REAADI for Disasters Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2371 To ensure that older adults and individuals with disabilities are prepared for disasters, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 29, 2023 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BOWMAN, and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure that older adults and individuals with disabilities are prepared for disasters, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Emergency Ac- 4 cess for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘REAADI for Disasters Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2371 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) In the United States, according to the Cen- 4 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 5 more than 61,000,000 adults who are individuals 6 with disabilities and, according to the Bureau of the 7 Census, there are more than 54,000,000 adults age 8 65 or older. 9 (2) There have been more than 145 hurricanes, 10 resulting in over 2,000 deaths, in the United States 11 since 2000. 12 (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 13 ministration estimates that— 14 (A) the cumulative damage from weather- 15 and climate-related disasters in 2022 cost the 16 United States over $165,000,000,000; and 17 (B) 18 of the disasters in 2022 cost over 18 $1,000,000,000 each. 19 (4) Individuals with disabilities and older adults 20 have been found to die at higher rates, compared to 21 the general population, during disasters. 22 (5) According to the Federal Emergency Man- 23 agement Agency, in 2022— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2371 IH (A) the United States experienced 90 de- 1 clared disasters affecting more than 54,000,000 2 people; and 3 (B) more than 16,000,000 of those people 4 were adults who were individuals with disabil- 5 ities. 6 (6) Failure to provide accessibility for, or plan 7 for accommodating, individuals with physical or sen- 8 sory disabilities, chronic illness, or mental disabilities 9 decreases the ability of those individuals to evacuate 10 prior to or during a disaster. 11 (7) Households of individuals with disabilities 12 are more likely to need assistance and are less likely 13 to be able to evacuate in advance of disasters. 14 (8) Less than a third of individuals with intel- 15 lectual disabilities and individuals needing personal 16 care attendants have planned with their personal 17 care providers what to do in a disaster. 18 (9) Evacuation information, including orders, is 19 not uniformly communicated in ways and via media 20 that are accessible to individuals with disabilities, in- 21 cluding being communicated in ways that lack use of 22 American Sign Language, captions, and plain lan- 23 guage on websites, instructional materials, and tele- 24 vision and radio announcements. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2371 IH (10) Displaced individuals with disabilities 1 served in general population shelters have better ac- 2 cess to information and material resources than indi- 3 viduals with disabilities in specially designed shel- 4 ters. 5 (11) Despite better access to information and 6 resources, personnel in general population shelters 7 often do not have the resources or training to ad- 8 dress the needs of individuals with disabilities and 9 older adults. 10 (12) Public shelters often do not have dis- 11 ability-related accommodations, often forcing individ- 12 uals with disabilities and older adults to be seg- 13 regated, sometimes apart from their families and 14 natural supports during disasters. 15 (13) Households with individuals with disabil- 16 ities sustain more costly property damage from dis- 17 asters than households without individuals with dis- 18 abilities. 19 (14) Historically, disaster-related recommenda- 20 tions for individuals with disabilities and older 21 adults have been typically aimed at caregivers and 22 service providers, not individuals with disabilities 23 and older adults themselves. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2371 IH (15) Thousands of individuals with disabilities 1 have been denied their civil rights because they do 2 not receive accessible notice during disasters— 3 (A) of spoken instructions via phone or 4 video; or 5 (B) of instructions regarding evacuations, 6 sheltering, and other procedures during disas- 7 ters. 8 (16) Disaster shelters and services do not rou- 9 tinely have American Sign Language interpreters 10 nor procedures written or presented in plain lan- 11 guage. 12 (17) Individuals with disabilities and older 13 adults are more at risk for loss of life, loss of inde- 14 pendence, or violation of civil rights than the general 15 population during times of disasters, response, and 16 recovery. 17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 18 gress that— 19 (1) individuals with disabilities and older adults 20 should be supported during times of disasters, and 21 during disaster preparedness, response, recovery, 22 and mitigation in order to— 23 (A) ensure maintenance of and access to 24 services and supports; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2371 IH (B) enable those individuals and adults to 1 return to their communities in a timely manner 2 as compared with the general population; 3 (2) during the recovery and mitigation phases 4 of disaster response, all buildings and services 5 should be designed, and constructed or recon- 6 structed, according to principles of universal design 7 and to the standards established by the Architec- 8 tural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 9 Board in order to ensure access for individuals with 10 disabilities, older adults, and all individuals; 11 (3) individuals with disabilities and older adults 12 should have access to shelters and other services 13 during disasters in the same locations and settings 14 as the general population; 15 (4) individuals with disabilities and older adults 16 should receive information about preparation for, re- 17 sponse to, recovery from, and mitigation of disasters 18 in formats accessible to them, including in American 19 Sign Language, Braille, and plain language, as well 20 as captioned video messages; 21 (5) individuals with disabilities and older adults 22 must be included as key speakers, essential stake- 23 holders, and decisionmakers in the preparation (in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2371 IH cluding planning), response, recovery, and mitigation 1 phases of disasters; 2 (6) local, State (including territorial), Tribal, 3 and Federal disaster planning must include robust 4 representation of individuals with disabilities and 5 older adults; and 6 (7) individuals with disabilities and older adults 7 must be included in the evaluation of governmental, 8 VOAD, and other nongovernmental preparation (in- 9 cluding planning), response, recovery, and mitigation 10 of disasters. 