Stafford Act: Priorities for Reform

October 4, 2007 2:42 PM

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CONTACT: Robert.Polner@nyu.edu (212-998-2337) / New York University
Brad.Penuel@nyu.edu (212-998-2183) / New York University, CCPR
NYU Study Finds Federal Disaster Relief Law Does Not Recognize Modern Threats or Provide Adequate Recovery Aid
Senators Lieberman and Landrieu Renew Their Calls for Reform
Without Reform, the Robert T. Stafford Act Sets Stage for another Katrina-Style Recovery, Requiring Costly Congressional Workarounds
(NEW YORK) – October 11, 2007 – The cornerstone piece of Federal disaster relief legislation, the Robert T. Stafford Act, is dangerously out of date, and must be reformed to provide for rapid relief following a catastrophe, charges NYU professor of urban policy and planning, Mitchell Moss, in a new report released today.
Senator Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), chair of the Subcommittee on Disaster Response, agree with Professor Moss’s about the need for reform.
Coinciding with the release of the report, Professor Moss has an editorial appearing today in The Hill summarizing the report’s findings.
Two years after Hurricane Katrina, and six years after the September 11 attacks, the Federal government still lacks the legal authority to provide rapid financial assistance to residents, small businesses and municipal governments following a major disaster.
Moss faults the Robert T Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act for:
• Not recognizing 21st century threats like chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological attacks or accidents as legal grounds for a major disaster declaration by the President;
• Failing to establish a difference between the scale of rural and urban disaster – the Act offers the same level of aid for a blizzard in a rural community as it does for a major earthquake in a metropolis.
The Moss report recommends that Congress:
• Amend the definition of a “major disaster” to recognize 21st century threats such as