Extreme Weather Survivors Urge President Trump to Sign Bipartisan Disaster Recovery Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just days after more than 75 extreme weather survivors traveled to Washington, D.C. for Stolen Summers: The Next 250, the bipartisan disaster recovery legislation they advocated for remains stalled.

On June 24, while survivors met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to call for stronger disaster preparedness, response, and long term recovery, congressional leaders including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Maxine Waters, and dozens of House and Senate Democrats held a press conference urging President Trump to sign the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which includes a version of H.R. 8291, the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (RDRA). 

The legislation would re-authorize HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, providing long-term recovery funding for housing and infrastructure after FEMA's immediate response ends. Instead, President Trump has delayed signing the legislation while demanding that Congress pass the SAVE America Act first, a voter suppression bill that critics say would make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote.

For many disaster survivors, those barriers could be especially severe. Families recovering from floods, wildfires, and hurricanes often lose driver’s licenses, passports, birth certificates, and other critical documents during disasters. 

The SAVE America Act contains no exception for disaster survivors who lose identification or proof of citizenship. Instead, it would force survivors to spend additional time and money replacing critical documents and navigating new barriers to register to vote, all while recovering from one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives.

Among the survivors standing alongside lawmakers during the June 24 press conference was Texas Hill Country flood survivor Nancy Zdunkewicz, who knows firsthand how quickly disasters can upend every aspect of a person's life.

"I still remember the moment I realized my ID was in the car that had been swept away by the floodwaters," said Nancy. "No survivor should have to worry that losing an identification document in a disaster could prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to vote. Recovering from a disaster is already overwhelming enough."

While the SAVE Act creates new barriers during recovery, the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, including the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, represents meaningful progress toward a disaster preparedness, response, and recovery system that serves all Americans.

For survivors, this has never been about politics. It is about ensuring every American, regardless of political party, geography, or the disaster they experienced, has access to a recovery system that works when tragedy strikes.

“Every survivor deserves a recovery system they can count on when everything they've worked for is on the line,” said Kylie Nidever, a Hill Country flood survivor. “That's why this bipartisan bill matters. It's about making sure no family is left behind simply because help ran out before recovery was finished.”

During the press conference, lawmakers repeatedly called on the President to "sign the damn bill," highlighting that the legislation passed with broad bipartisan support because housing affordability, disaster recovery, and rebuilding communities affect Americans across the political spectrum. Throughout the day, Extreme Weather Survivors stood alongside partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, who helped draw attention to the legislation and organize advocates in support of its passage.

"Our survivors came to Washington to advocate for solutions, not politics,” said EWS Co-founder Sierra Kos. “The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act is a bipartisan investment in American families and communities recovering from disasters. Every day this legislation is delayed is another day survivors are left waiting for the long-term support they need. We urge President Trump to sign the bill and help move our country toward a disaster recovery system that serves all Americans

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, survivors are calling for progress over politics. Disasters do not ask who someone voted for before destroying a home or a community, and recovery should not depend on political gridlock.

Extreme Weather Survivors urges President Trump to sign this bipartisan legislation, moving the country one step closer to a disaster recovery system that serves all Americans.