NLIHC-Endorsed Bill to Overhaul FEMA Passes House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

By Noah Patton, NLIHC Director of Disaster Recovery 

The “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025” (H.R. 4669) was passed by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on September 3 by a vote of 57-3. The bill would reorganize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an independent agency outside of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and institute around a dozen significant reforms to disaster programs recommended by NLIHC and its Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) of more than 900 local, state, and national organizations.  

The legislation was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), former Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee lead Republican Daniel Webster (R-FL); and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member Greg Stanton (D-AZ) and was endorsed by NLIHC. The passage of this bill to the House floor is the most recent culmination of significant advocacy work by members of the DHRC around this bill.  

The bill includes over a half-dozen major policy objectives for the DHRC, including language that:  

• Restores FEMA as an independent agency reporting directly to the president as a cabinet-level agency;
• Makes it easier for individuals without a fixed address, like individuals experiencing homelessness, to access post-disaster housing assistance;
• Lengthens the amount of time FEMA can assist disaster-impacted households;
• Creates a unified assistance application for all federal disaster assistance programs;
• Directs FEMA to create clear and understandable notices regarding program eligibility; and
• Removes penalties for disaster survivors who utilize crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe for disaster expenses.   

Ahead of the vote, NLIHC released a letter from President and CEO Renee M. Willis to Committee members in support of the bill. “In the past, disaster survivors have often been prevented from accessing lifesaving assistance due to bureaucratic hurdles” reads a portion of the letter. “Without this assistance, they face higher housing costs, displacement from their communities, and, at worst, homelessness. Removing these barriers via the ‘FEMA Act of 2025’ would help ensure that disaster survivors can fully recover while remaining in their homes and their communities.” 

“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 Chairman Graves in a press release announcing the bill. “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.” 

“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—like those in my district hit by the 2024 Bomb Cyclone,” said Ranking Member Larsen (D-WA) in the same release. “Thank you to Chairman Graves for partnering on this important bill to reform FEMA. I hope this legislation moves quickly to the House floor for a vote.” 

NLIHC staff and DHRC members will continue to engage with congressional offices as the bill progresses. 

You can read the press release announcing the bill’s passage here.  

You can read the text of the bill here.  

You can find out more about NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition here.