In 2021, Team Rubicon established a Government Relations Department to further advance the organization’s engagement at the federal, state, and local levels with elected and key officials. The goal is to develop partnerships and implement strategic advocacy to make a bigger impact on the lives of disaster survivors.
Establishing partnerships with elected officials in disaster-prone areas or areas where Team Rubicon expects future need well before we need them is essential to our being able to stand up operations rapidly. Fundamentally, it’s about meeting people before they’re hit by the disaster so we can serve them more quickly after.
Having a government relations arm of the organization also helps Team Rubicon weigh in on and craft bills that support policy initiatives that advance our mission, support our Greyshirt volunteers, and positively impact those we serve.
Here’s a look at some of the things Team Rubicon’s government relations team has already achieved and what’s on the horizon for the future.
Four Ways Team Rubicons Government Relations Department Made Disasters More Manageable
Helped Make Filing for Disaster Assistance Easier for Future Survivors
For years, Team Rubicon has been advocating relentlessly to make applying for disaster assistance easier for disaster survivors. The first step: establish a single filing deadline for the two Federal Emergency Management Agency programs that individuals apply to for federal disaster assistance.
On March 13, 2024, we came that much closer to success when the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Act passed and headed to the White House to be signed into law by President Biden. Once enacted, the Act will set a single deadline for applications to both FEMA’s Disaster Unemployment Assistance and its Individuals and Households Program.
For the disaster survivors Team Rubicon serves, the passage of the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act will reduce an enormous burden and limit the devastating complexity of navigating the impacts of disasters.
Created a Partnership with FEMA to Better Serve Disaster Survivors
In the fall of 2023, Team Rubicon and FEMA signed a memorandum of agreement further formalizing a partnership that allows our two organizations to better work side-by-side during a disaster to identify those in need and to deliver them expedient assistance. The agreement also gave Team Rubicon a seat within FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center anytime when it is activated, allowing Greyshirts on the ground during a disaster to provide FEMA with timely real-world awareness of the situation at hand, and allowing FEMA to better share a larger picture of the situation with Team Rubicon, making it easier for us to more quickly assess unmet needs within the affected communities.
Educated President Biden and the First Lady on Disaster Impacts in Two States
In 2023, the President and First Lady met with Greyshirts in Mississippi who were responding to the devastating tornadoes and volunteers in Hawaii responding to the fires in Maui. Such meetings not only allow our volunteers to educate the President about the scope of the disaster and the people affected, but they also cement the knowledge that it’s not only the U.S. government responding to disasters but also smaller volunteer organizations such as Team Rubicon.
Successfully Advocated for Medically-Trained Veterans to Support Federal Emergency Responses
Beginning during the pandemic, Team Rubicon and its government relations department worked with legislators to streamline the credentialing of military veterans with medical training to support federal emergency responses. Authorized by Congress as an amendment to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, the SERVE Act will greatly enhance the ability of veterans to assist their communities during emergencies.
Team Rubicon’s Government Relations Strategies for the Year to Come
As Team Rubicon looks to the year to come, the government relations department is squarely focused on furthering its impact. Here are three of the government relations department’s top priorities for 2024.
Advocate for the Further Simplification of Disaster Assistance Applications
Team Rubicon is actively supporting S.1528, the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, which will streamline the application process for federal disaster assistance and reduce the burden on the disaster-struck communities that Team Rubicon serves.
Support the Creation of a National Disaster Resilience Strategy
Team Rubicon is supporting S.3621/H.R. 6311, the National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security, or NCARS, Act. This would create a National Adaptation and Resilience Strategy and Implementation Plan with federal, state, local, private sector, and nonprofit partners, and establish a Chief Resilience Officer in the White House to implement the plan, create interagency working groups to streamline efforts and ensure accountability, and create a federal information hub to streamline resilience resources to communities.
Help Make Charitable Giving More Impactful
Team Rubicon is an active supporter of the Charitable Act (S.566 / H.R. 3435), which extends and expands the expired charitable deduction for those who do not itemize on their tax returns, ensuring that every American who donates or tithes is able to benefit from both the standard deduction and the charitable deduction.
Specifically, the bill would enable taxpayers who take the standard deduction (about 88% of taxpayers) to deduct charitable donations.
Want to learn more about Team Rubicon’s government relations work?
