The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will vote on legislation this week to make the Federal Emergency Management Agency independent.
The bill from Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) is a bipartisan effort to improve the agency as the administration mulls its own changes.
The “Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act,” H.R. 4669, would have FEMA’s leaders report directly to the president. It’s currently under the secretary of Homeland Security.
The legislation includes language to streamline aid delivery and project permitting. It would give states more power while also pushing them to take a greater role in disaster preparedness. The bill would create a FEMA-focused inspector general, as well.
