Baton Rouge Reporter

Critical disaster and safety legislation authored by Congressman Garret Graves of South Louisiana passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee yesterday, just one week after Hurricane Francine made landfall. The combination of three FEMA bills aims to streamline disaster recovery, provide quick assistance to victims, and rebuild communities faster. Two transportation bills are designed to improve roadway safety, address supply chain shortfalls, and protect communities from rogue drone operators.

Despite having fewer than four months remaining in his term, Graves passed more bills yesterday than any other member of the committee. This is seen as an indication that he is "running through the tape" to exhaust all efforts to pass legislation for Louisiana and improve America's transportation and infrastructure.

"Louisiana obviously has something to teach the rest of the country when it comes to disaster recovery. Experience becomes wisdom. Our bipartisan bills, crafted from tough lessons learned from multiple disasters, will simplify and streamline recovery by getting resources to the officials who understand local needs better than anyone, and to the victims who just want to put their lives back together. As long as storms won’t stop, we won’t stop passing legislation to protect victims and communities," said Graves.

H.R. 8728, the State-Managed Disaster Relief Act co-authored by Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida, would allow governors to request lump sum payments for natural disaster recovery for smaller disasters. This would enable states to get resources faster by bypassing federal red tape. Nearly half of America’s disasters since 2021 would have qualified for state-directed recovery efforts under this legislation.

H.R. 6083, the Duplication of Benefits Victims Relief Act co-authored by Congressman Troy Carter of Louisiana extends Graves’ earlier Duplication of Benefits (DoB) relief provision in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) of 2018 for an additional five years. The bill prevents federal agencies from denying recovery grants deemed duplicative to recovery loans.

H.R. 2672, the FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act co-authored by Congressmen Neal Dunn of Florida and Darren Soto requires FEMA to reimburse local government power services and electrical cooperatives for interest that accrues on disaster recovery loans.

H.R. 3356, the Motor Carrier Safety Screening Modernization Act co-authored by Congresswoman Sharice Davids of Kansas expands access to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s current Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). The bill allows companies ongoing access to safety records rather than just for prospective hires.

H.R. 8610, the Counter-UAS Authority Security Safety Act co-authored by Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee protects communities and critical infrastructure from rogue unmanned aerial systems (UAS)/drone operators by authorizing law enforcement agencies' acquisition and deployment of approved counter-UAS systems.

"Our motor carrier bill makes our roadways safer for all Americans and is a shot in the arm for our supply chain allowing more goods safely moved throughout the country," Graves said.