-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Disaster Relief Fairness Act, along with Senator Whitehouse. This bill would approve major disaster declarations requested under the Trump administration for incidents that meet or exceed FEMA's damage thresholds. I wish that this bill was not needed, but it is because President Trump has chosen to block disaster assistance based on political partisanship.
According to the Urban Institute, roughly 84 percent of disaster requests from States that voted for President Trump in 2024 have been approved under this administration, compared to just 42 percent from States that voted for Kamala Harris. Further, POLITOCO reported that Republican-led States have waited 39 days on average for a decision compared to the 80-day average for Democratic-led states.
This winter, Rhode Island was struck by the largest blizzard in State history. Over 3 feet of snow fell on the State in a 24-hour period--the highest 1-day snowfall on record for Rhode Island. The storm hit Rhode Island with the intensity of a category 2 hurricane, with heavy winds up to 74 miles per hour. It caused widespread power outages and tragically resulted in two fatalities and hundreds of emergency room visits. Local businesses faced prolonged closures due to disruptions to transportation, utilities, and public services across the State.
Following the storm, the State of Rhode Island worked with FEMA to develop a preliminary damage assessment of the storm's impact. The assessment found over $19 million in damages, amounting to more than nine times the threshold required for a major disaster declaration. Under any other administration, this disaster declaration would have been approved on the merits, given its historic nature and FEMA's own damage assessment. However, after months of waiting, on July 2, 2026, President Trump denied the request from Rhode Island with no explanation. On the same day Trump denied Rhode Island's request, he also denied requests from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts that all reportedly exceeded FEMA's damage thresholds. Yet, that same week, he approved disaster aid for six Republican-led States.
Disaster aid and helping communities recover from deadly storms should never be political. Yet President Trump's record proves that he cannot be trusted to adjudicate disaster money fairly without invoking his own partisan biases. The Disaster Relief Fairness Act would address that problem by granting all disaster declarations requested between January 20, 2025 and January 20, 2029 that meet the Federal requirements and thresholds for assistance. This will help ensure that States and Tribes get the relief they need--regardless of who they voted for--and allow them to fully recover from disasters.
I urge my colleagues to join Senator Whitehouse and me in supporting this legislation. ______
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source