▶ 0:21:15Morning everybody. The subcommittee on economic development, public buildings, and emergency management will come to order. The chair asks unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing without objection. So ordered. Chair also asks unanimous consent that members not on the subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at today's hearing and ask questions without objection. So ordered.
▶ 0:21:41As a reminder, if members wish to insert a document into the record, please also email it to documents timail.house.gov. With that in mind, the chair ask unanimous consent to enter into the record letters from NAMK and the Western Governor's Association without objection. So ordered. The chair now recognizes himself for the purposes of an opening statement for five minutes. I begin by thanking our witness, Mr.
▶ 0:22:10Richardson for being here today to discuss fixing the emergency management system and improving the federal emergency management agencies or FEMA's disaster response. Earlier this month, devastating flash floods hit Texas, causing a death toll of more than 130 people, including children, from a summer camp. The Coast Guard, FEMA, and other federal agencies assisted Texas in the search, rescue, and response.
▶ 0:22:39President Trump issued a major disaster declaration opening further federal assistance for disaster victims and to assist in the recovery. My condolences and prayers go to the people who have lost loved ones and to all affected by this disaster. It is unimaginable to those of us who have stood by and watched it. So far in 2025, there have been 20 disasters resulting in major disaster declarations across 10 states.
▶ 0:23:08This does not account for emergency declarations and all the open disasters still on the books going all the way back to Hurricane Katrina in I've said this before. I question the increasing role of the federal government in disasters. But when the federal government responds, it helps no one if assistance is slow, bureaucratic, and cumbersome.
▶ 0:23:35States should be the lead in preparing for, mitigating against, and responding to disasters. When the federal government does provide assistance, it should be fast, agile, and targeted in a way that's most effective. What I believe we can all agree on is this. 20 years from now, in 2044, 2045, we do not want to see congressional hearings asking why disasters that happened in 25 2025 are still open.
▶ 0:24:03The longer it takes for communities to rebuild, no matter who's paying, the higher the costs and the more vulnerable those communities are to additional harm from other hazards. Over the years, Congress has passed reform after reform trying to fix FEMA and get federal disaster response to work effectively. Quite honestly, little seems to work or have been effective. Congress passes something intended to fix disaster response, but bureaucrats continue to complicate the law with added regulations.
▶ 0:24:33This makes the implementation and and process more confusing. At times, it seems the process actually gets worse, not better. The process becomes even more unclear when you add in the numerous federal agencies that are now involved in disaster. The whole point of FEMA was to carry out the president's authority in disasters and manage the entire federal government response.
▶ 0:24:56However, we seem to have gotten away from that and we have many agencies often with conflicting requirements and rules involved showing the process slowing the process even more. Today, I hope we can touch on not just what is happening in happened in Texas and other recent disasters, but how we can work together effectively to fix our emergency management system. Our our our con constituents, American people are depending on it. It is our duty.
▶ 0:25:26How do we make it work better for the communities hit by the disasters? And how do we also respect the taxpayer? I appreciate the leadership of the full committee uh chairman Sam Graves and the ranking member Mr. Lrison for their work in trying to tackle these issues with their legislation and we look forward to seeing that very shortly. With that, I look forward to hearing from our witness. The chair now recognizes the ranking member, Mr. Stanton, for five minutes in his opening statement.
▶ 0:25:56Mr. Chairman, before I begin my testimony, I ask for unanimous consent that the committee observe a moment of silence to honor the 135 lives lost in the Texas floods and to pray for the safe return of those still missing. Without objection, so ordered.
▶ 0:26:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the sake of time, I ask unanimous consent to submit for the record news accounts corroborating the details I'm about to provide in my opening statement. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding
▶ 0:26:32objection. So, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing and focusing our mission to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Every Democrat on this panel accepts that challenge and I hope we can work together in a bipartisan way to get this done. The news out of Texas is heartbreaking.
