The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during a Sept. 3 markup session approved bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) that would authorize and improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and reform federal disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
The committee voted 57-3 to advance the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025, H.R. 4669, which Rep. Graves sponsored on July 23 with lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) to streamline the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs while also making FEMA a cabinet-level agency that would be directly accountable to the president.
“The FEMA Act is designed to address one simple fact that we all recognize, especially Americans who have been impacted by disasters: FEMA is not working the way it should for our communities,” said Rep. Graves, chairman of the committee. “This bill makes FEMA directly accountable to the president, replaces the slow and bureaucratic rebuilding process, makes critical reforms to speed up federal processes, makes disaster assistance work better for survivors, demands greater transparency from FEMA, and more.”
Additionally, an enacted H.R. 4669 would reward effective state and local preparedness, protect taxpayers, cut red tape, and ensure that relief efforts are fast, fair, and free from political bias, according to Rep. Graves.
“As natural disasters become more frequent and severe, the FEMA Act of 2025 strengthens the agency and ensures it has the tools to efficiently and effectively serve as a lifeline to disaster-impacted communities,” said Rep. Larsen, the committee’s ranking member.
H.R. 4669 is supported by numerous entities, including the American Coastal Coalition, the American Flood Coalition Action, the American Public Power Association, the Disaster Recovery Coalition of America, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National League of Cities, among many others.
The measure is still being considered by the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee.