Update from Washington, D.C.
Biden Administration Releases Guidebook on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; Senate Panel Advances Padilla Bill to Strengthen FEMA’s Wildfire Preparedness and Response; White House Names New Executive Director of U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Biden Administration Releases Guidebook on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
On January 31, the White House released a guidebook to help state and local governments understand the benefits of the new $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The 465-page document provides information on the more than 375 programs funded by the IIJA. It is made up of 12 chapters that group the various infrastructure programs by issue area. According to a White House press release, future phases of the guidebook will provide updates on deadlines, key timelines for program implementation, best practices, case studies, and links to key resources.
Along with the guide, the White House issued a data file that enables users to sort infrastructure programs in the law based on different variables, like which agency is overseeing the money, or the amount of funding available. The data file can be accessed here. For its part, CSAC is assembling a more streamlined version of the document to better prepare California’s counties for the new grant opportunities.
Senate Panel Advances Padilla Bill to Strengthen FEMA’s Wildfire Preparedness and Response
On February 2, the Senate Homeland Security Committee unanimously approved CSAC-endorsed legislation (S. 3092) that would strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) wildfire preparedness and response efforts. The measure, which is sponsored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), would allow FEMA to explore ways to pre-deploy resources during a red flag warning. It should be noted that when a hurricane is forecast, the agency pre-deploys assets and pre-positions resources in the states and areas that will be potentially hit. This bill provides equity in response and ensures red flag warning conditions trigger the same response as forecasted hurricanes.
S. 3092 also would require FEMA to prioritize survivors of disasters when selling portable housing units. The selling of units usually happens after an initial response and is used to lessen the agency’s overall response costs. The prioritization of survivors will help ensure that survivors have a place to live – and in some cases, to stay on their existing lot – during the rebuilding process.
In addition to these reforms, the legislation would direct FEMA and the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on potential solutions to address the availability and affordability of wildfire insurance. The study would be the first step in pursuing some form of federal insurance program for wildfires, similar to the National Flood Insurance Program. A separate study authorized under the bill is geared toward improving how the agency provides housing assistance after a disaster, while a third study would examine potential gaps in wildfire disaster response.
The Homeland Security panel also approved a separate measure (S. 3502) that Senator Padilla co-authored with Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) to improve access to, and the quality of, disaster assistance for underserved communities. Specifically, the legislation would establish the Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and Inclusion at FEMA to increase access to disaster assistance, improve quality of disaster assistance received, and eliminate disparities in the delivery of disaster assistance for underserved communities.
White House Names New Executive Director of U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
The Biden administration recently named Jeff Olivet to serve as the new executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) – an office that coordinates the work of 19 federal agencies to address the housing crisis. Olivet is the co-founder of an anti-racist consulting firm called Racial Equity Partners and the former Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Social Innovation, a company that provides training and technical guidance for housing groups and social providers to confront racism and other systemic issues. According to the administration, Olivet also has experience working directly with homeless people as a street outreach worker, case manager, and housing coordinator.
Under Olivet’s leadership, the agency is expected to return to a Housing First model, which focuses on providing people with housing before addressing the underlying issues that may have led to their homelessness. Under the Trump administration, former USICH Executive Director Robert Marbut prioritized sobriety as a pre-condition for housing support for people experiencing homelessness. Additional information on the announcement is available here.