▶ 0:26:49On July 4th, flash floods swept through Kurville and nearby communities, claiming 135 lives, including 37 We have learned the faces and stories of the victims, young girls whose dreams were stolen, camp staff who gave their lives leading children to safety. a father who punched through the window to save his family before bleeding to death from his injuries.
▶ 0:27:19And two little swept away together later found holding hands. So many grieving neighbors and families on the ground who have been working around the clock in response to this disaster. To those brave women and men, we see you. We thank you. and we will not forget your heroism. Meanwhile, the acting FEMA administrator, David Richardson, before us today was missing in action.
▶ 0:27:49For the first 48 hours, the most critical window for search and rescue. He never visited the National Response Coordination Center. For more than a week, he stayed away from Texas. And for 10 days, he made no statement about the tragedy tragedy. Not a word of sympathy or reassurance to the public. When he appeared finally in Texas on July 12th, it felt like a boxchecking exercise to quiet his critics. He stayed only a few hours, but in his rush, Mr.
▶ 0:28:16Richardson failed to check the most important box, basic human decency. This tragedy forces some incredibly hard questions. Did the FEMA administrator fulfill his legal duty? Did he fulfill his moral duty? Did the administrator sitting before us do everything that he could to save lives? The FEMA administrator is the primary federal coordinator for disaster response. That means anticipating needs, acting proactively, moving resources swiftly, even without waiting for a specific state request.
▶ 0:28:47FEMA's own national response framework demands proactive search and rescue. These reforms were put into place after Hurricane Katrina when federal failures cost lives. Yet nearly 20 years later, history has tragically repeated itself. Secretary Gnome required her personal sign off on every contract above $100,000. That bottleneck delayed urban search and rescue teams for more than 72 hours.
▶ 0:29:14By the time many urban search and rescue teams reached Texas, no one had been found alive for days. Days. On July 5th, less than 24 hours after the tragedy, FEMA's call center contract expired because of this $100,000 signoff policy. The result, the vast majority of calls from survivors went unanswered. Families desperate for shelter and aid were met with silence.
▶ 0:29:41Can you imagine losing a family member, losing your home, and having your call go unanswered when you're looking for a lifeline? Yet on July 11th, with over a hundred people still missing and search teams still working to find people, President Trump and Secretary Gnome called it quote, "The best FEMA response ever," unquote. All while this administration was working to dismantle FEMA, the very agency whose workers were still risking their lives to save others.
▶ 0:30:10According to CNN, FEMA search and rescue chief resigned in frustration over the Texas response. DHS bureaucratic hurdles cost his team critical time and likely lives. This committee has a duty to uncover why FEMA failed to meet its obligations and ensure no community ever faces these failures again. So I look forward to questioning Mr. Richardson about these stunning breakdowns in leaders leadership and how we fix them. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 0:30:41Chair, thanks. ranking member. The chair now recognizes the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Larson, for five minutes for his opening statement.
▶ 0:30:50Uh, thank you, Subcommittee Chair Perry and Ranking Member Stanton, for convening today's hearing on FEMA. The importance of this hearing can't be overstated with the recent tragedy in Texas as it was a devastating reminder that disaster preparation response is a life ordeath matter. To quote former FEMA administrator Pete Gainner, "Emergency management is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.
▶ 0:31:17The system was created so the federal government can step in when local capacity and capability to respond to disasters has been overwhelmed. This is how emergency management has worked since President Carter created FEMA by executive order in 1979. And now the current administration has stated its desire to eliminate FEMA as it exists today and have states lead disaster response. But states already lead disaster response. That is how disaster response works.
▶ 0:31:48Dismantling FEMA does not empower states. It just slashes the federal safety net that serves as a backs stop for critical phases of emergency management. This will not streamline disaster response and will unnecessarily inflate the impact and cost of deadly disasters. And it appears so far that 434 of 435 members in the House of Representatives agree that FEMA should not be eliminated. An outstanding majority for this body.
