Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly created a plan to dismantle critical disaster response, recovery, and resilience operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The reported plan comes after the administration paused $700 million in resiliency funds released by the agency and sought to claw back funds released last year. Media reports indicate that the agency will be “decimated” with the Atlantic Hurricane Season just 6 weeks away.
“DHS’ plan to remove these critical disaster recovery resources and dismantle a central pillar of our disaster recovery framework endanger low-income communities across the country” said NLIHC Interim President and CEO Renee Willis. “For a decade, NLIHC has pushed for comprehensive reform of the country’s disaster recovery system to ensure that all disaster survivors, including those with low incomes, those experiencing homelessness, those living with disabilities, and others, can access the assistance they need to recover. Dismantling FEMA will not make communities safer and will not increase access to disaster recovery resources. It will, however, risk the lives of the households most in need.”
The country’s disaster response and recovery system continue to be broken and in need of comprehensive reform. Low-income communities continue to be the most at risk yet receive the least amount of assistance. Barriers prevent disaster survivors with lower incomes from accessing the assistance they need to recover – leading to the threat of homelessness and permanent displacement. Funding continues to be difficult to access by tribal nations as well as many lower-income and rural communities, hurting their recovery and increasing their risk to future disasters.
However, the dismantling of FEMA or its ability to respond to disasters address none of these issues. FEMA provides crucial assistance to states and communities before, during, and after disasters that they cannot replace on their own. Support from the agency is crucial to the function of state and local emergency management agencies, assisting in disaster response coordination, and assisting communities in rebuilding more resiliently after disasters strike. The expertise and capabilities of the agency save lives every day.
NLIHC facilitates the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) a group of over 900 local, state, and national organizations, that works to ensure federal disaster recovery efforts reach those most impacted by disasters, including households with the lowest incomes and those who are most marginalized.
“The decision to dismantle FEMA places people in danger,” said Willis. “We strongly urge Secretary Noem to instead work with disaster impacted communities and disaster survivors to collaboratively build a better disaster recovery system.”
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