Statement: Congress should pass “FEMA” Act As Soon As Possible

WASHINGTON, DC–CCAN Action Fund is joining leading advocacy organizations, state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster response organizations in supporting the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act, or “FEMA” Act of 2025. As the Trump Administration consistently advocates for FEMA’s dissolution, and as the Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council considers ways to reform the agency, CCAN Action Fund applauds this bipartisan effort to improve federal emergency response and reject calls to relinquish responsibility for robust disaster response. 

The bill, which was introduced in July 2025 by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is strongly bipartisan and addresses several challenges that disaster survivors consistently experience as they endeavor to rebuild. It  would introduce several reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including: 

• Restoring FEMA as a cabinet-level agency that reports directly to the president; 
• Creating a singular disaster assistance application; 
• Ensuring that disaster survivors can easily access assistance, including those without a fixed or permanent address; 
• Preventing political discrimination in the allocation of disaster aid; 
• Incentivizing state and local investments in resilient infrastructure projects. 

Gabrielle Walton, Federal Campaigns Coordinator for CCAN Action Fund, applauded the FEMA Act of 2025:

“This bill is a major step in the right direction to ensure that federal disaster response quickly and comprehensively meets the needs of disaster-affected communities. By restoring FEMA as a cabinet level agency, instituting a unified and easy-to-use disaster aid application, encouraging resilient infrastructure, and expanding FEMA’s authority to address survivors’ housing needs, this legislation will modernize FEMA to better respond to the worsening severity and scale of disasters due to the climate crisis. We strongly urge Congress to pass this legislation, and for the FEMA Review Council to support it.”

# # #

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund is dedicated to driving change in public policies at the local, state, and national levels to address the climate crisis. Through voter education, lobbying, and participation in the electoral process, we seek to advance our country’s leadership in the global movement toward clean energy solutions, focusing our efforts primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. We know that a vibrant democracy is central to our success, so we work to defend democratic integrity wherever we can.