House Homeland Security subcommittee examines FEMA’s expanding role, recent staff cuts and frozen grants

The House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology convened a hearing to review the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mission, staffing and grant administration, chair and witnesses said.

Chairman Strong said the hearing’s purpose was “to assess the current role of FEMA, including FEMA’s expanding mission set, FEMA stewardship of taxpayer dollars and its coordination with the state and local governments in disaster recovery response.” He and several panelists pointed to recent disasters and administrative changes as the impetus for a comprehensive review.

Why it matters: FEMA coordinates federal disaster assistance, administers preparedness and mitigation grants, and supports state and local recovery. Witnesses and members warned that staffing departures and paused grant funding could slow recovery work, stretch remaining personnel and reduce preparedness capacity ahead of future disasters.

State and local perspective Jeff Smitherman, director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, told the subcommittee that “disaster preparedness, response and recovery for all incidents start and end at the local level” and urged the review council to include a state emergency management director. Smitherman said Alabama has tested a state-managed disaster pilot and argued that, with better resourcing and streamlined processes, many incidents could be handled at the state level while reserving FEMA for catastrophic events.

Smitherman recommended redirecting portions of existing mitigation funding, notably the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, to help states and local jurisdictions build capacity. He also emphasized use of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) for state-to-state mutual aid.

Focus on resilience and grants Dan Kaniewski, managing director for public sector at Marsh McLennan and a former senior FEMA official, framed FEMA’s role as a national risk manager and urged stronger pre-disaster mitigation and insurance strategies. “Resilience must be our collective North Star,” Kaniewski said, recommending that FEMA incentivize mitigation investments and close insurance gaps so risks shift from disaster survivors and the federal balance sheet.

Carrie Speranza, president of the U.S. Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers, urged sustaining FEMA preparedness and hazard mitigation programs because they establish national standards and enable mutual aid. She suggested Congress amend the Stafford Act to modernize FEMA’s legal framework and to require a clearer federal-to-local recovery exit strategy that transitions leadership and funds back to jurisdictions.

Workforce and organizational concerns Timothy Manning, former deputy administrator at FEMA, said FEMA’s workforce is the agency’s “strongest asset” and warned that recent dismissals and departures have had a “dramatic chilling effect” on morale and operational capacity. Manning said cuts and policy changes that remove experienced personnel will slow decision-making and impair preparedness and response.

Members raised several structural and policy options. Some witnesses and members discussed whether FEMA should remain within the Department of Homeland Security or be moved to an independent agency, and whether certain grant and reimbursement functions should be block-granted to states. Chairman Strong and others cited a presidential executive order convening a FEMA Review Council as the current mechanism for evaluating such reforms.

Allegations, audits and funding status Lawmakers referenced a U.S. Government Accountability Office report that, they said, found at least $4.8 million approved for duplicate or ineligible applicants under FEMA’s COVID-19 funeral assistance program. Members also raised reports that the administration paused or manually reviewed multiple FEMA grant awards despite court orders to release some funds; panelists said some grant notices had been rewritten and that states have seen delays in reviews though not widespread missed payments in the Alabama example.

Territories, logistics and specialized proposals Members from Puerto Rico and Guam described persistent recovery challenges and logistical constraints for noncontinental U.S. jurisdictions, including longer transport times and Jones Act considerations. Ranking Member Kennedy of New York urged changes to snow assistance policy and described the Snow Act, legislation he has introduced, as a means to expand assistance for severe winter events by removing an outdated snowfall methodology and adjusting federal cost shares in certain areas.

What was not decided The hearing produced no formal votes or enacted changes; it was an information-gathering session to inform the president’s FEMA Review Council and future legislative action. Witnesses and members asked for further study and for Congress to consider statutory amendments, including potential Stafford Act revisions and grant administration reforms.

Ending note Members left the record open for 10 days for additional questions and evidence. Several lawmakers called for bipartisan reforms to improve speed, clarity and fiscal controls in disaster declarations, grant administration and recovery, while repeatedly emphasizing that states and localities remain central to response and recovery.