H.R. 1859: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013

113th Congress · introduced 2013-05-07 · Emergency Management · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-05-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013

Plain summary

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).

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Disaster Declaration Improvement Act of 2013

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Judy Chu (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] reported raising $10.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr1859.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr1859 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113