Dear Senators Schumer, McConnell, Murray, and Collins and Representatives Johnson, Jeffries, Cole, and DeLauro,

We are disaster survivors and supporters from across the United States. As the holiday season approaches, many of us are facing devastation, not celebration, in the aftermath of deadly hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires.

We have been doing all we can: gutting homes, delivering water and generators, and providing meals to those who’ve lost everything. But this is not enough. Our families need you to act now. Without critical disaster funding, families will be homeless this holiday season and with no assurance of being made whole.

We urge you to vote YES on a budget that:

1. Permanently Authorize and Fund HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR): CDBG-DR funds are critical to filling the gap left by short-term FEMA aid and insufficient insurance payouts. Making this a permanent funding source provides faster support for future survivors.
2. Allocate CDBG-DR Funding For Disasters That Have Happened From January 2023 On: It is critical we get relief to families from the Hawaiian Islands to the Mountains of North Carolina.
3. Fully Fund FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF): FEMA needs resources to provide temporary housing, repair homes, and meet immediate needs.
4. Make FEMA Rule Changes Retroactive to all Disasters since 2021: This would ensure that those affected by past events, like Hurricane Ida, can benefit from the improved and more accessible assistance.

This holiday season, you have the power to restore hope and stability to families still struggling to recover from past disasters. By passing a comprehensive disaster recovery package that fully funds FEMA, permanently authorizes CDBG-DR and funds it for 2023 and 2024 disasters, and makes FEMA rule changes retroactive to 2021, you can make sure that our community is provided for from both past and future disasters.

We are counting on you to act now. Let this be the season where communities find relief, not despair.