A bipartisan group of House members, including the Chair and Ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, are sharing a sweeping draft bill to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The draft will join more than a dozen bills already introduced in the 119th Congress to reform all or parts of FEMA. However, being introduced by the leadership of a Committee with broad jurisdiction over FEMA, this bill becomes the most likely vehicle for FEMA reforms.
The bill is being shared as President Trump has made cuts to FEMA and stated he intends to further shrink or abolish it. Recently, FEMA cancelled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a multibillion-dollar grant program for states to protect against natural disasters. A move that has drawn widespread and bipartisan opposition.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) released their discussion draft entitled The Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025. As a discussion draft – the bill has not been formally introduced – it is intended to solicit feedback from Members of Congress, emergency management stakeholders, and others. In a press release, Graves and Larson stated the legislation would streamline the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs, while also making FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again and directly accountable to the President. The bill also rewards effective state and local preparedness, cuts red tape, and ensures that relief efforts are fast, fair, and free from political bias.
Established in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter in response to the bureaucratic chaos exposed by Hurricane Agnes and the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, FEMA consolidated over 100 programs under a single mission – coherent, coordinated and more effective disaster relief. That mission has evolved over time and, after being absorbed into the newly formed Department of Homeland Security in 2003, FEMA became the main arm of national emergency preparedness.
Among the changes in the draft, FEMA could pay for major repairs to homes damaged in disasters, instead of only temporary repairs. The agency would also be able to penalize states that do not try to mitigate disasters. Other major shifts include removing FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and making it an independent agency reporting directly to the president. Among the stated goals of the draft are:
- Increased State Empowerment: The act aims to shift the focus from a slow, bureaucratic rebuilding process to faster, project-based grants, allowing states to set the pace of recovery and prioritize needs.
- Transparency and Accountability: It calls for a centralized public website to track disaster funding, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of FEMA regulations, and a review of identity theft and disaster fraud risks.
- Faster Recovery: The act proposes reforms to streamline permitting, reduce reliance on costly consultants, and incentivize states to make their own investments in mitigation and insurance.
- Addressing Lingering Disaster Declarations: A Recovery Task Force will be established to close out over 1,000 pending disaster declarations, potentially dating back to Hurricane Katrina.
- Improved Coordination: The act directs FEMA to improve coordination across all federal agencies involved in disaster recovery.
- Focus on Resilience: The act encourages the adoption of consensus-based codes and standards to reduce financial losses and human suffering.
ASCE looks forward to working with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in this effort. ASCE has long supported FEMA’s efforts on resiliency with the goal of building back stronger through an emphasis on adopting up-to-date building codes. We support efforts in Congress to codify disaster mitigation programs and streamline recovery. ASCE believes that effective emergency management relies on the coordinated efforts of local, state, and federal agencies, including FEMA.