S. 5018: Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026

This bill would change how certain requests for federal disaster declarations are handled for a specific period: from January 20, 2025, through January 20, 2029.

What it would do

• It applies to requests made by a state governor or an Indian tribal government asking the President to declare a major disaster under the Stafford Act.
• For requests made during the covered period, the bill says those requests would be treated as approved automatically for purposes of federal disaster assistance.
• Federal assistance would have to be provided if either:
  • the incident meets FEMA’s existing per-capita or cost thresholds for public assistance, based on a preliminary damage assessment; or
  • the FEMA regional administrator decides individual assistance is warranted under existing FEMA factors.
• It would also bar the President from denying assistance solely because a deadline was missed for a covered request.

Practical effect

In plain terms, the bill would make it easier for states and tribes to get federal disaster aid during the covered period by limiting the federal government’s ability to reject requests and by removing missed deadlines as a reason to deny assistance on those requests.

Relevant Companies

None found