II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4159 

To ensure greater equity in Federal disaster assistance policies and programs 

by authorizing an equity steering group and equity advisor within the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency, improving data collection to 

measure disparate outcomes and participation barriers, requiring equity 

criteria to be applied to policies and programs, and permitting counties 

to seek emergency and major disaster declarations in certain circumstances, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 5, 2022 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To ensure greater equity in Federal disaster assistance policies and programs by authorizing an equity steering 

group and equity advisor within the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, improving data collection to measure disparate outcomes and participation barriers, requiring equity criteria to be applied to policies and programs, 

and permitting counties to seek emergency and major 

disaster declarations in certain circumstances, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Emergency 

3 Management Advancement of Equity Act’’ or the ‘‘FEMA 

4 Equity Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ENSURING EQUITY IN FEDERAL DISASTER 

MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 101. Data collection, analysis, and criteria. 

Sec. 102. Criteria for ensuring equity in policies and programs. 

Sec. 103. Metrics; report. 

TITLE II—OPERATIONAL ENHANCEMENT TO IMPROVE EQUITY IN 

FEDERAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 201. Equity advisor. 

Sec. 202. Equity enterprise steering group. 

Sec. 203. Government Accountability Office review of equity reforms. 

TITLE III—SAFEGUARDS TO ENSURE EQUITY IN FEDERAL 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DISASTER PROGRAMS 

Sec. 301. Expanding access to declaration process. 

Sec. 302. Rulemaking and guidance. 

Sec. 303. Government Accountability Office review of factors to determine assistance. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency. 

12 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

13 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 


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1 (3) EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘emergency’’ 

2 means an emergency declared by the President 

3 under section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

4 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 5191). 

6 (4) EQUITABLE.—The term ‘‘equitable’’ means 

7 having or exhibiting equity. 

8 (5) EQUITY.—The term ‘‘equity’’ means— 

9 (A) the guarantee of fair treatment, ad10 vancement, equal opportunity, access for under11 served communities and other individuals; 

12 (B) the elimination of barriers that have 

13 prevented full participation for underserved 

14 communities; and 

15 (C) the reduction of disparate outcomes. 

16 (6) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘Federal 

17 assistance’’ means assistance provided pursuant to— 

18 (A) a declaration of a major disaster or 

19 emergency, including assistance provided pursu20 ant to sections 203, 205, 404, and 420 of the 

21 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer22 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 5135, 

23 5170c, 5187); and 

24 (B) section 1366 of the National Flood In25 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c). 


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1 (7) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis2 aster’’ means a major disaster declared by the Presi3 dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

4 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 5170). 

6 (8) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

7 ‘‘underserved community’’ means— 

8 (A) the Native-American and Alaskan-Na9 tive community; 

10 (B) the African-American community; 

11 (C) the Asian community; 

12 (D) the Hispanic community (including in13 dividuals of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and 

14 Central or South American origin); 

15 (E) the Pacific Islander community; 

16 (F) the Middle Eastern and North African 

17 community; 

18 (G) a rural community; 

19 (H) a low-income community; 

20 (I) individuals with disabilities; 

21 (J) a limited English proficiency commu22 nity; 

23 (K) other individuals or communities oth24 erwise adversely affected by persistent poverty 

25 or inequality; and 


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1 (L) any other disadvantaged community, 

2 as determined by the Administrator. 

3 TITLE I—ENSURING EQUITY IN 

4 FEDERAL DISASTER MANAGE5 MENT 

6 SEC. 101. DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND CRITERIA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel10 opment and the Administrator of the Small Business Ad11 ministration, shall develop and implement a process to en12 sure equity in the provision of Federal assistance and 

13 throughout all programs and policies of the Agency. 

14 (b) SPECIFIC AREAS FOR CONSULTATION.—In car15 rying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall identify 

16 requirements for ensuring the quality, consistency, acces17 sibility, and availability of information necessary to iden18 tify programs and policies of the Agency that may not sup19 port the provision of equitable Federal assistance, includ20 ing— 

21 (1) information requirements; 

22 (2) data sources and collection methods; and 

23 (3) strategies for overcoming data or other in24 formation challenges. 


