§5165d Designation of Small State and Rural Advocate

Summary

The President must name a Small State and Rural Advocate to work inside FEMA. The Advocate must push for fair treatment of small States and rural communities when FEMA gives disaster or emergency help under this law. The Advocate must take part in the disaster declaration process under section 5170 and the emergency declaration process under section 5191 to make sure rural needs are addressed. The Advocate must help small-population States prepare requests for major disaster or emergency declarations. The Advocate must help States collect and present evidence of severe local impacts, including local per-capita income; a Census-based population profile (poverty, people on Government aid like SSI and SNAP, pre-disaster unemployment, percentages of people 65+ and under 18, people with disabilities, people with limited English, and any specific American Indian or Alaska Native issues); and effects on community infrastructure (losses to life-saving services, essential services, transportation, utilities) and any other relevant information. The Advocate must also carry out other tasks the FEMA Administrator finds appropriate.