FEMA Act of 2025

Today FEMA repair money is tied to a home being unlivable. The bill changes that test to damaged by a major disaster. Partly damaged homes could then qualify.

FEMA could pay for the least repairs a home needs to be safe. Survivors could then stay put instead of leaving. Congress must fund it, and FEMA has two years to write rules.

Rental and other housing help now runs 18 months. That would stretch to 24 months after the disaster is declared.

FEMA already pays for a place to stay when your home is hit. It would have to count local rent hikes that follow the storm.

Non-congregate shelter means a hotel room, not a gym floor. FEMA could not ask for a card on file or a deposit.

People with no set address are often turned away for lack of proof. Shelter records or a sworn statement would be enough.

Displacement help pays for food, water, first aid, baby formula, fuel, and a hotel. Your insurance would not be counted against it.

Say a home is a total loss. If direct repair would cost more than a new home, the President could pay to replace it. If not, Congress must be told why.

FEMA would build one form and one system behind it. It would cover FEMA aid, housing help, farm aid, and small business disaster loans.

A new pilot would give owners grants to make homes stronger. It covers house raising, floodproofing, safe rooms, quake and wildfire work, and new roofs. States must favor people who show need.

FEMA's crisis counseling pays for free counseling after a disaster. It would now cover drug and alcohol problems the disaster caused or made worse.

Moving FEMA out of Homeland Security shifts thousands of federal jobs. For one year after the move, no worker could be cut or dropped in grade or pay because of it.

FEMA could repay a state, tribe, or city for housing police, firefighters, medics, and emergency staff whose own homes were hit. Their families count too. The limit is six months after the disaster ends.

Disaster law already bars aid choices based on race, religion, sex, age, disability, and money. Which party you back would be added to that list.

FEMA would keep applicants' personal and money details in one system. It would share them with housing, farm, and small business agencies. State grant offices could see them too. The law says this is not a computer matching program, so those extra privacy checks would not apply.

A power company gets federal money to turn the lights back on. It could do storm-proofing at the same time. Taking that money would not block it from other hazard grants.

Nonprofit hospitals, utilities, and like facilities would get the same time limits on FEMA asking for money back. State and local governments already have them.

A state could sign a five-year deal to run FEMA's reviews for disaster projects. The state agrees it can be sued in federal court over that work. FEMA's watchdog audits it each year.

Fixing or replacing a damaged building on the same spot would not count as a major federal action. That is the trigger for a full study under national environment law. Historic building rules could also be waived.

Rebuilds in place would skip the endangered species check. That check asks whether a federal project would harm listed animals and plants. Where it still applies, it would be on a fast track.

Rebuilds that skip the species check would also skip three more laws. They cover migratory birds, wild and scenic rivers, and fish and wildlife.

FEMA would get its own watchdog office, led by a Senate-confirmed appointee. That job now sits with the Homeland Security watchdog.

Within 90 days of each major disaster, FEMA would post a public tool. It would show how many people applied and how many were approved or denied. It would rank the top reasons for denial. Dollars would be split by income and by owners versus renters.

Every agency that hands out disaster money would report each quarter. The reports go to a public federal website. Each project is listed with a description, status, and ZIP code.

A governor or tribal leader asks for a disaster declaration. The President would have to give written reasons for saying yes or no. Rush requests are exempt.

FEMA approves a rebuild cost estimate. After that, no court or agency case could be brought to get the money back. The one exception is proof of criminal fraud.

At least 30 outside experts would review state projects for early approval. Federal advisory panel rules would not apply to them. Those rules call for open meetings and public records.

Some disaster projects need a full environment study. Public comment on the draft would run 45 to 60 days. More time needs agency and state consent, or good cause.

Section 406 is the current program that pays to fix public buildings, roads, and utilities. New requests stop 180 days after the law passes. Most of the program ends December 31, 2032. A new grant program takes over.

The home retrofit pilot would start within a year. It shuts down on September 30, 2028. Congress would have to act again to keep it.

After a disaster is declared, FEMA could set aside the rules that limit new paperwork demands. FEMA must post why. The GAO reports on the risks within a year.

An owner of a stormwater pump station fights a flood by pumping or cutting a levee. FEMA would have to pay standard equipment rates. It applies whether the pumps are fixed or temporary. That settles a narrow billing fight for one kind of facility.