The Stafford Act and the Presidential Declaration Process

The Stafford Act helps states and communities affected by major disasters. According to Bea (2010), the Stafford Act authorized the President to supply financial and equipment resources to public and private properties at risk (p. 9). I found it interesting the President has certain options of procedure after being notified of a natural disaster or emergency. As noted by Bea (2010), the President can decline the request for aid or issue an emergency or major disaster declaration independently (p. 10). Once the disaster is identified, the recovery efforts from the federal government begin. According to Haddow, Bullock, and Coppola (2014), “the federal government collaborated with the state in the affected areas by coordinating the implementation of recovery programs and the delivery of recovery services” (p. 229). The presidential declaration is vital to affected areas. Upon presidential approval, the amount of aid is substantial and swiftly delivers disaster relief to areas of need. However, the president can deny such assistance so that recovery programs are not over-used. As noted by Haddow et al. (2014), states must have disaster mitigation plans approved before a disaster to be eligible for federal assistance (p. 260). (199 words).

Bea, K. (2010, March). Federal Stafford Act disaster assistance: presidential declarations, eligible activities, and funding. Library of Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional research service. Retrieved from http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadat…

Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2014). Introduction to emergency management (5th ed.). Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.