Amid another heat wave, Chavez-DeRemer introduces bill to boost federal aid for extreme heat events
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) and Greg Stanton (AZ-04) have introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure communities impacted by extreme heat receive timely federal assistance.
The Heat Management Grant Assistance Act (H.R. 9092) would amend the Stafford Act to provide federal assistance for extreme heat events and create a special federal grant program for local communities to access needed resources for heat response and recovery.
“As we face hotter summers and more frequent extreme heat events, our communities need to be able to rely on prompt federal assistance to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “I’m proud to join Congressman Stanton in introducing this bipartisan bill to protect public health during extreme heat events.”
“Extreme heat is responsible for more deaths each year than most other natural hazards combined, and local governments are on the frontlines responding to this crisis,” Stanton said. “Our bipartisan legislation takes the common-sense and overdue step of unlocking federal disaster dollars to help cities, towns and tribal communities respond to extreme heat events.”
The heat wave that swept across Oregon last month, which included five consecutive days of record-high temperatures, was responsible for at least 10 deaths and hundreds of ER visits. With summers trending hotter, communities increasingly need timely resources to keep people safe during periods of extreme heat.
The bipartisan Heat Management Grant Assistance Act would direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a comprehensive heat event definition. If a locality reaches the “extreme heat event” threshold, it can request funding through the Heat Management Assistance Grant Program (HMAG) and receive timely federal assistance.
The legislation has been endorsed by the National League of Cities and the National Recreation and Park Association.
Full bill text is available HERE. A one-page summary is available HERE.
###
