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 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.
The country’s disaster response and recovery system continues to be broken and needs major comprehensive reform. Low-income communities continue to be the most at risk yet receive the least amount of assistance. However, dismantling FEMA or its ability to respond to disasters addresses none of these issues. FEMA still provides crucial aid to states and communities before, during, and after disasters. 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 disaster strikes. The expertise and capabilities of the agency save lives every day, and its dismantling directly places people in danger.
Take Action
While a plan exists to dismantle FEMA, it hasn’t happened yet. We urge disaster recovery advocates to contact their members of Congress—across the political spectrum—with a focused push to engage Republican senators and representatives.
Contact your members of Congress and tell them that dismantling FEMA won’t fix disaster recovery but prevent your community from responding and recovering from disasters.
A state-by-state list of response and recovery funding provided by FEMA between 2003 and 2025 is available here.