The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released draft bipartisan legislation May 8 to solicit feedback on ways to revamp the Federal Emergency Management Agency without abolishing it altogether. But that step was nearly overshadowed in a week in which the beleaguered agency came under new attack.

Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton was fired shortly after telling a congressional oversight committee May 7 that the agency should continue to exist. A day earlier, Kristi Noem, Secretary of the US Dept. of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is a part, stated that “as it exists today, [the agency] should be eliminated.” reiterating Trump administration policy..

“States will never have the [necessary] amount of money, because the
federal government isn’t going to pass that money to the [them] to be
able to deal with what happens when it comes in,” said an irate Sen. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, In response to Noem’s comments. “I think it’s very clear … that both yourself and the president really want to dismantle the federal government and the agencies that have provided service to the American people for decades.” 

A FEMA spokesperson confirmed that Hamilton was terminated but did not give a reason. His replacement, David Richardson, is described as a former U.S.Marine and Homeland Security official, who has no emergency management experience, according to news reports. 

In his congressional testimony, Hamilton highlighted ways he hoped to revamp the agency, but he also said, “As the senior advisor to the president on disasters and emergency management, and to the secretary of Homeland Security, I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”  

Lawmakers Seek Reform

Despite administration calls to dismantle the agency, lawmakers also seem reluctant to do so. Earlier this year, they expressed frustration with agency inefficiencies but stopped short of abolishing it.  

Shana Udvardy, senior climate resilience policy analyist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the Transportation and Infrastructure committee’s legislative draft demonstrates “strong support for FEMA” to continue as an agency. 

The legislation says FEMA should be removed as part of the larger homeland security department and elevated to be an independent cabinet-level agency, as it was during the Clinton administration. This also would simplify the application processes for federal emrgency aid, streamline permitting requirements and replace the current system for federal reimbursement with project-based grants to give states and local governments more authority to direct how funds are spent. 

“We have clearly seen that FEMA is not working as it should for Americans who’ve been impacted by disasters.” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), draft legislation co-author In a statement. “Congress has passed FEMA reforms over the years, but it simply hasn’t been enough.” But committee ranking member Rick Larsen (R-Wash.), also co-author, described FEMA as the “last line of defense” for many communities. “Republican and Democrats on this committee agree that it is an important agency in need of reform,” he said. 

A committee staffer said the administration has made clear it wants to find a “better way to support states taking the lead on disaster response and management, and we believe the discussion draft legislation helps to do that. So we’re looking forward to seeing the feedback we get.” 

Bipartisan Efforts on the Ground

John Anglis, business development director for Branch Construction in Yancey County, N.C., has been working on emergency response efforts following Hurricane Helene last September, first clearing debris and now rebuilding critical infrastructure and roads, including a $250-million progressive design-build highway project on a 12-mile stretch of Highway 19W.  The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation procured the project, but funds come from the federal government.

“We need the [federal] recovery funds,” he told ENR. “We can’t recover on our own as a county, as a state.”

Although the federal reimbursement process can be “aggravatingly slow,” Anglis noted that he has seen bipartisan collaboration among federal, state and local leaders on the ground following the storm’s devastation. “I know the political atmosphere can be tense, but … I’m pleased to see … a bipartisan effort, to see it through.” 

The Union of Concerned Scientists’ Udvardy noted that it’s unclear whether the administration will follow through on its threats. Despite the rancor of comments from President Donald Trump, Noem and other officials, the administration has set up a FEMA Review Council that includes some members who have significant emergency management experience, she said. The council is chaired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Noem.

“The really frustrating thing for communities and state and local governments is that [the federal dollars are] money that they have been relying on,” she said. “To get a project accepted takes so much effort, time and planning … and then to have a project pulled out from under their feet, it’s just unthinkable.”