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1 (c) MODIFICATION OF DATA COLLECTION SYS2 TEMS.—The Administrator shall modify the data collec3 tion systems of the Agency based on the process developed 

4 under subsection (a) to ensure the quality, consistency, ac5 cessibility, and availability of information necessary to 

6 identify any programs and policies of the Agency that may 

7 not support the provision of equitable Federal assistance. 

8 SEC. 102. CRITERIA FOR ENSURING EQUITY IN POLICIES 

9 AND PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de12 velop, disseminate, and update, as appropriate, criteria to 

13 apply to policies and programs of the Agency to ensure 

14 equity in the provision of Federal assistance and through15 out all programs and policies of the Agency. 

16 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing and dissemi17 nating the criteria required under subsection (a), the Ad18 ministrator shall consult with— 

19 (1) the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Lib20 erties of the Department of Homeland Security; 

21 (2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel22 opment; and 

23 (3) the Administrator of the Small Business 

24 Administration. 

25 (c) INTEGRATION OF CRITERIA.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent pos2 sible, the Administrator shall integrate the criteria 

3 developed under subsection (a) into existing and fu4 ture processes relating to the provision of Federal 

5 assistance. 

6 (2) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall 

7 prioritize integrating the criteria under paragraph 

8 (1) into processes relating to the provision of— 

9 (A) assistance under sections 402, 403, 

10 406, 407, 428, and 502 of the Robert T. Staf11 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 5172, 5173, 

13 5189f, 5193); 

14 (B) Federal assistance to individuals and 

15 households under section 408 of such Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 5174); 

17 (C) hazard mitigation assistance under 

18 section 404 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c); and 

19 (D) predisaster hazard mitigation assist20 ance under section 203 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 5133). 

22 SEC. 103. METRICS; REPORT. 

23 (a) METRICS.—In carrying out this title, the Admin24 istrator shall— 


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1 (1) establish metrics to measure the efficacy of 

2 the process developed under section 101(a) and the 

3 criteria developed under section 102(a); and 

4 (2) seek input from relevant representatives of 

5 State, regional, local, and Tribal governments, rep6 resentatives of community-based organizations, sub7 ject matter experts, and individuals from under8 served communities impacted by disasters. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the dis10 semination of the criteria under section 102(a), and annu11 ally thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

12 a report describing how the criteria and processes devel13 oped under this title have impacted efforts to ensure eq14 uity in the provision of Federal assistance and throughout 

15 all programs and policies of the Agency, including— 

16 (1) any obstacles identified or areas for im17 provement, with respect to implementation of such 

18 criteria and processes, including any recommended 

19 legislative changes; 

20 (2) the effectiveness of such criteria and proc21 esses, as measured by the metrics established under 

22 subsection (a)(1); and 

23 (3) any impacts of such criteria and processes 

24 on the provision of Federal assistance, with specific 

25 attention to impacts relating to efforts within the 


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1 Agency to address barriers to access and reduce dis2 parate outcomes. 

3 TITLE II—OPERATIONAL EN4 HANCEMENT TO IMPROVE 

5 EQUITY IN FEDERAL DIS6 ASTER MANAGEMENT 

7 SEC. 201. EQUITY ADVISOR. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

10 designate a senior official within the Agency as an 

11 equity advisor to the Administrator. 

12 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The equity advisory 

13 designated under paragraph (1) shall be responsible 

14 for advising the Administrator on efforts of the 

15 Agency to ensure equity in the provision of Federal 

16 assistance and throughout all programs and policies 

17 of the Agency. 

18 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—In designating an equity advi19 sor under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator shall select 

20 an individual who is a qualified expert with significant ex21 perience with respect to equity policy or programmatic re22 forms. 

23 (c) DUTIES.—In addition to advising the Adminis24 trator, the equity advisor designated under subsection 

25 (a)(1) shall— 


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1 (1) participate in the implementation of sec2 tions 101 and 102; 

3 (2) monitor equity in the implementation of eq4 uity efforts within the Agency and within regions of 

5 the Agency to ensure consistency in the implementa6 tion of policy or programmatic changes intended to 

7 ensure equity in the provision of Federal assistance 

8 and throughout all programs and policies of the 

9 Agency; 

10 (3) identify ways to improve the policies and 

11 programs of the Agency to ensure that such policies 

12 and programs are equitable, including— 

13 (A) recommending opportunities to en14 hance language access; 

15 (B) recruiting, hiring, retaining, and pro16 moting diverse candidates at all levels of Agen17 cy operations; and 

18 (C) enhancing opportunities to support un19 derserved populations in preparedness, mitiga20 tion, protection, response, and recovery; and 

21 (4) any other activities the Administrator con22 siders appropriate. 

