PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 7, 2013
Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue regulations to ensure that: (1) in any review of a request for major disaster assistance conducted by FEMA, the factor relating to the estimated cost of assistance (evaluating the estimated cost of federal and nonfederal public assistance against the statewide population) is provided consideration that is equal to that provided to each of the other factors (i.e., localized impacts, insurance coverage in force, hazard mitigation, recent multiple disasters, and other federal assistance programs); and (2) FEMA considers a state's request for major disaster assistance for recommendation to the President without regard to any per capita damage threshold (other than a threshold described below) in any case in which a disaster occurs with respect to a city or unincorporated jurisdiction with a population of less than 250,000, located in a county with a population of more than 1 million and a state with a population of more than 5 million, and with respect to which the financial damage relating to the disaster exceeds 10% of a city's general fund or $100 per capita (in the case of an unincorporated jurisdiction).
People & committees
Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 12, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.1859 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1859 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.1859 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.1859 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.