As I said, #HurricaneIan efforts will get political fast, the familiar politics of destruction. But this is inartfully phrased by VP and should be clarified. It does not reflect the law, nor important achievements by the Biden WH for fairer distribution of disaster relief. 1/ 
The law, the Stafford Act, is clear. Section 308, 42 USC 5151 below. The last phrase, "economic status," has always been interpreted as a prohibition on means testing for assistance. Assistance is based on level of uninsured loss -- not race, gender or socioeconomic status. 2/
One can disagree, but it is the law and it has precedent, policy and practice supporting it. It will confuse things in the field to suggest standards are changing midstream. But, before you pounce on me, the VP was reflecting (inartfully) an important shift led by Biden WH. 3/
The WH is advancing equity in ways that make relief distribution more fair. For example, they've started to accept new forms of documentation to prove ownership, occupancy. It is not a mere technical fix. This shift has been particularly important in heirs property situations 4/
which tend to be more common in underserved communities. They've also stopped automatically denying assistance when automated checks show that the person registering for relief doesn't own or occupy the home. The past practice had hurt underserved communities, 5/
who tend to be more mobile or with less static living situations. Basically, Biden and FEMA have moved away from a formalized system that was unfair. They try to meet people where they are. These changes had been pushed for years by those in and outside government. 6/
I'm not going to bash the VP or amplify the faux outrage against her. Her statements were, again, not precise but did reflect a significant change that has helped communities be met, by government, where they are. 7/7
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