WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday advanced Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton’s Extreme Weather and Heat Response Modernization Act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. The legislation, introduced with Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada, would empower the Federal Emergency Management Agency to better address extreme heat and to provide communities with more resources, including cooling centers, to keep people safe during extreme heat events.
This comes as Phoenix this week broke a nearly four month stretch of triple digit temperatures—the hottest summer on record.
Stanton spoke during Committee consideration of the bill, saying, “If Phoenix was being hit with a hurricane, or pummeled by tornadoes, or extreme flooding, FEMA would be able to provide federal assistance. Well heat kills twice as many people each year as hurricanes and tornadoes combined. Extreme heat is a long-term natural disaster, and we need the federal government to start treating it as such.”
The legislation is supported by the City of Phoenix, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, Natural Resources Defense Council, Desert Research Institute, and BuildStrong America.
A Section by Section of the bill is HERE. Full text of the bill is HERE.
Video of Stanton’s remarks are available HERE. His remarks as prepared are below.
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I’m proud to have introduced H.R. 9024, the Extreme Weather and Heat Response Modernization Act, with my colleague from Las Vegas, Ranking Member Titus. . . a bill that would give FEMA tools it desperately needs to address extreme heat.
We represent two states – Arizona and Nevada – on the very forefront of a public health crisis.
This week, back home in Phoenix, daily highs are supposed to dip below 100 degrees for the very first time since mid-May. 113 days, almost four straight months, of triple digit heat. That’s an all-time record. And more than half of those days had highs above 110 degrees.
We joke back home, “It’s a dry heat.” But heat like that . . . when the temperatures at night hover in the 90s. . . it takes a brutal toll on the human body. Especially for vulnerable populations like seniors, people with health conditions and people experiencing homelessness.
Last year, 645 people died from heat-related causes in Maricopa County—a 50% year-over-year increase.
Local governments are doing what they can. This summer the City of Phoenix, using a combination of one-time local, state, and federal resources, extended the operating hours at five of its heat relief sites… including providing overnight support at two locations. They recorded nearly 30,000 visits. . . 900 of those who sought relief from nighttime heat.
These cooling centers are essential, as most heat deaths occur outside. But increasingly, some of our most vulnerable residents aren’t even safe inside their homes. In Phoenix, air conditioning isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. And losing your AC is now a life-threatening event.
Since 2011, 819 people have died indoors from heat-related causes in Maricopa County. And in 75% of those cases, their air conditioners were either broken or turned off. These are some of our most vulnerable citizens. . . often seniors living alone, on a fixed income, who can’t afford to pay for a new AC unit or a high summer electric bill.
Again, city and county governments have stepped up to provide financial assistance utility assistance and repairs. But, as a former big-city mayor, I know firsthand how strained local government budgets already are.
If Phoenix was being hit with a hurricane, or pummeled by tornadoes, or extreme flooding, FEMA would be able to provide federal assistance. Well heat kills twice as many people each year as hurricanes and tornadoes combined.
Extreme heat is a long-term natural disaster, and we need the federal government to start treating it as such.
This bill, H.R. 9024, couldn’t come soon enough. It enables FEMA to better address extreme heat and to provide local governments with more resources to keep people safe, including unlocking federal funding for cooling centers.
Specifically, this bill will direct FEMA to review the process for determining incident periods for disaster declarations authorized by the Stafford Act, since heat is not currently recognized.
It also directs FEMA to consider what is eligible for hazard mitigation grants under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program . . . like stockpiling and installing equipment, such as portable air conditioners, and allowing for community cooling centers and resilience centers to take part of this funding.
The bill directs FEMA to develop guidance for local entities to respond to extreme heat events, . . . and it authorizes a study measuring the impact of extreme heat on infrastructure, the economy, and public health in order to develop a framework for mitigation and response.
I’ll close by saying that while Phoenix and Las Vegas are on the frontlines of this crisis, communities around the country are dealing with more frequent dangerous heat waves. . . from the urban pacific northwest to the rural deep south. As global temperatures rise, heat will affect every district.
I urge all my colleagues here to vote YES. I yield back.