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HR 1859 113th Congress House

Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013

Official title: To revise the process by which the Federal Emergency Management Agency evaluates a request for major disaster assistance, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 7, 2013 Introduced by: Schiff, Adam B. Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Emergency Management Administrative law and regulatory proceduresDisaster relief and insuranceFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 8, 2013
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
May 7, 2013
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
May 7, 2013
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 8, 2013

Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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).


 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1859: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1859/
MLA
"H.R. 1859: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1859/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1859, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1859/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1859: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1859/)
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