S. 861 — Disaster Assistance Simplification Act

This section establishes a unified intake process and system for disaster assistance applications, to be developed by the FEMA Administrator in consultation with governments within 360 days of enactment. The system applies to FEMA and other certified federal disaster assistance agencies (i.e., those providing aid certified under the section) and covers disaster assistance programs including Stafford Act individual and household assistance (secs. 408, 502), SBA disaster loans (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), and disaster food benefits (sec. 412; 7 U.S.C. 2014(h)). It requires capabilities to (1) accept consolidated applications; (2) provide status updates and applicant updates; (3) distribute recovery resource information; (4) share applicant documentation and data for faster aid distribution, including block grants; (5) enable direct agency communication with survivors; and (6) incorporate other necessary features; and mandates updates to application questions within 30 days of an agency request. The section authorizes the Administrator to share disaster assistance information (i.e., personal, financial, and application data) among agencies to support the system and, subject to privacy protections, with public or private contractors.