Illinois Congressman Mike Bost says he’s fighting to fix FEMA’s formula for natural disasters to get more payouts based off region, not state population. 

He says the current formula puts rural communities in states with large population centers at a disadvantage when seeking assistance. Bost points to a tornado that hit Crawford County earlier this year that devastated that community.

Bost’s legislation would require FEMA to consider factors such as the local accessible tax base and local sales tax, the median income, and the poverty rate. It would also require states to provide a 10 percent, non-federal cost share for public assistance.