The June heat dome broke records. Lawmakers are now trying to classify extreme heat as a disaster

CBS News

3 days ago

There have been 27 major disaster declarations issued by President Trump so far in 2025. The disasters range in size and scope, from the L.A. wildfires to Midwest tornadoes and the Texas flooding as well as several winter storms. Many of them have resulted infatalities and billions of dollars in damage to property and businesses, but one major deadly weather event that occurred in June hasn't been declared: an extreme heat wave.
Between June 20-24, a heat dome, or the presence of high heat over a region that lingers for an extended period of time, exposed nearly half of the country to dangerously high temperatures. On June 24, seven states tied or broke monthly high temperature records, many exceeding triple digits. One of those states, Maryland, reported that 472 people needed medical assistance for heat-related illnesses during that time when the heat index topped 110 degrees in some places. But there's no disaster declaration for the event listed on the FEMA website.
That's because extreme heat is not considered a "disaster" that is eligible for federal funding, according to the Stafford Act, which is the guiding law that outlines when and how the president can declare disasters and direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance to state and local governments.
Now, three Democratic lawmakers are attempting to change that. Senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, along with Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of Texas, have proposed legislation to classify extreme heat as a disaster, which would allow federal funding to flow into areas where hotter temperatures cause significant physical and economic distress.
"Last year, more than 500 people died in one single county in Nevada from heat-related illnesses," Rosen said in a statement. "Current federal policy ignores the physical and health risks that such extremely high temperatures have on our communities, which is why I'm introducing a bill to change that. By classifying extreme heat as a major disaster, our communities will be able to receive the federal funding needed to respond and prepare for future extreme heat events."
It's not the first time Rosen has proposed the legislation. She introduced a similar bill in 2024 that passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee rather quickly, before being blocked by a Senate Republican.
Under the Stafford Act, there are 16 types of natural disasters listed, defined as "any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States which causes, or which may cause, substantial damage or injury to civilian property or persons." It does not explicitly list extreme heat.
In a statement, Gallego said that more Americans are killed by extreme heat than any other form of extreme weather incident combined, according to the National Weather Service. "By adding extreme heat to FEMA's list of major disasters, we can unlock the funds and support our communities desperately need," he added.
According to Rosen's office, declaring extreme heat a major disaster would enable states and local governments to request federal funds that could provide additional cooling centers, air conditioning to communities that need it, money for water infrastructure projects, as well as a mechanism where communities can request money for heat adaptation projects, such as planting more trees, or building shade structures to reduce urban heat.
The bill does not have any Republican co-sponsors and not everyone agrees that adding extreme heat to the Stafford Act is necessary.
"It is already eligible under the Stafford Act," says Deanne Criswell, the former FEMA administrator under President Biden, "There's nothing that excludes a governor from requesting a declaration for extreme heat."
There have been at least three previous times when a governor requested a major disaster declaration for extreme heat: in 1980 by the governor of Missouri; in 1995, when the Illinois governor requested it over a heat wave that killed more than 700 people; and most recently in 2022, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested a major disaster declaration for a heat dome and resulting wildfires. In all instances, the requests were denied at the time by the sitting president.
According to Criswell, the Stafford Act is designed to pay for impacts to infrastructure caused by a natural disaster, but the majority of resources a state might need for extreme heat — like cooling centers, tree shade, and air conditioning — are things that can be addressed ahead of an extreme heat event through existing hazard mitigation grants.
"What damaged infrastructure do you have from an extreme heat situation?" Criswell told CBS News, "You might have power issues, but is it damaged or is it just a temporary situation because of the overload on it?"
While Criswell doesn't see the need for extreme heat to be added to the Stafford Act to qualify for disaster funding, she does believe there needs to be a greater emphasis on supporting hazard mitigation projects and funding, which have been subject to cuts under the Trump administration.
"This administration has not been granting the hazard mitigation grant programing to these disaster declarations," says Criswell. The reasoning behind that, she says, is because much of the mitigation money that was given in previous disaster declarations hasn't been utilized.
The White House has not commented on extreme heat being added as a disaster risk, and President Trump has focused on overhauling FEMA and shifting disaster response and recovery to states.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently concluded a series of public hearings as it debates whether to institute the first federal rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat, which would mandate employers provide paid breaks, water and shade.
The rule has faced criticism from business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which says the rule would "impose unreasonable burdens." Business groups have backed efforts in some Republican-led states, like Florida and Texas, to block local municipalities from passing heat protection rules for workers.
Despite the pushback, seven states — Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota and Maryland — have adopted independent heat protection rules for workers, but significant federal legislation to address extreme heat, both in the workplace and for disaster declarations, remains an uphill battle for Democrats.