Press Releases
Webster and Transportation Committee Leaders Introduce Legislation to Dramatically Reform FEMA
July 24, 2025
Washington, D.C. — Florida Congressman Daniel Webster, R-Clermont, along with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member Greg Stanton (D-AZ), introduced the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025. The FEMA Act would provide the most robust legislative reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and federal disaster assistance programs in decades.
The FEMA Act streamlines the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs while also making FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again that is directly accountable to the President. The bill rewards effective state and local preparedness, protects taxpayers, cuts red tape, and ensures that relief efforts are fast, fair, and free from political bias.
“As a Floridian, I know firsthand the damage that hurricanes and natural disasters bring, and how important effective preparation, response and relief is when tragedy strikes,” said Rep. Webster. “Florida has set the gold standard for disaster mitigation and emergency response, and this legislation builds on that success at the national level. By streamlining FEMA and cutting red tape, we ensure that federal disaster response is faster, more efficient, and accountable to the American people.”
“The American people need an emergency management system that works quickly and effectively, not one that makes disaster recovery more difficult,” said Chairman Graves. “But time and time again, we’ve heard the same story from state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster victims: the federal process is too slow, complicated, and disconnected from the realities on the ground. Communities trying to rebuild are forced to navigate a maze of complicated rules, conflicting timelines, and mountains of burdensome paperwork. FEMA is in need of serious reform, and the goal of the FEMA Act of 2025 is to fix it. 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.”
“Billion-dollar disasters—like the devastating 2021 flooding in Skagit and Whatcom counties – threaten the safety and livelihood of communities in Washington and across America as the severity of disasters increase,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “This bipartisan bill will make FEMA stronger and more efficient, giving it the tools it needs to provide relief to disaster-impacted communities like those in my district hit by the 2024 Bomb Cyclone. Thank you to my counterpart, Chairman Sam Graves, for partnering on this bipartisan solution.”
“FEMA’s mission is to help Americans in their darkest hour. The agency isn’t perfect, and its job is getting harder as disasters grow more frequent and more severe. But the solution is not to tear FEMA down – it’s to work across the aisle to build FEMA up,” said Ranking Member Stanton. “This bipartisan bill takes common-sense steps to streamline the agency and make sure communities get disaster assistance quickly, efficiently and fairly.”
Key Highlights of the FEMA Act of 2025
The FEMA Act streamlines the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs while also making FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again that is directly accountable to the President. The bill rewards effective state and local preparedness, protects taxpayers, cuts red tape, and ensures that relief efforts are fast, fair, and free from political bias.
“As a Floridian, I know firsthand the damage that hurricanes and natural disasters bring, and how important effective preparation, response and relief is when tragedy strikes,” said Rep. Webster. “Florida has set the gold standard for disaster mitigation and emergency response, and this legislation builds on that success at the national level. By streamlining FEMA and cutting red tape, we ensure that federal disaster response is faster, more efficient, and accountable to the American people.”
“The American people need an emergency management system that works quickly and effectively, not one that makes disaster recovery more difficult,” said Chairman Graves. “But time and time again, we’ve heard the same story from state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster victims: the federal process is too slow, complicated, and disconnected from the realities on the ground. Communities trying to rebuild are forced to navigate a maze of complicated rules, conflicting timelines, and mountains of burdensome paperwork. FEMA is in need of serious reform, and the goal of the FEMA Act of 2025 is to fix it. 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.”
“Billion-dollar disasters—like the devastating 2021 flooding in Skagit and Whatcom counties – threaten the safety and livelihood of communities in Washington and across America as the severity of disasters increase,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “This bipartisan bill will make FEMA stronger and more efficient, giving it the tools it needs to provide relief to disaster-impacted communities like those in my district hit by the 2024 Bomb Cyclone. Thank you to my counterpart, Chairman Sam Graves, for partnering on this bipartisan solution.”
“FEMA’s mission is to help Americans in their darkest hour. The agency isn’t perfect, and its job is getting harder as disasters grow more frequent and more severe. But the solution is not to tear FEMA down – it’s to work across the aisle to build FEMA up,” said Ranking Member Stanton. “This bipartisan bill takes common-sense steps to streamline the agency and make sure communities get disaster assistance quickly, efficiently and fairly.”
Key Highlights of the FEMA Act of 2025
- The FEMA Act of 2025 restores FEMA’s original status as an independent agency, reporting directly to the President and overseen by its own inspector general.
- Streamlines permitting, assessments, and aid processes to cut red tape and speed relief.
- Implements commonsense changes to help disaster aid work better for survivors, while saving taxpayer dollars.
- Prevents the politicization of disaster aid and increases transparency and accountability from FEMA.
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