WASHINGTON, D.C. (WPDE) — Congressmen Tom Rice and Jim Clyburn introduced legislation to revise the standards of eligibility for communities to receive funding after a disaster.

Congressman Rice said it would change that standard from a minimum dollar amount to any zip code where the median household income is less than 75% of the national average.

He said the formulas the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development currently uses discriminate against small counties.

"To make sure disaster recovery is fair and that it is just as available to people who are poor and marginalized, as it is to wealthy people in California and elsewhere," Rice said. 

Every county would be impacted by this new legislation, but Congressman Rice said Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro Counties would especially benefit.

This is the fourth bill Congressman Rice introduced to increase the accountability of disaster relief programs.

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Original source can be found here.