To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to direct the President to designate a Veteran Advocate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the President to designate a "Veteran Advocate" position within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Veteran Advocate will serve as a dedicated representative ensuring veterans receive fair treatment when seeking disaster relief assistance, and will act as the primary liaison between veteran service organizations and FEMA.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans are the primary beneficiaries. They will have a dedicated advocate within FEMA to ensure their specific needs are addressed during disaster declarations and emergency assistance processes. This provides veterans with a direct point of contact and representation in an agency that previously had no designated veteran-focused role.
Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) also benefit by gaining a formal, designated point of contact within FEMA, making it easier to coordinate on behalf of their members during disasters.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) bears the implementation burden. The agency must accommodate this new position, integrate the Veteran Advocate into disaster declaration processes, and coordinate with veteran service organizations. The bill also directs the Advocate to identify expanded veteran recruitment opportunities for FEMA employment, including reservist positions.
Key Provisions
- Creates a new "Veteran Advocate" position within FEMA, to be designated by the President
- Requires the Advocate to participate in disaster and emergency declaration processes to ensure veterans' needs are addressed
- Establishes the Advocate as the primary liaison between veteran service organizations and FEMA
- Directs the Advocate to identify opportunities for veteran recruitment into FEMA employment
- Explicitly states the bill does not authorize any new types of disaster or emergency assistance beyond what is currently authorized
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill aims to improve disaster assistance for veterans by designating a Veteran Advocate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The advocate will ensure fair treatment of veterans in receiving aid and act as a liaison between veteran service organizations and FEMA.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of FEMA
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An advocate designated by the President within FEMA to ensure fair treatment of veterans in receiving disaster assistance and act as a liaison between veteran service organizations and FEMA.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology