Hirono, Hawaii Delegation Urge FEMA Administrator to Reopen Disaster Response Program to Include COFA Citizens

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI), and Representative Ed Case (D-HI) in urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, Deanne Criswell, to reopen the enrollment for the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) to include Compacts of Free Association (COFA) citizens. The IHP is one of the many FEMA disaster response programs that have been used to support Maui communities as they continue to recover after the devastating wildfires.

“In Hawaii, we continue to work toward recovery from the devastating wildfires on Maui that occurred in August 2023,” wrote the lawmakers. “COFA citizens are very much a part of the community impacted by the wildfires, but have only been able to access assistance through non-federal pathways up until this point.”

In the letter, the lawmakers note that a provision Senator Hirono secured in the recently passed COFAs—which were signed into law last week by President Biden—enables COFA citizens to be eligible for FEMA programs, such as the IHP. The IHP provides financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households impacted by a disaster. According to FEMA, IHP assistance may include financial assistance for temporary housing; a temporary housing unit; funds to support repair or replacement of homes; hazard mitigation assistance; or funds for uninsured or under-insured disaster-caused expenses.

“Allowing COFA citizens impacted by the Maui wildfires to be eligible for FEMA support will give them access to the most centralized and comprehensive recovery resources available from the federal government, and will put them on a more stable path to rebuilding their lives,” continued the lawmakers. “Despite being lawful, taxpaying residents in the United States, for decades COFA citizens have been denied access to the programs their tax dollars support. In a time of need, we ask that you use any means available to ensure they are given an equal shot at recovering from this tragedy.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Administrator Criswell,

On Friday, March 8, 2024, President Biden signed H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, following its passage by Congress. Included in this legislation was S. 792/H.R. 1571, the Compact Impact Fairness Act, which amends the “qualified alien” statute under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to include citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands who reside in the U.S. and the Territories under the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) – collectively known as “COFA citizens.”

This statutory change has been interpreted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to mean that COFA citizens are now eligible for FEMA programs, including disaster response programs like the Individuals and Households Program (IHP).

In Hawaii, we continue to work toward recovery from the devastating wildfires on Maui that occurred in August 2023. COFA citizens are very much a part of the community impacted by the wildfires, but have only been able to access assistance through non-federal pathways up until this point.

Given the extraordinary circumstances playing out on Maui and the additional extraordinary circumstances of statutory eligibility criteria changing in the midst of a disaster response period, we request that you utilize all available flexibilities to reopen the enrollment for IHP to include COFA citizens.

Allowing COFA citizens impacted by the Maui wildfires to be eligible for FEMA support will give them access to the most centralized and comprehensive recovery resources available from the federal government, and will put them on a more stable path to rebuilding their lives.

Despite being lawful, taxpaying residents in the United States, for decades COFA citizens have been denied access to the programs their tax dollars support. In a time of need, we ask that you use any means available to ensure they are given an equal shot at recovering from this tragedy.

Sincerely,

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