▶ 0:32:18Every congressional hearing on FEMA as well this year has concluded that FEMA should continue. And I expect that this hearing will reach the same conclusion. Now, despite clear congressional intent to the contrary, here are some of just some of the actions the administration has taken to disrupt and dismantle FEMA since taking office. Allowing Doge unlawful access to FEMA systems, including databases with disaster survivors private information. directed FEMA to eliminate all climate change related activities and terminology.
▶ 0:32:48Fired 200 probationary workers and pressured over 2,000 more to quit or accept early retirement packages. Halted all FEMA work related to resilient building codes and construction standards. Stopped enforcement of the federal flood risk management standard, putting taxpayers back on the hook to rebuild infrastructure that is likely to flood again.
▶ 0:33:07cancelled FEMA's predes pre- disaster mitigation program known as brick despite clear evidence that these investments in mitigation pay for themselves many times over ignored statutory deadlines to facilitate FEMA disaster preparedness grants mandated mandated a wasteful and inefficient manual review of all grant dispersements freezing over $100 billion in payments ordered every grant and contract over $100,000 to be personally approved by Secretary Gnome before dispersement and ended door-to-door canvasing to help
▶ 0:33:38survivors register for federal aid after disasters. Now, the culmination of these efforts paint a scary picture that this country is not ready for disaster season. In 2017, hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria stretched the system. A similar hurricane system this year would break uh uh sorry, a similar hurricane season this year would break the system. So, after reading your testimony, um, Mr. Richson, I'm glad to hear that we both agree that FEMA should exist.
▶ 0:34:07That's why I've worked with Chairman Graves to draft the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act or the FEMA Act. Our bill will restore FEMA to being an independent cabinet level agency. Create a new public assistance program that incentivizes gives incentives to states to prioritize resilience and rebuild quickly. Improve FEMA's individual assistance program for disaster survivors by creating a universal application for federal assistance. Making it easier for survivors to access resources for basic needs and housing.
▶ 0:34:37and restructure FEMA's mitigation programs to make funding accessible with greater speed and reliability. It does many other things and it is based on bipartisan work of this committee and has bipartisan proposals from folks on this committee and off of this committee. We'll be introducing the bill this week after months of painstaking review and incorporation of stakeholder feedback. We're not waiting for FEMA review council. We don't need to wait for a FEMA review council.
▶ 0:35:04We've been reviewing FEMA for a long time and that's why the FEMA act is getting reintroduced or getting introduced. So, I look forward to moving this legislation through the committee and to the House floor before and hopefully having it passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law. That is the process of making major changes to federal government agencies. Today, we're going to have a serious discussion on the current state of the nation's disaster readiness posture. And there will be some tough questions, Mr. Richardson.
▶ 0:35:31But please don't think we're asking them because we want you or FEMA to fail. We want you and FEMA to succeed. We desperately want and need you to succeed so Americans are safe from disasters. So, thank you for being here. I look forward to your testimony and yield back.
▶ 0:35:47Chair thanks ranking member. The chair now welcomes our witness, Mr. Richardson. And thank you, sir, for being here. Briefly, I'd like to take a moment to explain our lighting si system for our witness and for everybody else in the room. In case you're wondering, there are three lights in front of you. Green means go, yellow means you're running out of time, and red means to conclude your remarks. I would also encourage you just to make yourself familiar with where the microphone switch is. So, and have the mic up to your mouth so we can hear you.
▶ 0:36:17Uh, the chair asked unanimous consent that the witness's full statement be included in the record without objection. So order the chair also ask unanimous consent that the record of today's hearing remain open until such time as our witness has provided answers to any questions that may be submitted to him in writing without objection.
▶ 0:36:36So order the chair also ask unanimous consent that the record remain open for 15 days for additional comments and information submitted by members or the witness to be included in the record of today's hearing without objection. So ordered as your written testimony has been made part of the record, sir, the subcommittee asks that you limit your oral remarks to five minutes. With that, Mr. Richardson, you are recognized for five minutes for your testimony.
▶ 0:37:04Chairman Perry, Ranking Member Stanton, Mr. Larson, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am the senior official performing the duties of the administrator of FEMA. Before I go on, I'd be remiss if I didn't recognize the tragic loss of life in New Mexico and Texas after the recent flooding.
