§ 5165d. Designation of Small State and Rural Advocate

• (a) The President shall designate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency a Small State and Rural Advocate.
• (b) The Small State and Rural Advocate shall be an advocate for the fair treatment of small States and rural communities in the provision of assistance under this chapter.
• (c) The Small State and Rural Advocate shall—
  • (1) participate in the disaster declaration process under section 5170 of this title and the emergency declaration process under section 5191 of this title , to ensure that the needs of rural communities are being addressed;
  • (2) assist small population States in the preparation of requests for major disaster or emergency declarations;
  • (3) assist States in the collection and presentation of material in the disaster or emergency declaration request relevant to demonstrate severe localized impacts within the State for a specific incident, including—
    • (A) the per capita personal income by local area, as calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis;
    • (B) the disaster impacted population profile, as reported by the Bureau of the Census, including—
      • (i) the percentage of the population for whom poverty status is determined;
      • (ii) the percentage of the population already receiving Government assistance such as Supplemental Security Income and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits;
      • (iii) the pre-disaster unemployment rate;
      • (iv) the percentage of the population that is 65 years old and older;
      • (v) the percentage of the population 18 years old and younger;
      • (vi) the percentage of the population with a disability;
      • (vii) the percentage of the population who speak a language other than English and speak English less than “very well”; and
      • (viii) any unique considerations regarding American Indian and Alaskan Native Tribal populations raised in the State’s request for a major disaster declaration that may not be reflected in the data points referenced in this subparagraph;
    • (C) the impact to community infrastructure, including—
      • (i) disruptions to community life-saving and life-sustaining services;
      • (ii) disruptions or increased demand for essential community services; and
      • (iii) disruptions to transportation, infrastructure, and utilities; and
    • (D) any other information relevant to demonstrate severe local impacts; and
  • (4) conduct such other activities as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers appropriate.