Take Action: Tell Congress FEMA Funds are not a Political Bargaining Chip
Feb 09, 2026
By Noah Patton, NLIHC Director of Disaster Recovery
On February 3, the fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bills were signed into law. While agencies ranging from HUD to the Department of Energy received funds, Congress only provided a two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), allowing lawmakers more time to negotiate the DHS bill’s funding and provisions given the actions of DHS sub-agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in Minneapolis, Maine, and communities across the country.
The DHS appropriations bill funds the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster response and recovery, which has been part of DHS since 2003. NLIHC has strongly condemned ICE and CBP for their recent use of deadly force in vulnerable and marginalized communities across the country.
Some members of Congress have argued that DHS funding shouldn’t be halted because of the impact it would have on FEMA. However, arguments that the FY26 DHS bill must be funded to secure FEMA resources are unfounded. FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) currently holds an estimated $9 billion, sufficient to cover near-term disaster-related obligations.
A DHS spending bill is also not the only way that FEMA can get funds from Congress. Congress can pass funding for FEMA separately from DHS through a disaster supplemental spending bill that would let Congress top off FEMA’s funding while also approving critically needed HUD long-term recovery funds for places like Los Angeles, Alaska, and other areas impacted by disasters last year.
This situation reiterates why the agency should be separated from DHS and re-established as an independent agency—as it was prior to 2003. Congress must pass the bipartisan “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025” (H.R.4669). This bill would restore FEMA as an independent agency and implement a host of improvements that will allow the agency to respond faster, fairer, and with increased flexibility and efficiency to the needs of all disaster survivors across the country.
By tomorrow, February 10, NLIHC encourages organizations to sign onto the Extreme Weather Survivors Action Fund letter telling Congress FEMA funds are not a political bargaining chip.
Advocates can also visit NLIHC’s Take Action Center to contact members of Congress to tell them that FEMA funds shouldn’t be used to justify continued ICE and CBP actions.