The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it will reopen enrollment for the Individuals and Households Program to include Compacts of Free Association citizens impacted by the Maui wildfires.
Earlier, United States senators, Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI), and Representative Ed Case (D-HI) urged FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to reopen the enrollment for the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) to include Compacts of Free Association (COFA) citizens.
“In Hawaii, we continue to work toward recovery from the devastating wildfires on Maui that occurred in August 2023,” wrote the lawmakers. “COFA citizens are very much a part of the community impacted by the wildfires but have only been able to access assistance through non-federal pathways up until this point,’ the letter said last week.
The US has passed into law the COFA agreement providing financial support to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands.
The lawmakers said that with the law’s passage, COFA citizens are eligible for FEMA programs, such as the Individual Housing Program ( IHP), which provides financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households impacted by disaster.
According to the FEMA website, IHP assistance may include financial assistance for temporary housing, a temporary housing unit; funds to support repair or replacement of homes, hazard mitigation assistance, or funds for uninsured or under-insured disaster-caused expenses.
“Allowing COFA citizens impacted by the Maui wildfires to be eligible for FEMA support will give them access to the most centralized and comprehensive recovery resources available from the federal government and will put them on a more stable path to rebuilding their lives,” continued the lawmakers. “
Despite being lawful, taxpaying residents of the United States, COFA citizens have been denied access to the programs their tax dollars support for decades. In a time of need, we ask that you use any means available to ensure they are given an equal shot at recovering from this tragedy.”