The House Transportation and Transportation Committee has published a draft legislation to request comments on the ways of renewing the Federal Emergency Management Agency without abolishing it. The launch of May 8 of the bipartisan legislative language was almost overshadowed by other events in a week when the besieged agency was attacked.
The acting administrator of Fema, Cam Hamilton, was fired shortly after saying -to a Congressional Supervisory Committee on May 7 that the agency should continue to exist. The day before, the Secretary of National Security, Kristi Noem, reiterated Trump’s calls for the agency to be abolished, stating that Fema had “failed the North -American people and that he would have to eliminate today.”
In response to Noem’s comments, a pink delaura irritation (d-con.), A member of the complete commission of appropriations, said: “States will never have the [necessary] Quantity of money, because the Federal Government will not spend this money in the states so that it can deal with what happens when it arrives. I think it is very clear … that both yourself and the President want to dismantle the federal government and the agencies that have served in the North -American people for decades. “”
A FEMA spokesman confirmed that Hamilton was finished but did not give a reason. According to reports, Hamilton’s replacement David Richardson has no experience in emergency management.
In his testimony to the congress, Hamilton emphasized the ways he had been hoping to renew the agency, but also said: “As a leading advisor to the President in Disasters and Emergency Management and the Secretary of National Security, I do not think that it is the interest of the North -American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Legislators seek reform
Although the Trump administration has called for the dismantling of the agency, legislators seem reluctant to do it. Earlier this year, the legislators expressed their frustration with the inefficiencies at the agency, but they stopped calling for their abolition.
Shana Udvardy, an analyst of senior climate resilience policy of the Union of Interested Scientists, says that the legislative project of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee demonstrates “strong support for FEMA” to continue as an agency.
The legislation calls for the removal of DHS and raising it to an independent staff at the cabinet level, as it was during the Administration of Clinton. It would also simplify the application processes, rationalize the permit requirements and replace the current system for federal reimbursement for projects based on projects, giving the state and local governments more authority to direct how the funds are spent.
In a statement, the President of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Sam Graves (R-MO.), Said: “We have clearly seen Fema not work as it should be the Americans who have been affected by the disasters. Congress has approved FEMA reforms over the years, but it has simply not been enough.” But the T&I committee ranking member, Rick Larsen (R-Wash), who co-authored the legislation with Graves, described FEMA as the last line of defense “for many communities. “The Republicans and the Democrats of this Committee agree that it is an important agency that needs reform,” a statement said.
A staff of the T&A Committee said that the administration has made it clear that he wants to find a “better way to support states that take leadership in the response and management of disasters, and we believe that the legislation discussion project helps to make it. So we look forward to seeing the comments we get.”
Bipartisan efforts on the ground
John Anglis, director of business development for branches in Yancey County, has been working on emergency response efforts after Hurricane Helene last September, first erasing debris and now reconstructs critical infrastructure and roads, including a progressive design design project of $ 250 million on a 12 -kilometer section of the 19W. Although the project was purchased by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the funds come from the federal government.
“We need the [federal] Recovery funds, “Anglis told Enr.” We cannot recover on our own as a county, as a state. “
Although the federal reimbursement process may be “slowly aggravating”, Anglis says he has seen bipartisan collaboration among federal, state and local leaders on the ground after the devastation of the storm. “I know the political atmosphere can be tense, but … I’m happy to see … a bipartisan effort, to see.”
The Union of worried scientists, Udvardy, says it is unclear if the administration will follow its threats. Despite Trump’s resentment, Noem and other officials, the Trump administration has created a FEMA review board that includes some members who have an important emergency management experience. The Council is chaired by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth and Noem.
“What is really frustrating for state and local communities and governments is that [the federal dollars are] The money they have trusted, “he says.” To get a project to accept so much effort, it takes so long and plan … and then a project is taken out of your feet, it is only unthinkable. ”
