On March 29, 2025 in Weaverville, North Carolina, a sign in front of the Town Hall Weaverville can be seen in the Fema Disaster town hall. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
Washington – A largely cross -party legislation to overhaul and augment the Federal Emergency Management Agency drives towards the US House floor after approval of the legislation.
The transport and infrastructure committee voted on September 3 to September 3 to September 3 for the measure, which would make dozens of changes to the preparation of the federal government for natural disasters and react.
“Fema is the place where the Americans are looking for help after the worst day in their lives. So it is important that the agency react forever,” said the democratic representative of Arizona, Greg Stanton, one of the co-sponsors. “This legislation provides Fema independence and tools that it needs to react to a catastrophe.”
Republican representative Tim Burchett from Tennessee, Eric Burlison from Missouri and Scott Perry from Pennsylvania voted against the reporting on the draft law. Her offices did not respond to inquiries about comments in which they were asked why they spoke out against legislation.
The 207-page measureFormally referred to as fixing emergency management for Americans (Fema) Act from 2025, Fema would remove from the Ministry of Homeland Security and make it an agency at cabinet level.
Legislation would make an application for natural disaster aid by Fema, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration.
There would also be more flexibility to the local and state governments in the decision which types of emergency accommodation best meet the needs of their residents, according to various natural disasters.
Republicans and Democrats in the Committee praised the various changes that would make the measure during a two -hour surcharge that offered an increasingly scarce example of non -partisanity on the capitol Hill.
Donations of charity organizations and Fema
The Republican of North Carolina, David Rouzer, and the Democratic MP of California, Laura Friedman, both spoke to support a provision that has reversed a policy that they said people who received support from charity organizations after a natural disaster.
“Too many families who accept a donation from a charity or take up an SBA loan to keep the lights later find that accepting these essential resources prevents them from receiving others later, for which they would otherwise be considered,” said Rouzer. “This legislation makes it clear that SBA credit and private non -profit donations are not viewed twice for individual support.”
Friedman said she was shocked to find out that the Fema counted non -profit donations against disaster survivors after the forest fires of Los Angeles.
This led her to the non -punishing victim of DEST punished with the Republican Republican of Mississippi, Mike Ezell, who was introduced to the FEMA overhaul calculation.
“I would like to all members of this committee and in particular the chairman (Sam) Graves and Ranking Member (Rick) Larsen for their understanding of the importance of this measure for victims who have seen the charity organization that their churches, for them, counted as income and found by the amount they received from Fema.”
The Democratic Member of Oregon, Val Hoyle, spoke the support of the Fema to a department at the cabinet level and said that she had been stuck in the Department of Homeland Security shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11.
“After it was summarized in the Ministry of Homeland Security, it was buried in layers of the bureaucracy,” said Hoyle. “The extensive mission of DHS cyber security, fighting terrorism, immigration authority, transport security and multi-HAT The FEMA less to act with the needs of speed and catastrophic disasters.”
Hoyle said that legislation to restore the “independence of the Fema” would support to isolate disaster relief from the types of “political pressure” that exist in the entire Ministry of Department.
Allow reform
Despite the largely cross -party support for legislation within the committee, it will probably change in the coming weeks and months.
Bruce Westerman, chairman of the House Natural Resources, and the ranking member Jared Huffman, D-Calif, who both sit in the transport and infrastructure committee, expressed concerns about the elements in feman overhaul during the markup.
WESTERMAN said that he had voted for the legislative template, but expected that the management of the transport and infrastructure committee would work with him in order to consider the permission of “reform problems” that fall under the responsibility of his body.
“There is a provision on the law over endangered species that we have concerns about actually being executable,” said Westerman. “This is also a bit repairable, and we look forward to working with you while we are progressing.”
Huffman said he had concerns about how the FEMA law template overtakes with “environmental examination statutes” that fall under the area of responsibility of the natural resource committee.
“Of course, I share the goal of cutting bureaucracy. We want families affected by disasters to rebuild faster. There are ways to do this to ensure that recovery is sturdy, resistant and sustainable. We are building up again. These are things that are things (national environmental policy).
Potomac river water
The members of the transport and infrastructure committee offered only two changes to the law – one with a language vote and one withdrawn.
The democratic MP from Indiana, André Carson, received a broad support for his change in order to inform Fema about the members of the congress about grants in their districts, a practice that he changed during the Trump government.
“We should not have to prescribe transparency and accountability, but if the FEMA does not provide this information, my change codes the traditional notifications to the congress,” said Carson.
The Democratic Delanor Holmes Norton, which represents the District of Columbia, offered a change and then withdrew a change that Fema “had to submit to the congress to supply emergency water in the country’s main city region during a period of the Potomac River.”
Offering and then offering a change is a common way for members to highlight problems without force a vote.
Norton said that the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the city’s water supply, only have sufficient reserves for one day if something should happen.
“If the Potomac flow becomes unusable, which could happen at any time through artificial or natural events, it would be a considerable risk for the country’s residents, the federal government’s activities, national security and economy,” said Norton.
The congress has partially financed a study to identify a backup drinking water supply and additional water storage devices. But Norton said: “Every solution is removed for years.”
