Government Relations

Initiatives that Advance Our Mission.

Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. As a nonpartisan nonprofit we support policy initiatives that advance our mission, support our Greyshirt volunteers, and positively impact those we serve.

Areas of Focus.

  • We serve communities throughout the entire disaster cycle, from mitigation to immediate response and long-term recovery, as part of our mission to invest in and build community resilience around the globe.

    Families need assistance before, during, and after disasters, and Team Rubicon supports policies that ensure:

    • Equitable, expedited, and simplified access to assistance for families impacted by disasters
    • Increased investment in mitigation, preparation, and resilience efforts
    • Mental health resources regardless of the size or type of emergency

    We will continue to:

    • Advocate for policies that support equitable housing recovery following disasters
    • Utilize resilient building materials and methods
    • Promote and support policy that leverages these practices

    The world is more interconnected than ever. We support robust federal funding for international development, humanitarian aid, and disaster response programs.

    We also support policies that guarantee access and funding to ensure rapid medical care and clean water in crises.

  • Through continued service, Team Rubicon seeks to provide veteran volunteers with three things they often lose after leaving the military: a purpose, gained through disaster relief; community, built by serving with others; and identity, from recognizing the impact one individual can make.

    Through initiatives like our Clay Hunt Fellows Program, Team Rubicon offers leadership development and other opportunities to veterans in our communities.

    Team Rubicon supports policies that:

    • Streamline and recognize military skills following the transition to civilian life
    • Promote opportunities that enable veterans to continue to serve
    • Ensure access to mental health resources for the veteran population
    • Recognize veteran service
  • The climate crisis is directly affecting the work of humanitarian organizations across the country and around the world.

    Team Rubicon will continue to support policies that address mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies to support communities.

    Team Rubicon remains committed to addressing our own impact on the environment and implementing practices to limit those impacts.

  • Service is the driving principle of Team Rubicon, from our Operations to all the individual Greyshirts. Across the United States, the charitable sector generates incredible impact for both communities and economies.

    Team Rubicon believes in and advocates for:

    • Preservation and expansion of policies that support and encourage charitable giving
    • Tax and other incentives at all levels of government that encourage individuals to volunteer their time and contribute money to the missions of charitable nonprofits
    • Creation and expansion of policies that encourage volunteerism
    • National and local policy that allows and/or grants paid volunteering time off

Advocacy in Action

Jake Wood, co-founder of TR, at the White House for the signing of the SAV Act.

Advocacy in Action

Former President Obama thanking TR volunteers for their Hurricane Sandy efforts.

Advocacy in Action

Jill Biden visits with TR Greyshirts in the aftermath of 2023 Maui fires.

Advocacy in Action

Jake Wood and former President Bush pose for the launch of a veterans initiative.

Advocacy on Bills Passed into Law.

  • Team Rubicon worked with legislators to include the streamlining of credentialing for military veterans with medical training to support federal emergency responses. Authorized by Congress in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, this will greatly enhance the ability of veterans to assist their communities during disasters.
  • Team Rubicon supported streamlining the credentialing of military veterans with medical training in response to national emergencies, authorized by Congress in 2022, which greatly enhanced the ability of veterans to assist their communities during disasters.
  • Team Rubicon supported the passage of the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act, authorizing the provision of professional counseling services to victims of declared emergencies, thus contributing to the recovery process of the communities we serve.
  • Team Rubicon advocated for the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, improving health care and related benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, and directly assisting those who continue to form the core of Team Rubicon’s volunteer efforts.
  • Team Rubicon supported the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, named after one of our original members, which created resources for and helped provide mental health care for veterans.

Current Advocacy.

  • Team Rubicon is an active supporter of S.566 (the Charitable Act), legislation that would restore and expand the universal charitable deduction, increasing the amount taxpayers can deduct from their taxes and enabling our supporters to give and live more comfortably.
  • Team Rubicon is supporting S.1528 (the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act), streamlining the application process for federal disaster assistance and reducing the burden on the disaster-struck communities that Team Rubicon serves.
  • Team Rubicon is advocating for passage of S.1858 (the Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act), which will simplify the application process for disaster survivors, reducing confusion and increasing access to critical resources for the disaster-impacted homeowners we serve.
  • Team Rubicon is supporting S.3621/H.R. 6311, the National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security (NCARS) Act. This would create a National Adaptation and Resilience Strategy and Implementation Plan, and establish a Chief Resilience Officer in the White House.