As the recent crisis in Los Angles demonstrates, disaster preparedness and recovery are more salient issues than ever, and they are also more politicized. On January 30, 2025, Congressman Jason Crow (CO-6) joined Center for Community Safety and Resilience (CCSR) and CU Denver’s School of Public Affairs to discuss the unprecedented level of politicization regarding disaster relief funding in Congress. 

Politics and disasters often go hand-in-hand in the U.S. and there is substantial research to suggest that, because American presidents have vast authority under the Stafford Act that governs disaster response, they are more likely to approve disaster declarations for states run by a governor from the same party, for ‘politically important’ states, and for states that have congressional members on FEMA oversight committees. Some estimates say that over half of disaster spending in the U.S. is politically motivated rather than based on need.

The January Thrive Community Conversation on Justice & Resilience focused on several points, including that: (a) disasters have often been political, (b) the climate is changing and humans are building more and more expensive things – and our risks are increasing, and (c) American politics is more conflictual and divided than we’ve observed in generations. With this context in mind, Congressman Crow discussed prospects of working in a bipartisan manner in the 119^th Congress and efforts to ensure that Colorado communities are supported in the event of disaster. He told the audience of CU Denver community members and the public that he has hope for cooperation in disaster relief, but that the state of partisanship is staggering currently. He pointed out that disasters do not select victims based on politics and that this is one area where Congress should always be able to cooperate.  

The Congressman also spoke about research done in the School of Public Affairs by Dr. Deserai Anderson Crow, and funded by the National Science Foundation, focused on recovery from Colorado’s 2013 floods that led to his CLEAR Act. The CLEAR Act would support states in building offices similar to the Colorado Resiliency Office that support local governments in identifying risks they face, understanding their level of resilience, and working to become less vulnerable to disasters in the future. He argued that the federal government could play a powerful role in assisting local governments in such important work. 

For more information about the Thrive Series events and other upcoming events, please visit the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs website.

Images taken by Dee Dee Flynn, Events & Outreach Senior Professional at the University of Colorado Denver

The Center for Community Safety and Resilience (CCSR) at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs envisions thriving individuals and families in safe and supportive communities. CCSR advances that vision through research-based evidence and practice toward individual and community safety, resilience, and justice.

• CCSR is dedicated to effective programs, practitioner and community education, and public policy advocacy and analysis.
• CCSR broadens and deepens work on interpersonal violence to advance social justice, increase public safety, eliminate individual and societal violence, and strengthen community resilience. We:
• Bring diverse, intersectional, and intersectoral issues front, center, and woven throughout.
• Focus on social determinants of health and community determinants of violence.
• Examine individual and community resiliency to violence, trauma, and crisis.
  

Thrive Series: Community Conversations in Justice and Resilience: What Does it Mean to Thrive?