Last week, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advanced the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act of 2025 to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency by a vote of 57-3.
As we reported when the legislation was introduced, key provisions include Public Assistance, Individual Assistance, Mitigation, and Transparency/Accountability.
- Public Assistance (PA)
- Block grants for small disasters defined as up to 125% of the state’s per capita damage threshold)
- Incorporating mitigation measures into funding for repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of public facilities.
- Expedited funding for emergency protective work, including debris removal to no more than 120 days once 90% of the costs are validated.
- Create a temporary task force and process for closing out existing disasters not moved into the new process.
- Provide greater weight and consideration to disasters impacting economically distressed or rural areas.
- Reimbursement of costs to shelter emergency response personnel.
- Standardized closeouts and procurement guidance.
- Individual Assistance (IA):
- Universal application for survivors.
- Plain-language notices.
- Expanded non-congregate sheltering, rental aid, and repair/rebuild options.
- Cover substance abuse under existing crisis counseling assistance.
- Allow for permanent repairs for homes, if it is more cost-effective than a temporary housing solution.
- Prohibits FEMA from issuing denial letters prior to final determinations on available insurance.
- Amount of displacement assistance immediately following a disaster for victims can provide for expenses such as hotel rooms, gas, and food for disaster survivors.
- Mitigation
- Pre-approved projects.
- Support for utility resilience and cybersecurity.
- Expanded revolving loan funds.
- Incentives for modern building code.
- Incentivizes faster power restoration after a disaster by clarifying eligibility to build in mitigation.
- Consolidated grant application for pre-disaster and post-disaster hazard mitigation funding, streamlining the application and review process.
- Transparency & Oversight
- Public dashboards.
- Uniform eligibility/appeals guidance.
- Risk-based audits.
- Prohibit discrimination based on political affiliation in disaster areas.
- Assessment of issues of identity theft and fraud in disaster areas.
- Safe harbor protections for compliant procurement.
The legislation may be considered by the full House. It is not yet clear what path the Senate will take. We will report as developments warrant.
Contact: Paul Penna, Director of Government Affairs, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.