# Plain Language Summary: REAADI for Disasters Act

This bill addresses a serious problem: older adults and people with disabilities die at higher rates during disasters and often get left behind or poorly served during emergency response. The bill aims to fix this by requiring that disaster planning, emergency shelters, evacuation orders, and recovery efforts include and accommodate these groups from the very beginning.

Right now, when hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters strike, people with disabilities and seniors face major obstacles. Evacuation information might only be announced on TV or radio without captions or sign language interpretation. Emergency shelters often lack wheelchair accessibility or trained staff to help people with disabilities. Families get separated because people with disabilities are sent to separate facilities. Many people don't even know how to prepare for a disaster because nobody has talked to them about it. The bill recognizes that these aren't just inconveniences—they're violations of people's civil rights and they cost lives.

The bill requires that disaster response funds be used to make sure people with disabilities and older adults can actually access emergency services, shelters, and information just like everyone else. It calls for evacuation orders to be provided in multiple accessible formats including sign language, captions, and plain language. It demands that emergency shelters be designed to accommodate people with disabilities in regular shelters alongside other evacuees, not in separate facilities. Most importantly, it requires that people with disabilities and older adults be included as decision-makers in disaster planning—not just as afterthoughts, but as essential voices shaping how communities prepare for and respond to emergencies.

REAADI for Disasters Act

Langevin, James R.

Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters Act or the REAADI for Disasters Act This bill establishes programs and requirements to assist individuals with disabilities and older adults (age 50 or older) with disaster preparedness. Among other provisions, the bill <ul> <li>requires the establishment of an advisory committee that includes disabled individuals and older adults to oversee the use of funds made available by this bill;</li> <li>allows states to contract with Centers for Independent Living to provide services and support to disabled individuals in preparing for hazards;</li> <li> requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to carry out projects of national significance that, among other things, create opportunities for disabled individuals and older adults to directly contribute to disaster preparedness, recovery, and mitigation;</li> <li> modifies and expands the membership of the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters to ensure that it represents the diversity of the disabled and older adult communities; and </li> <li>establishes the Disability and Disaster Preparedness Advisory Commission to review settlement agreements involving potential violations of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. </li> </ul> The Government Accountability Office must study the compliance of federal agencies with such enactments in expending funds to support disabled individuals and older adults in responding to, recovering from, and mitigating disasters.