Reforming FEMA

Every time a life-threatening storm leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, folks should expect help, no matter where you live or what your politics are. The mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to “help people before, during and after disasters.” Yet, it’s become clear that the agency itself is a disaster. We need to reform FEMA and return the agency to its original mission - helping people and communities rebuild after disasters.

Time and again, I hear the same story from state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster victims: the federal process is too slow, complicated, and disconnected from the realities on the ground. Communities trying to rebuild get buried in burdensome paperwork and complex rules, costing them time and money that should be spent on actually rebuilding. That’s unacceptable.

That’s why I was proud to introduce the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669) this week with my fellow Transportation Committee leaders on both sides of the aisle. The FEMA Act aims to streamline the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs. It also makes FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again that is directly accountable to the President, overseen by its own inspector general.

The bill rewards effective state and local preparedness, replaces the slow and bureaucratic rebuilding process with faster, project-based grants, reduces communities’ dependence on costly consultants, and prioritizes the highest need projects, without having to take out expensive loans or wait years for reimbursement.

It also protects disaster survivors. They should be able to complete a single, streamlined application when applying for assistance. Likewise, FEMA must provide clear, understandable notices to disaster survivors. Less red tape means quicker assistance for disaster victims.

Finally, the FEMA Act of 2025 strictly prohibits any political discrimination in providing disaster recovery assistance. That may seem like common sense, but in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton last year, it quickly became apparent that FEMA was avoiding certain homes because of political beliefs. That’s wrong. Everyone affected by a disaster deserves to be helped, and we must ensure that discrimination doesn’t happen again.

It's long past time to fix FEMA. While we’ve made several important reforms, we’ve been reminded countless times over the last few years that they haven’t gotten better. It’s time to get FEMA back to their core mission and help the folks who desperately need it in the midst of a disaster. That’s exactly what the FEMA Act of 2025 is designed to do.

Sincerely,

Sam Graves