‘FEMA Is Stretched Thin’: Scott Perry Demands Reforms To Fix ‘Bureaucratic Labyrinth’ At FEMA

yesterday

During a House Transportation Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) discussed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s need for ‘meaningful reform.’

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Transcript

00:00Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management

00:05will come to order. Chair asks unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized

00:10to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing without objection, so

00:14ordered. Chairman also asks unanimous consent that members not on the

00:19subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at today's hearing and

00:22ask questions without objection, so ordered. As a reminder, if members wish

00:28to insert a document into the record, please also email it to documents ti at

00:33mail dot house dot gov. The chair now recognizes himself for the purpose of an

00:38opening statement for five minutes. I want to thank our witnesses for being

00:42here today to discuss reforming FEMA and how we can bring common sense back to

00:47federal emergency management. After witnessing the federal government's

00:52response to Hurricane Helene last year and the recent Los Angeles wildfires, I

00:57like many Americans were shocked by many of the stories I heard coming from

01:02these communities. I know members of this committee have proposed and Congress has

01:07enacted reform after reform to make FEMA and the federal emergency management

01:13system work better. Despite these efforts, it seems that nothing improves and this

01:20is not meant to be a beatdown of FEMA, but we can't just keep going the way we've

01:25been and expect different outcomes. In fact, the bureau, correction, the

01:32bureaucratic labyrinth seems to have only become more complicated, causing

01:37unnecessary delays when disaster strikes. Taxpayers fund FEMA grant programs for

01:43states and local governments to invest in mitigation, preparedness, and response,

01:48yet many of these programs move too slow, preventing timely and effective action

01:54when it is most direly needed. I mean, for 46 years, individual regions should

02:01have been reducing risk, the impact of emergencies, and the number of emergencies

02:07themselves, and unfortunately the metrics, including the cost and impact, have all

02:12gone in the wrong direction. What we saw in the case of Hurricane Helene is

02:17demonstrative of the fact of that fact. FEMA was ill-prepared to support the

02:24response and recovery in the mountains of North Carolina. In California, we saw

02:28a lack of preparedness by state and local officials, from a lack of water for

02:32firefighting to disorganization on the ground, despite literally billions of

02:37taxpayer dollars going to California for mitigation, preparedness, and firefighting.

02:43On top of all that, there are still over 1,000 open FEMA disaster declarations

02:49dating back to Hurricane Katrina, which is over 20 years ago, and well

02:54over 5,000 open projects. This raises serious questions about the federal

03:00government being the best institution to respond to localized disasters. Federal

03:06disaster assistance was created to support state and local governments when

03:11absolutely necessary, when the resources required exceed the ability of local

03:15agencies to respond. Unfortunately, the result has been to utilize FEMA as the

03:21first responder to every disaster occurring throughout the nation.

03:27This almost absolute reliance on the federal government is dangerous and

03:32costly. FEMA was not designed to be the first responder to disasters.

03:38States and local governments are. They know their communities best. They

03:42understand the risks, what their communities need, the terrain, and how to

03:46navigate it quickly, responding to emergencies. It is critical, therefore,

03:51that state and local governments make disaster preparedness a priority, and

03:56that they budget for it. Let me say that again, and that they budget for it. Have

04:02the right people and training in place and ensure that they have the capacity

04:06and capability to respond. The current system creates a perverse incentive for

04:12states. States are mostly off the hook for meaningfully investing

04:17in their own emergency response and preparedness plans because they know

04:20they can rely on FEMA stepping in every time, even if it is inartful at best.

04:27Meanwhile, FEMA is stretched thin and is so weighed down by self-imposed

04:32bureaucratic requirements that they can't respond effectively when called

04:36upon or even close out a project going back 20 years. FEMA's ability to function

04:42effectively was further undermined as a previous administration pushed its open

04:47border, equity, and climate agenda onto the agency, resulting in

04:52disaster funding being diverted to ridiculous projects like planting trees

04:57to address urban heat islands. It's no wonder that President Trump created the

05:01FEMA Review Council and issued an executive order on state and local

05:05preparedness. I am hopeful that this hearing will provide valuable insight as

05:11TNI is the lead House Committee on FEMA and federal emergency management because

05:17meaningful reform is obviously absolutely urgently needed. With that, I

05:23look forward to hearing from our witnesses on these topics and the chair

05:27now recognizes the Ranking Member Representative Stanton for five minutes

05:31for his opening statement.

‘FEMA Is Stretched Thin’: Scott Perry Demands Reforms To Fix ‘Bureaucratic Labyrinth’ At FEMA

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