A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including making it a Cabinet-level agency once again.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves, R-Mo., was joined by three other House reps in introducing H.R. 4669, the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025.
Reps. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.; Daniel Webster, R-Fla.; and Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., are also sponsoring the bill, which would designate FEMA as an agency that reports directly to the president, as it did from 1996 until 2003, when it was moved under the Department of Homeland Security.
The legislation comes at a time when President Donald Trump is mulling whether to abolish the agency entirely, leaving disaster funding to the states.
"The American people need an emergency management system that works quickly and effectively, not one that makes disaster recovery more difficult," Graves said in a statement. "FEMA is in need of serious reform, and the goal of the 'FEMA Act of 2025' is to fix it."
The bill does put states in control of aspects of disaster recovery with project-based grants, and it provides incentives for states to invest in "mitigation, robust state rainy day funds, and private insurance policies."
The bill also provides for a "single, streamlined application," a move designed to cut down on red tape.
"This bill does more than any recent reforms to cut through the bureaucracy, streamline programs, provide flexibility, and return FEMA to its core purpose of empowering the states to lead and coordinating the federal response when it's needed," Graves' statement read.
Also, the bill "strictly prohibits any political discrimination in providing disaster recovery assistance."
"By streamlining FEMA and cutting red tape, we ensure that federal disaster response is faster, more efficient, and accountable to the American people," Webster said in the statement.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.