23 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties 

24 under this section, the equity advisor designate under sub25 section (a)(1) shall, on an ongoing basis, consult with repVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4159.IS S4159

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1 resentatives of underserved communities, including com2 munities directly impacted by disasters, to evaluate oppor3 tunities and develop approaches to advancing equity with4 in the Agency, including by increasing coordination, com5 munication, and engagement with— 

6 (1) community-based organizations; 

7 (2) civil rights organizations; 

8 (3) institutions of higher education; 

9 (4) research institutions; and 

10 (5) academic organizations specializing in diver11 sity, equity, and inclusion issues. 

12 SEC. 202. EQUITY ENTERPRISE STEERING GROUP. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

14 the Agency a steering group to advise the Administrator 

15 on how to ensure equity in the provision of Federal assist16 ance and throughout all programs and policies of the 

17 Agency. 

18 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out subsection 

19 (a), the steering group established under this section 

20 shall— 

21 (1) review and, as appropriate, recommend 

22 changes to Agency-wide policies, procedures, plans, 

23 and guidance; 


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1 (2) support the development and implementa2 tion of the processes and criteria developed under 

3 title I; and 

4 (3) monitor the integration and establishment 

5 of metrics developed under section 103. 

6 (c) COMPOSITION.—The Administrator shall appoint 

7 the following individuals as members of the steering group 

8 established under subsection (a): 

9 (1) Representatives from each of the following 

10 offices of the Agency: 

11 (A) The Office of Equal Rights. 

12 (B) The Office of Response and Recovery. 

13 (C) Federal Emergency Management 

14 Agency Resilience. 

15 (D) The Office of Disability Integration 

16 and Coordination. 

17 (E) The United States Fire Administra18 tion. 

19 (F) The mission support office of the 

20 Agency. 

21 (G) The Office of Chief Counsel. 

22 (H) The Office of the Chief Financial Offi23 cer. 

24 (I) The Office of Policy and Program 

25 Analysis. 


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1 (2) The administrator of each regional office of 

2 the Agency or a designee. 

3 (3) A representative from the National Advisory 

4 Council. 

5 (4) The equity advisor designated by the Ad6 ministrator under section 201(a)(1). 

7 (5) A representative from the Office for Civil 

8 Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of 

9 Homeland Security. 

10 (6) The Superintendent of the Emergency Man11 agement Institute. 

12 (7) The National Tribal Affairs Advisor of the 

13 Agency. 

14 (8) Any other official of the Agency the Admin15 istrator determines appropriate. 

16 (d) LEADERSHIP.—The Administrator shall des17 ignate 1 or more members of the steering group estab18 lished under subsection (a) to serve as chair of the steering 

19 group. 

20 SEC. 203. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW 

21 OF EQUITY REFORMS. 

22 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

24 shall issue a report to evaluate the implementation of this 

25 title and title I. 


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1 TITLE III—SAFEGUARDS TO EN2 SURE EQUITY IN FEDERAL 

3 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 

4 AGENCY DISASTER PRO5 GRAMS 

6 SEC. 301. EXPANDING ACCESS TO DECLARATION PROCESS. 

7 (a) MAJOR DISASTER.—Section 401 of the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5170) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘All requests’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (d), all re12 quests’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) COUNTY REQUESTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COUNTY DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

16 the term ‘county’— 

17 ‘‘(A) means a county, parish, or equivalent 

18 subdivision of a State or territory of the United 

19 States that is a unit of general local govern20 ment; and 

21 ‘‘(B) in the event a county is located in a 

22 State where 1 or more counties are not units of 

23 general local government, includes the largest 

24 city, town, or unit of general local government 

25 by population in an area affected by a major 


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1 disaster on behalf of all affected cities, towns, 

2 and other local units of general local govern3 ment. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUEST.—The chief executive officer of 

5 an affected county may submit a request for a dec6 laration by the President that a major disaster ex7 ists consistent with the requirements of subsection 

8 (a) under the following circumstances: 

9 ‘‘(A) The Governor of the State or terri10 tory in which the affected county is located does 

11 not request such a declaration under subsection 

12 (a). 

