WASHINGTON, DC – Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to create one application deadline for two Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs that individuals use for federal disaster assistance has advanced in the Senate. FEMA’s Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and Individuals and Household Program (IHP) currently have different deadlines, which can cause confusion for disaster survivors who may have trouble tracking when they need to apply for each program. The senators’ bipartisan legislation would ensure these programs have the same deadline to reduce the burden on people who need them to rebuild their lives after disasters. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where Paul serves as Ranking Member and Peters serves as Chair. It now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
