative reforms. Appearing before the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the mayors presented the report of the Conference of Mayors Task Force on Stafford Act Reform to the Subcommittee and urged them to include its recommendations in legislation to amend the Stafford Act, which is making its way through Congress. The Subcommittee is chaired by Washington (DC) Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is the primary federal statute that guides the nation’s response to natural and man-made disasters. The Conference of Mayors Task Force, lead by Nagin who serves as chair and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson who serves as Vice Chair, developed a comprehensive series of recommendations to the law that were adopted as policy by the Conference of Mayors during the January Winter Meeting. Nagin commented during the hearing that one of his goals throughout his city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina, "has been to share what we have learned to help make sure that no other American city ever has to experience the difficulties that we have in New Orleans."

Nagin assured Chairwoman Norton of the Conference’s support for her bill, H.R. 3377, which has been reported out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. That bill includes several of the Task Force’s recommendations. He highlighted five key recommendations from the report:

• Provide for catastrophic disaster designation to speed up funding availability and recovery;

• Remove the $5 million cap on the Community Disaster Loan program;

• Provide disaster clean-up grants directly to local governments, which are Community Development Block Grant entitlement communities;

• Streamline the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which Nagin called a "great concept, but the toughest money to spend due to its rules and regulations;" and

• Provide increased support to communities hosting disaster victims.

Cownie discussed the flooding, which occurred in Des Moines and other Iowa cities in 2008 and his concern about possible flooding this year. He talked about the need for being able to use disaster assistance funds to reimburse costs associated with preventive measures. "Reimbursement should also be provided to jurisdictions that use resources to take urgent preventive measures to mitigate the effects of potential disasters which appear to be imminent threats. These measures, which could include precautionary evacuations and target-hardening of facilities or levees, should be covered even if the path of the threatening event changes or the preventive measures successfully mitigate the effects of the disaster," he said.

Cownie also described the substantial delay his city has experienced in receiving funds that go through the state and called for direct funding to local governments. "Direct allocation of disaster recovery funds to Entitlement Cities would allow for expedited assistance to victims and increased local control over priorities without jeopardizing administrative or financial accountability," he commented.

Duffy told the Subcommittee that the Stafford Act should be changed to increase funding for, and improve administration of, programs to meet the needs of individuals and communities experiencing disasters as well as the host communities providing assistance. "Stafford law and regulation have authorized many programs to assist people affected by emergencies and disasters, but current funding for the programs is insufficient to meet the need, and the implementation of the programs themselves needs improvement," he commented. "The existing deficiencies hurt both disaster victims and the communities that host those who are evacuated."

Duffy also suggested that the Stafford Act and related laws and amendments should be consolidated into one code to reduce variable and conflicting interpretations and to provide clearer guidance for FEMA and communities that are working to apply disaster policy, regulation, and law in preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery.