{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://graves.house.gov/media/press-releases/graves-introduces-bill-help-small-communities-cut-through-red-tape-fema", "Graves Introduces Bill to Help Small Communities Cut Through Red Tape at FEMA", "2021-10-20", "2021", "2021-10", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Sam Graves", "G000546", "graves.house.gov", "graves", "https://graves.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) introduced the Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act to help small communities recover from disasters more quickly by allowing more small recovery projects to proceed under simplified procedures\u2014giving communities more control and more tools to rebuild and recover.\n\n\u201cBy far, most disaster recovery projects in the United States are relatively small, and there\u2019s no need to force individuals trying to recover and rebuild to navigate the same procedures as larger, more complex projects,\u201d said Graves. \u201cThe SPEED Recovery Act cuts red tape for smaller projects and will speed recovery in many of our communities, especially rural communities, that have been hit by disasters.\u201d\n\nThe SPEED Recovery Act is also supported by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and the Big City Emergency Managers (BCEM). In a joint statement of support, the groups said, \u201cThis type of modernization to disaster response and recovery programs will allow us as emergency managers to more swiftly move projects for disaster survivors and expedite the road toward recovery. As we work individually and with one another to build resilience nationwide, tools such as the SPEED Recovery Act will simplify and streamline FEMA programs when survivors need them most.\u201d\n\nGraves introduced the bipartisan bill along with along with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR); Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member Daniel Webster (R-FL); and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chair Dina Titus (D-NV).\n\nBackground Information\n\nHistorically, the number of disaster projects that qualified as small projects with simplified procedures accounted for 95% of such projects. However, because the threshold for a \u201csmall project\u201d has not kept pace with inflation and modern construction costs, a much larger percentage of projects (nearly 25% of all recovery projects) now fall outside of the scope of a \u201csmall project.\u201d This has added unnecessary paperwork and burdens for both communities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).\n\nThe SPEED Recovery Act will give communities more control in the rebuilding process for smaller projects, and it will once again ensure that approximately 95% of projects qualify as \u201csmall projects.\u201d Notably, while \u201csmall projects\u201d constitute a large percentage of total projects, they only represent about 10% of federal disaster funding costs, and the bill\u2019s proposed adjustment represents minimal risk to the taxpayer. FEMA will then be able to focus more of its staff and time on addressing larger, more complex projects.\n\nThe simplified procedures for small projects were established over three decades ago, but the cost threshold in law for what qualifies as a \u201csmall project\u201d has only been updated once since then. This bill will update the threshold to $1 million and allow small rural communities to recover more efficiently from a disaster.\n\nThe Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management have jurisdiction over the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and federal disaster programs.\n\nClick here to read the bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:24:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://graves.house.gov/media/press-releases/graves-introduces-bill-help-small-communities-cut-through-red-tape-fema"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4151948746293783, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}