The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, commonly known as the Stafford Act,[1] is a 1988 United States federal law designed to bring an orderly and systematic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.

As defined by Title I, an emergency is "any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States A major disaster is defined as any natural catastrophe, fire, flood, or explosion, determined by the president to warrant the additional resources of the federal government to alleviate damages or suffering they cause".

Under this title, the President can establish a program to provide financial assistance to states through the National Predisaster Mitigation Fund.

States can then develop a mitigation plan that can lessen the impact of a disaster on the public health, infrastructure, and economy of the community.

Other members of the task force include relevant federal agencies, state and local organizations, and the American Red Cross.

[2] Title III, Section 302 explains that upon the declaration of a major disaster or emergency, the President must appoint a federal coordinating officer to help in the affected area.

These regulations include provisions for ensuring that the distribution of supplies, processing of applications, and other relief activities are accomplished in the fair and impartial way without discrimination on the grounds of color, race, nationality, sex, religion, age, disability, economic status, or English proficiency.

[2] It also explains that no geographic areas can be precluded from federal assistance by any type of scale based on income or population.

[2] The President has the ability to contribute up to 75 percent of the cost of any state or local hazard mitigation effort that is deemed as cost-effective and substantially reducing the risk of a major disaster.

Emergency work is defined as "clearance and removal of debris and wreckage and temporary restoration of essential public facilities and services".

[2] The federal government will not have the authority to impede the access of an essential service provider to an area impacted by a major disaster.

The President may also provide temporary housing units directly to the displaced citizens affected by a major disaster.

To do this, the Governor must begin execution of the state's emergency plan and detail the types and amount of federal aid that will be required.

The President can direct any federal agency to use its resources to aid the state or local government in emergency assistance efforts.

[2] Total assistance under this Act for one emergency is to be limited to no more than $5 million, except when the President determines additional funds are needed.

After a hazard has occurred, governments must provide services such as fire fighting, rescue, emergency medical, health and sanitation.

An emergency preparedness plan must also make available to the director of FEMA and the Comptroller General any records, books, or papers necessary to conduct an audit.

Every federal employee of FEMA acting under the authority of Title VI, except those in the United Kingdom or Canada, must complete a loyalty oath as follows: "I______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.

[2] Any donation, bequest, or gift received under the subsection is to be deposited into a separate fund on the books of the United States Department of the Treasury.

The Institute for Southern Studies has stated that the Act needs to give greater latitude to FEMA on how it responds to disasters that are extraordinarily devastating such as Hurricane Katrina.

[11] This is especially true for FEMA's ability to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to states and localities suffering after such a disaster.

The Institute for Southern Studies has also noted the red tape that has been associated with the Stafford Act in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

Including the provision in the Stafford Act that requires buildings that are destroyed to be rebuilt the same way that they were standing before the disaster occurred.

Other criticisms of the Stafford Act focus on human rights issues that are present during emergencies and recovery efforts.

The Stafford Act does not require that the federal government ensure displaced persons have the ability to participate in governmental decisions that affect the recovery efforts.

[13] This includes not only access to public forums about recovery planning and management, but the Stafford Act also does not address voting rights or civic participation issues for those who are displaced during a disaster.

[13] While the Stafford Act gives instructions about the needs of the disabled and animals during an emergency, it does not specify any requirements for children or the elderly.

[14] The bill passed the House by a large margin, but was criticized by opponents for using taxpayer money to help tax-exempt organizations and for violating the principle of separation of church and state.

In 2015, the Stafford Act was used in an episode of House of Cards as a way for President Frank Underwood to fund his signature jobs program, AmericaWorks.

Under Title V of the Act, the president may make an emergency declaration on behalf of an area that is under Federal jurisdiction, which includes Washington, DC.