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119-hr-316119th CongressWALLET

Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Representative Rouzer, David [R-NC-7]

In Committee

Summary

This bill creates a new FEMA program and a new FEMA fund for unmet disaster needs to pay for recovery gaps, expand housing help, and change how FEMA weighs local harm and past disasters when recommending declarations. It sets up grant rules, reporting, and oversight to move money faster to states and tribes for long‑term recovery and resilience.

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  • Families and homeowners: Expands the Individuals and Households Program to allow direct home‑repair grants to homeowners, broadened support for people with disabilities, minor repairs up to habitability, and extends direct housing assistance from 18 to 24 months.
  • State and Tribal governments: Creates a National Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund that states and tribes can tap for unmet needs and capacity building. Grantees may use up to 13% of funds for administration, get an initial 50% payment, and must provide spending reports and an auditor certification to receive the remainder.
  • FEMA operations and oversight: FEMA must give more weight to severe local impacts and disasters in the prior 5 years when recommending declarations, complete an unmet‑need assessment within 90 days, and submit new reports. The Comptroller General must review fiscal controls and closed‑out disaster timelines within 1 to 5 years.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

New fund for unmet disaster needs

If enacted, a new Natural Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund would give states and tribes grants for verified unmet needs after a major disaster. The President could set aside 10% of estimated FEMA grants for technical help within 180 days. Grantees would get 50% up front; the rest would come after a report and a state or tribal auditor sign‑off. Unused money would usually return after the earlier of completion or 6 years, with up to a 4‑year extension. For disasters that use this Fund, the government would publish damage, aid, and unmet‑need data within 90 days, while protecting personal details. Grantees could use up to 13% for admin, and up to 5% to run payments to households.

Longer FEMA help, small repairs, faster appeals

If enacted, FEMA housing help for disaster survivors would last up to 24 months instead of 18 for new funding. FEMA could pay for small repairs to make owner‑occupied homes safe to live in, if money is available. Within 15 days of a disaster, the federal coordinating officer would share all shelter and housing options with the state. If you appeal a FEMA decision, you would get the inspection report, reasons, and what to submit within 10 days after the inspection. FEMA would have up to two years to finalize the new repair rules.

More weight for repeat-hit areas

If enacted, FEMA would give more weight to severe local harm and to places hit by multiple disasters in the past five years. This would guide disaster declarations and the share that states must cover. FEMA would update its policies and report to Congress within one year.

Stronger oversight of FEMA disaster aid

If enacted, FEMA would send Congress a report within 180 days on how it handled individual aid for each major disaster over the last five years. The report would cover need decisions, common denial reasons, appeal timing, legal aid use, recovery center access, and outreach. GAO would also review state fiscal controls within five years and report within one year on how long FEMA takes to close out disasters.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Rouzer, David [R-NC-7]

NC • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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