▶ 0:37:28I was on the ground in Kirk County and saw the devastation I'm a father and my heart sank when I heard so many children perished in Texas. My heart goes out to all of those who have lost loved ones.
▶ 0:37:45That said, I'm honored to be asked by Secretary Gnome to assume my current position at FEMA as we work to implement President's Trump's vision of ensuring the American people get immediate, effective, and impartial disaster response and recovery. The president and and the secretary have called on FEMA to return to its statutory mission, and I'm taking steps to do exactly that.
▶ 0:38:10Consistent with their guidance, I have conducted a thorough mission analysis of FEMA and directed the agency to focus on three initial operational priorities. Safeguarding the American people, return primacy to the states, and strengthen state, local, tribal, and territorial capability to respond and recover from First, FEMA must refocus on survivor centric response and recovery.
▶ 0:38:37It needs to remove cumbersome processes for a quicker recovery so Americans return to their homes and communities and rebuild faster. We must find the most innovative and creative methods available to deliver assistance to every American who qualifies for it and while also communing faster, more clearly, and through more modern means.
▶ 0:39:00Second, FEMA needs to return to a model where disaster response and recover are locally led and state managed with federal support available when needed. As the president has said, sometimes FEMA gets in the way. FEMA should never get in the way. The original intent of FEMA was to help state, local, tribal, and territorial partners build their disaster resilience, response, and recovery capabilities, and to provide resources when they are overwhelmed by the scope of the disaster.
▶ 0:39:32FEMA has lost sight of its original intent, but under the leadership of the president and the secretary, we are returning to this mission focus. Moving forward, we we will continue to encourage increased state and local investment and ownership of disaster activities. By doing so, we will better we will be better postured to eliminate processes that create delays, backlogs, and survivor frustration while also increasing coordination with state and local officials.
▶ 0:40:01And third, we must bolster our partners' operational readiness to support our homeland for the risk of today as well as the threats of tomorrow. This means returning authority and responsibility to the states and improving our programs and leveraging technology to deliver that support the communities and survivors need when they need it. The more we build our partners' resilience, the more prep prepared our nation will be.
▶ 0:40:25By emphasizing the op these operational priorities, we have narrowed FEMA's focus to what it should have been all along. Making sure that resources are brought to bear to help communities on their worst day. We are focused on cutting through red tape and ensuring that when federal assistance is warranted, we deliver assistance to survivors rapidly, regardless of the political affiliation, race, or creed. But these are just the initial steps.
▶ 0:40:52The president has appointed Secretary Gnome and Secretary Hed to lead the FEMA review council, which is conducting a comprehensive review of the agency. The council is dedicated to reimagining, not just re reforming FEMA. To that end, I will ensure that FEMA is fully cooperative with the review council. We respect the independence of the council's review and will welcome its recommendations.
▶ 0:41:16I am confident that the council will offer the president actionable recommendations for a more efficient federal disaster response, which is refocused on serving Americans during their darkest days. Additionally, the president has issued several executive orders to streamline government and Secretary Gnome and I are committed to ensuring that those executive orders are carried out both in letter and spirit. Finally, I am a longtime public servant. I served in the United States Marine Corps as a ground combat officer leading Marines in deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and FEMA.
▶ 0:41:47and and before FEMA, I served as the assistant secretary for DHS's countering weapons of mass destruction twice. As long as I am in this role, I will ensure FEMA remains singularly focused on the core mission. This subcommittee has an important voice in this process of change and I look forward to working with the committee on the FEMA of tomorrow. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:42:14Chair, thanks a gentleman for his testimony. We will now turn to questions. The chair recognizes himself for 5 minutes of questioning. Mr. Richardson, last week, members received a briefing from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers on the ongoing response to Texas to the Texas floods. And I know we're still in the response mode with over 130 fatalities and 100 people still missing tragically.
