FEMA IHP Assistance for Extreme Heat: Considerations and Limitations

INSIGHTi

FEMA IHP Assistance for Extreme Heat:
Considerations and Limitations
August 15, 2022
In the summer of 2022, heat waves affecting areas throughout the United States prompted congressional
questions regarding what—if any—assistance the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may
provide to affected individuals. As detailed below, in limited circumstances, FEMA may provide funding
to individuals and households to newly purchase air conditioning (AC) units and/or electric fans in areas
affected by extreme heat. This Insight describes these circumstances and the forms of FEMA assistance
that may be provided (with associated limitations); notes other forms of assistance that may support
individuals during periods of extreme heat; and links to federal resources that can help people prepare to
withstand extreme heat.
When Can FEMA Provide Assistance to Help
Individuals Affected by Extreme Heat?
When the President approves an emergency or major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act; P.L. 93-288, as amended; codified at 42
U.S.C. §§5121 et seq.), and authorizes Individual Assistance (IA), FEMA may provide financial
assistance for housing, as well as financial assistance for other needs (referred to as Other Needs
Assistance or ONA), to eligible applicants through the Individuals and Households Program (IHP). There
is one form of IHP-ONA that may provide financial assistance to purchase new AC units and/or electric
fans; other forms of IHP financial assistance for housing and other needs may be used to repair or replace
existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVACs), as well as AC units and/or electric
fans.
A Stafford Act declaration of emergency or major disaster is required for the provision of IHP assistance.
To that end, it is possible that a heat emergency could meet the statutory definition of an emergency:
any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, federal assistance is needed
to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public
health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States (42
U.S.C. §5122(1)).
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Further, while extreme heat is not specifically listed as a qualifying incident type for a major disaster
declaration, it is possible that a period of extreme heat could qualify as a “natural catastrophe” if it were
to exceed state and local response capabilities (see 42 U.S.C. §5122(2)). (The Coronavirus Disease 2019
[COVID-19] pandemic is an example of a natural catastrophe for which major disasters were declared
despite infectious disease incidents not being expressly included in the definition). Historically, however,
extreme heat events have not received Stafford Act declarations (according to FEMA, the three
declaration requests for extreme heat were denied).
What Assistance Can FEMA Provide for HVACs, AC
Units, and/or Electric Fans?
In certain cases, FEMA may be able to provide Assistance for Miscellaneous Items, a form of IHP-ONA,
to eligible individuals to reimburse the costs of purchasing new (i.e., not owned prior to the declared
emergency or major disaster) AC units and/or electrical fans to assist their disaster recovery. In order to
ensure access for such assistance, an affected state, territory, or tribe must request, and FEMA must
approve, the addition of AC units and/or electric fans to the list of available miscellaneous items. State,
territory, and tribal governments may request to amend the FEMA Standard Personal Property Line Items
list to include additional miscellaneous items when submitting or updating their Other Needs Assistance
(ONA) Administrative Option Selection Form to FEMA. The state, territory, or tribe must list the
additional item(s), the category of ONA, the standard quantity, the maximum quantity awarded, and the
justification and situation(s) for use. FEMA may then approve or not approve each additional ONA item.
This Form must be submitted annually, but it may be changed “during any non-disaster time period or
within three days of a major disaster declaration.”
Other forms of IHP assistance only permit FEMA to provide funding to repair or replace an HVAC, AC
units, and/or electric fans that were owned prior to, and were damaged by, the declared emergency or
major disaster. An eligible homeowner can receive Home Repair Assistance funding to repair or replace
an HVAC that (1) is necessary to ensure the occupant’s safety/health or to make the component/residence
functional; (2) was functional immediately before the declared incident; (3) was damaged by the declared
incident; and (4) insurance does not cover the damage. Eligible homeowners and renters can receive
Personal Property Assistance funding to repair or replace AC units and/or electric fans that were owned
prior to and were damaged by the declared incident. FEMA may provide funding for one AC unit and
electric fan per occupied bedroom, depending on the number owned prior to and damaged by the declared
incident, per the FEMA Standard Personal Property Line Items list.
What Assistance Is Available Beyond FEMA IHP
Assistance?
While FEMA IHP assistance requires a Stafford Act declaration, other forms of assistance may be
available absent a declaration. For example, cooling centers may be stood up by the state/local
government to help individuals who need access to air conditioning during periods of extreme heat.
FEMA may reimburse eligible costs associated with operating cooling centers pursuant to a Stafford Act
declaration. Further, some states may provide benefits to residents to purchase and install air conditioners
or electric fans (e.g., see New York City’s program that provides financial help to cover the cost and
installation of an air conditioner or fan).
Congressional offices may also wish to support individuals in areas that are subject to extreme heat by
connecting them with resources on how to prepare for such emergencies. For example, FEMA’s

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Ready.gov webpage on “Extreme Heat” includes tips for staying safe during periods of extreme heat. The
Heat.gov website also provides heat and health information.
Additional information on federal assistance to support people affected by extreme heat, such as water
distribution and providing heat risk communication, is included in CRS Report R46873, Selected Federal
Financial Assistance for Emergency Response to Extreme Heat, coordinated by Erica A. Lee and Taylor
R. Wyatt.

Author Information

Elizabeth M. Webster

Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Recovery




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