NEADA sent a letter today urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as “major disasters” under the Stafford Act. Recategorizing these increasingly common and deadly climate change impacts would unlock emergency funds that could help protect families from utility shut offs during periods of extreme heat, preventing families from going into debt, and saving lives.
The letter from NEADA adds to a growing chorus of voices calling on the Biden administration to lead the way in developing a more robust federal response to keep people safe during periods of extreme heat. In June 2024, labor unions teamed up with more than two dozen environmental and justice organizations to send a rulemaking petition to FEMA urging the change, followed a month later by a similar letter by 14 attorneys general.