S 5018

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 16, 2026

Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To approve certain requests for a major disaster declaration, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026”.

SEC. 2. APPROVAL OF MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATION REQUESTS.

(a) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) Covered period.—The term “covered period” means the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on January 20, 2029.

(2) Covered request.—The term “covered request” means a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists that is submitted by the Governor of a State or a Chief Executive of an Indian tribal government under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the covered period.

(3) Governor; indian tribal government; major disaster; state.—The terms “Governor”, “Indian tribal government”, “major disaster”, and “State” have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(b) Declaration of Major Disasters During Covered Period.— Notwithstanding the last sentence of subsection (a) and subsection

(b)(1) of section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), for purposes of assistance provided under that Act—

(1) any covered request shall be deemed to have been approved by the President; and

(2) the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request—

(A) if the incident in the covered request, based on the joint preliminary damage assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meets or exceeds the per capita indicators or cost of assistance estimates for public assistance under section 206.48(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B) if the Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the region in which the incident in the covered request occurred determines that individual assistance is warranted, according to the factors outlined in section 206.48(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

(c) No Denial of Assistance.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may not withhold or deny assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) with respect to a covered request solely due to a missed deadline relating to that assistance. <all>