PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1] · D–RI
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 5, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-21 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026 would automatically treat qualifying major-disaster declaration requests from state governors and tribal government leaders as approved. It covers requests submitted from January 20, 2025, through January 20, 2029. The President would have to provide the requested assistance if either specified damage-assessment criteria or a regional federal determination supports it. Missing an assistance deadline alone could not justify withholding or denying assistance.
This Act may be cited as the Disaster Relief Fairness Act of 2026.
The term covered period means the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on January 20, 2029.
The term covered request means a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists that is submitted by the Governor of a State or a Chief Executive of an Indian tribal government under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the covered period.
(1) any covered request shall be deemed to have been approved by the President; and (2) the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request— (A) if the incident in the covered request, based on the joint preliminary damage assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meets or exceeds the per capita indicators or cost of assistance estimates for public assistance under section 206.48(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; or (B) if the Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the region in which the incident in the covered request occurred determines that individual assistance is warranted, according to the factors outlined in section 206.48(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
the President may not withhold or deny assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) with respect to a covered request solely due to a missed deadline relating to that assistance.
Coverage would depend on when a governor or tribal chief executive submitted the disaster-declaration request under section 401 of the Stafford Act: January 20, 2025, through January 20, 2029. The bill uses that law's definitions of governor, Indian tribal government, major disaster, and state.
(1) Covered period The term covered period means the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on January 20, 2029. (2) Covered request The term covered request means a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists that is submitted by the Governor of a State or a Chief Executive of an Indian tribal government under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the covered period.
The terms Governor, Indian tribal government, major disaster, and State have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
For Stafford Act assistance, every covered request would count as presidentially approved despite the specified provisions of section 401. This automatic approval is separate from the conditions governing the duty to provide requested assistance.
Notwithstanding the last sentence of subsection (a) and subsection (b)(1) of section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), for purposes of assistance provided under that Act— (1) any covered request shall be deemed to have been approved by the President; and (2) the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request—
(A) if the incident in the covered request, based on the joint preliminary damage assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meets or exceeds the per capita indicators or cost of assistance estimates for public assistance under section 206.48(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; or (B) if the Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the region in which the incident in the covered request occurred determines that individual assistance is warranted, according to the factors outlined in section 206.48(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
One route to mandatory assistance would use the Federal Emergency Management Agency's joint preliminary damage assessment. The incident would need to meet or exceed the public-assistance regulation's per-person benchmarks or estimated assistance costs. The bill would use the regulation as it exists on the date of enactment.
(2) the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request— (A) if the incident in the covered request, based on the joint preliminary damage assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meets or exceeds the per capita indicators or cost of assistance estimates for public assistance under section 206.48(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act;
Alternatively, the President would have to provide the requested assistance if the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator for the affected region determined that individual assistance was warranted. That determination would follow the factors in the individual-assistance regulation as it exists on the date of enactment.
(2) the President shall provide the assistance requested in the covered request—
or (B) if the Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the region in which the incident in the covered request occurred determines that individual assistance is warranted, according to the factors outlined in section 206.48(b) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Despite any other law, the President could not withhold or deny Stafford Act assistance for a covered request solely because an assistance-related deadline was missed. This protection addresses a missed deadline as the sole reason for denial; it does not state that all other assistance requirements are waived.
(c) No denial of assistance Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may not withhold or deny assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) with respect to a covered request solely due to a missed deadline relating to that assistance.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 5, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on September 21, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-05T21:02:38Z. 2026-09-21: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 2026-09-21: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-21. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the supplied complete introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the supplied complete introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out was identified beyond the main policy's coverage and generally applicable protections in the supplied complete introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 5, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI