(KLZA)-- Every time a life-threatening storm leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, folks should expect help, no matter where you live or what your politics are. The mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to “help people before, during and after disasters.” Yet, it- become clear that the agency itself is a disaster. We need to reform FEMA and return the agency to its original mission - helping people and communities rebuild after disasters.

Time and again, I hear the same story from state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster victims: the federal process is too slow, complicated, and disconnected from the realities on the ground. Communities trying to rebuild get buried in burdensome paperwork and complex rules, costing them time and money that should be spent on actually rebuilding. That- unacceptable.

That- why I was proud to introduce the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669) this week with my fellow Transportation Committee leaders on both sides of the aisle. The FEMA Act aims to streamline the federal government- disaster response and recovery programs. It also makes FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again that is directly accountable to the President, overseen by its own inspector general.