13 ‘‘(B) The affected county is not included in 

14 a request for assistance made under subsection 

15 (a) by the Governor of the State or territory in 

16 which such county is located. 

17 ‘‘(C) The affected county communicates 

18 with the Governor of the State or territory in 

19 which the affected county is located about the 

20 disaster or potential request for a major dis21 aster declaration before the period described in 

22 paragraph (3)(A) has lapsed. 

23 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The chief executive officer 

24 of an affected county may not submit a request for 


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1 a declaration by the President that a major disaster 

2 exists under paragraph (2) until— 

3 ‘‘(A) the period during which the Governor 

4 of the State or territory in which such county 

5 is located may request such a declaration under 

6 subsection (a) has lapsed; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the Governor of the State or territory 

8 in which such county is located has commu9 nicated to the chief executive officer of the 

10 county that the Governor will not seek such a 

11 declaration from the President. 

12 ‘‘(4) REFERENCES.—In implementing assist13 ance authorized by the President under this Act in 

14 response to a request from the chief executive officer 

15 of an affected county for a major disaster declara16 tion under this subsection, any reference in this title 

17 or title III to a State or the Governor of a State is 

18 deemed to refer to an affected county or the chief 

19 executive officer of an affected county, as appro20 priate. 

21 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

22 this subsection shall prohibit a county from receiving 

23 assistance under this title through a declaration 

24 made by the President at the request of a State 

25 under subsection (a) if the President does not make 


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1 a declaration under this subsection for the same in2 cident.’’. 

3 (b) EMERGENCY.—Section 501 of the Robert T. Staf4 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 5191) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘All requests’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (d), all re8 quests’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) COUNTY REQUESTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) COUNTY DEFINED.—In this subsection, 

12 the term ‘county’ has the meaning given the term in 

13 section 401(d). 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUEST.—The chief executive officer of 

15 an affected county may submit a request for a dec16 laration by the President that an emergency exists 

17 consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) 

18 under the following circumstances: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Governor of the State or terri20 tory in which the affected county is located does 

21 not request such a declaration under subsection 

22 (a). 

23 ‘‘(B) The affected county is not included in 

24 a request for assistance made under subsection 


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1 (a) by the Governor of the State or territory in 

2 which such county is located. 

3 ‘‘(C) The affected county communicates 

4 with the Governor of the State or territory in 

5 which the affected county is located about the 

6 disaster or potential request for a major dis7 aster declaration before the period described in 

8 paragraph (3)(A) has lapsed. 

9 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The chief executive officer 

10 of an affected county may not submit a request for 

11 a declaration by the President that an emergency ex12 ists under paragraph (2) until— 

13 ‘‘(A) the period during which the Governor 

14 of the State or territory in which such county 

15 is located may request such a declaration under 

16 subsection (a) has lapsed; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the Governor of the State or territory 

18 in which such county is located has commu19 nicated to the chief executive officer of the 

20 county that the Governor will not seek such a 

21 declaration from the President. 

22 ‘‘(4) REFERENCES.—In implementing assist23 ance authorized by the President under this Act in 

24 response to a request of the chief executive officer 

25 of an affected county for an emergency declaration 


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1 under this subsection, any reference in this title or 

2 title III to a State or the Governor of a State is 

3 deemed to refer to an affected county or the chief 

4 executive officer of an affected county, as appro5 priate. 

6 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

7 this subsection shall prohibit a county from receiving 

8 assistance under this title through a declaration 

9 made by the President at the request of a State 

10 under subsection (a) if the President does not make 

11 a declaration under this subsection for the same in12 cident.’’. 

