Chairmen Graves, Perry Opening Statements from Hearing with Administrator Criswell on FEMA Disaster Readiness, Response & Recovery

Press Release

"I want to thank our witness, the Honorable Deanne Criswell, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for being here today.

Today, we are focusing on the current state of FEMA's readiness, response, and recovery. FEMA's core mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters.

Unfortunately, FEMA has added layers of bureaucracy and pushed political agendas, which have impacted how it delivers on its core mission. The Biden Administration is pushing an agenda focused on climate change and equity, diverting away from FEMA's core mission.

On August 28th, the Committee was alerted that the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) would move to immediate needs funding (INF) until additional funds are appropriated. Under INF, federal reimbursements to states, territories, and federally recognized tribes for long-term disaster recovery projects are halted.

Instead, the remaining balance in the DRF is reserved for any immediate, life-saving response activities. Committee staff first asked FEMA back in February what it was going to do to avoid the DRF running out of money, since FEMA's own monthly reports indicated the DRF was projected to be depleted by now.

FEMA provided no real solutions or answers.

Despite ongoing inquiries in the weeks and months since, we were not notified of a supplemental request until it was officially submitted to Congress in August, and the request was tied to Ukraine spending.

In the wake of one of the deadliest fires in United States history, a supplemental request for additional disaster funding comes with strings attached to Ukraine. I have overarching concerns about decisions being made that waste taxpayer dollars and reduce our readiness.

We see FEMA's funding request to support domestic disaster response activities tied with Ukraine. We see FEMA, under this administration, significantly expanding its mitigation programs in ways that no longer require projects to demonstrate that they will in fact reduce costs and save lives -- all in the name of equity and climate change. We also see FEMA resources diverted for other purposes, such as the border crisis, despite FEMA reportedly being understaffed.

The Homeland Security Act prohibits 'the diversion of FEMA assets, functions, or mission for the continuing use of any other DHS organization unless such assignments do not reduce the capability of FEMA to perform its missions.'

FEMA clearly has a significant capacity problem, and every diversion of resources undermines its ability to perform core missions -- the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed this capacity issue at a hearing earlier this year. But we know, in response to letters from Chairman Graves of the Full Committee to FEMA, that key FEMA personnel have been diverted by the Secretary to help with the border crisis.

FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program, originally created to help homeless Americans, has now become a migrant program. I know I may disagree with many of my colleagues on the role the federal government should play when it comes to disasters. But, regardless, FEMA should not be used to advance partisan policy objectives, and FEMA resources should not be diverted for other purposes unrelated to its mission.

Ultimately, all of this impacts FEMA's readiness and ability to respond to disasters happening across the country, from the Maui wildfires to Hurricane Idalia, and multiple flooding events. We can debate the role of the federal government, but at the very least, we need to ensure FEMA is focused on its core mission.

I look forward to hearing from you today, Administrator Criswell."

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