11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 12 The purposes of this Act are to— 13 (1) improve the inclusion of individuals with 14 disabilities and older adults in the preparation for, 15 response to, recovery from, and mitigation of disas- 16 ters; 17 (2) ensure that individuals with disabilities and 18 older adults with disabilities are free from discrimi- 19 nation on the basis of disability or age in programs 20 and activities, are protected during and included in 21 all phases of disaster preparation, response, recov- 22 ery, and mitigation; 23 (3) ensure compliance with the Americans with 24 Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2371 IH 1973, and other disability laws during preparation 1 for, response to, recovery from, and mitigation of 2 disasters; 3 (4) improve coordination among the commu- 4 nities of individuals with disabilities and older 5 adults, including multiply marginalized BIPOC and 6 LGBTQ+ communities, government agencies, cen- 7 ters for independent living, VOADs, and other non- 8 governmental organizations, including organizations 9 that represent and are comprised of covered individ- 10 uals; in preparing (including planning) for, respond- 11 ing to, recovery from, and mitigation of disasters; 12 (5) improve outcomes for all individuals, includ- 13 ing individuals with disabilities and older adults, who 14 are affected by disasters, and increase community 15 resilience in responding to disasters; and 16 (6) enact into Federal law standards of care 17 and standards for protection of civil rights, for older 18 adults and people with disabilities, to be applied for 19 disasters and public health emergencies. 20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS.—The 23 term ‘‘access and functional needs’’, used with re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2371 IH spect to an individual, means an individual with 1 needs such as— 2 (A) an individual with a disability; 3 (B) an older adult; 4 (C) an individual with limited English pro- 5 ficiency; 6 (D) an individual with limited access to 7 transportation that would enable the individual 8 to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and 9 mitigate a disaster; or 10 (E) an individual with limited access to the 11 financial resources that would enable the indi- 12 vidual to prepare for, respond to, recover from, 13 and mitigate a disaster. 14 (2) ALL HAZARDS APPROACH.—The term ‘‘all 15 hazards approach’’ means planning for natural, 16 technological, or human-caused incidents that war- 17 rant action to— 18 (A) protect life, property, the environment, 19 or the public health or safety; and 20 (B) minimize disruptions of school activi- 21 ties. 22 (3) CIVIL RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘civil rights’’, 23 used with respect to an individual, means the exist- 24 ing (as of the date of enactment of this Act) legal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2371 IH rights of an individual to be free from discrimination 1 on the basis of disability or age in programs and ac- 2 tivities. 3 (4) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 4 individual’’ means an individual with a disability, an 5 older adult, and an individual with access and func- 6 tional needs. 7 (5) DISABILITY INCLUSIVE EMERGENCY MAN- 8 AGEMENT EXPERIENCE.—The term ‘‘disability inclu- 9 sive emergency management experience’’, used with 10 respect to an individual or entity— 11 (A) means an individual or entity that 12 has— 13 (i) demonstrated disability leadership 14 experience, including working with non- 15 governmental entities; and 16 (ii) subject matter expertise in leading 17 disability inclusive preparedness, response, 18 recovery, and mitigation initiatives that 19 focus on meeting the civil rights of covered 20 individuals who are affected by disasters, 21 to be free from discrimination on the basis 22 of disability or age in programs and activi- 23 ties; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2371 IH (B) includes an individual or entity that 1 has demonstrated favorable outcomes that 2 measure the effective communication access, 3 physical access, program access, health, safety, 4 and independence of individuals affected by dis- 5 asters and their communities. 6 (6) DISASTER.—The term ‘‘disaster’’ means an 7 emergency or major disaster (as such terms are de- 8 fined under section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 9 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 10 U.S.C. 5122)) that results in severe property dam- 11 age, deaths, or multiple injuries. 12 (7) DISASTER SERVICES.—The term ‘‘disaster 13 services’’ means the process of responding to a dis- 14 aster and providing humanitarian aid to individuals 15 and communities who are affected by a disaster. 16 (8) DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED.—The 17 term ‘‘disproportionately affected’’, used with re- 18 spect to a group, means a group of individuals with 19 protected status, including individuals with disabil- 20 ities or older adults, who are excessively adversely 21 affected by disaster-related harms. 22 (9) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 23 ‘‘Indian Tribal government’’ has the meaning given 24 the term ‘‘Indian tribal government’’ in section 102 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2371.IH H2371 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 2371 IH of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 1 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 2 (10) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.— 3 (A) SINGLE.—The term ‘‘individual with a 4 disability’’ means an individual with a dis- 5 ability, as defined in section 3 of the Americans 6 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 7 12102). 8 (B) PLURAL.—The term ‘‘individuals with 9 disabilities’’ means more than one individual 10 with a disability, as defined in subparagraph 11 (A). 12 (11) OLDER ADULT.—The term ‘‘older adult’’ 13 means a resident who is age 50 or older. 14 (12) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 15 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means a public health 16 emergency declared under section 319 of the Public 17 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 18 (13) RESIDENT.—The term ‘‘resident’’ 19 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]