13 SEC. 302. RULEMAKING AND GUIDANCE. 

14 (a) RULEMAKING.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act and after pro17 viding public notice and opportunity for comment, 

18 the Administrator shall issue regulations necessary 

19 to establish a process to implement the amendments 

20 made by section 302. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—The regulations required 

22 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

23 (A) a process by which the chief executive 

24 officer of a county may— 


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1 (i) submit a request for the Adminis2 trator to recommend that the President 

3 make a major disaster or emergency dec4 laration for such county; and 

5 (ii) upon approval of such request, di6 rectly receive any assistance provided pur7 suant to such request; 

8 (B) in addition to the eligibility factors de9 scribed under section 206.48 of title 44, Code 

10 of Federal Regulations, eligibility criteria for 

11 the approval of a request from a county for a 

12 major disaster or emergency declaration that 

13 gives consideration to— 

14 (i) poverty rates within such county; 

15 (ii) the economy within such county, 

16 including the economy of the area within 

17 such county that is impacted by the dis18 aster or emergency; 

19 (iii) relevant social vulnerability in20 dexes for residents of such county; 

21 (iv) the rate of unemployment before 

22 the disaster or emergency within such 

23 county; 

24 (v) underserved communities within 

25 such county; 


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1 (vi) the fiscal condition of the unit of 

2 government with jurisdiction over such 

3 county; 

4 (vii) the degree to which a significant 

5 proportion of residents of such county re6 ceived Federal benefits during the year 

7 preceding the disaster or emergency, in8 cluding— 

9 (I) benefits provided under the 

10 Medicaid program under title XIX of 

11 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1396 et seq.); 

13 (II) benefits provided under the 

14 supplemental nutrition assistance pro15 gram established under the Food and 

16 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

17 et seq.); 

18 (III) benefits provided under the 

19 program of block grants to States for 

20 temporary assistance for needy fami21 lies established under part A of title 

22 IV of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and 


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1 (IV) any other Federal benefits 

2 the Administrator determines appro3 priate; and 

4 (viii) the impact of other recent disas5 ters and emergencies on residents within 

6 such county; 

7 (C) eligibility criteria for contiguous coun8 ties located within the same State or territory 

9 to seek Federal disaster assistance together; 

10 and 

11 (D) timelines for a chief executive officer 

12 of a county to submit such request and oppor13 tunities to seek extensions, where appropriate. 

14 (b) GUIDANCE.—Upon issuing a final regulation pur15 suant to subsection (a), the Administrator shall issue 

16 guidance relating to such regulation, including publicizing 

17 and providing guidance directly to counties about the proc18 ess by which the chief executive officer of a county may 

19 submit a request for the declaration of a major disaster 

20 or emergency. 

21 SEC. 303. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW 

22 OF FACTORS TO DETERMINE ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States shall issue a report that describing 

2 the factors the Agency considers— 

3 (1) when evaluating a request from a Governor 

4 to declare that a major disaster or emergency exists; 

5 and 

6 (2) to authorize assistance under sections 402, 

7 403, 406, 407, 408, 428, and 502 of the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 5170c, 5172, 5173, 

10 5189f, 5193). 

11 (b) CONTENTS.—The report issued under subsection 

12 (a) shall include— 

13 (1) an assessment of— 

14 (A) the degree to which the factors the 

15 Agency considers when evaluating a request for 

16 a major disaster or emergency declaration— 

17 (i) affect equity for underserved com18 munities, particularly with respect to 

19 major disaster and emergency declaration 

20 requests, approvals of such requests, and 

21 the authorization of assistance described in 

22 subsection (a)(2); and 

23 (ii) are designed to deliver equitable 

24 outcomes; 


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1 (B) how the Agency uses such factors or 

2 monitors whether such factors result in equi3 table outcomes; 

4 (C) the extent to which major disaster and 

5 emergency declaration requests, approvals of 

6 such requests, and the authorization of assist7 ance described in subsection (a)(2), are more 

8 highly correlated with high-income counties 

9 compared to lower-income counties; 

10 (D) whether the process and administra11 tive steps for conducting preliminary damage 

12 assessments are equitable; and 

13 (E) to the extent practicable, whether such 

14 factors may deter a Governor from seeking a 

15 major disaster or emergency declaration for po16 tentially eligible counties; and 

17 (2) a consideration of the extent to which such 

18 factors affect underserved communities— 

19 (A) of varying size; 

20 (B) with varying population density and 

21 demographic characteristics; 

22 (C) with limited emergency management 

23 staff and resources; and 

24 (D) located in urban or rural areas. 


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1 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Comptroller General 

2 of the United States shall include in the report issued 

3 under subsection (a) any recommendations for changes to 

4 the factors the Agency considers when evaluating a re5 quest for a major disaster or emergency declaration to ac6 count for underserved communities. 

Æ 


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