▶ 0:42:42Um, however, we do not know when the next disaster is going to happen. And so, I know that we're looking for afteraction reports, but I think I need to turn to some of the questioning or at least a testimony today because it counterveils what we heard yesterday direct or last week directly from FEMA from Mr. Tur when I asked him particularly about response times to the to the call center. Now, we understand from Mr.
▶ 0:43:09Tur that when there is a disaster occurring that disaster is the one that receives precedent. So you might be getting calls into the call center from across the country but the ones outside the disaster response area are put kind of behind the ones that are priority which is the disaster that's occurring now. And in that case weight times were were um were significantly reduced based on what we're hearing from the ranking member here. And look, we just want to have the correct information.
▶ 0:43:40We don't want to say that anybody is distorting the truth, but we got to make decisions on the correct information. So the information we got from Mr. Tur counterveils what we're hearing right here in the committee today. And so I'm hoping you can elucidate us as to what you know about the call center response time.
▶ 0:43:55We also know that people from around the country that call and don't receive an immediate pickup from the call center hang up, but those are still counted as calls into the response center and and they're aggregated into the response time. So, can you a as well? We also heard that that FEMA did not receive a request from the state until Monday.
▶ 0:44:20So there was no request prior to Monday for FEMA to get involved in the disaster response recovery effort. And so I'd like you to elucidate if you could any of that information that we received from Mr. Tur last week.
▶ 0:44:34So uh thank you for your question, Chairman Perry. Uh first to the call center. So anytime uh that there is a disaster, we surge support to the call center to address those calls. Uh so that and that's what we did. And so the disaster happened on Friday and then there was Saturday and Sunday. And for most people they don't call into the call center over the weekend. They would call in on the Monday.
▶ 0:45:02And indeed we had the search support available all weekend. And when they came in on Monday, of course, there was a surge. Now, as Mr. Tur very likely told you, all calls were answered within 3 minutes. and and no call or or or in 3 minutes and no calls beyond 10 minutes.
▶ 0:45:24So it's from 3 to 10 minutes and the and the vast majority of phone calls were answered and the questions were Now regarding the uh I think the next part of the question is the support on the ground in Texas on was it you said six you said Monday correct?
▶ 0:45:43Well that's what we understand from Mr. Tur is when FEMA received the request from the state of Texas. FEMA doesn't just doesn't go un unrequested, you know, as the federal government, we we the requirement is to wait for the state to request and then be prepared to
▶ 0:45:59So Texas, uh first of all, um on the deck in Texas on the 4th of July, there was a national urban search and request team. We have 28 of those teams all over the country. One of them, one of them is is in Texas. So in College Station, Texan, that FEMA funded, FEMA trained, and FEMA equipped asset was already on the deck on 4 July.
▶ 0:46:24And there was also a federal coordinating officer at the uh uh EOC, emergency operations center in Austin. And there was and regarding the request on Monday, that is correct. after the disaster declaration didn't come in until u Sunday and then Monday they requested and the support was there within 24 hours within 24 hours.
▶ 0:46:48Is there a is there a um standard by which is set for FEMA on the response time? Is 24 hours? It seems from my standpoint that seems like a long time to wait when So just tell me if there's a standard. You know, when we had a medevac call in Iraq as the commander of the task force, if the aircraft wasn't airborne within 8 minutes of the call, it was a call directly to the Secretary of Defense.
▶ 0:47:15What is the response time, if you know, required for FEMA on such a response?
▶ 0:47:21Uh, thank you for the question once again. They get there as quickly as possible. Those two teams came from, I believe it was um Tennessee, it was Missouri and Colorado, and they get there as soon as they possible because they've got to move.
▶ 0:47:34I understand, but I So, my time my time is expired, but is there a minimum response time? I'm just asking for purposes of trying to make things better. So, does FEMA have a minimum response time once the request is made to respond like within an hour or within 24 hours or what's the
▶ 0:47:51Well, they respond immediately and and they as soon as they get the word, they move. So, they respond.
▶ 0:47:56There's no requirement there that you know of. There's no requirement.
▶ 0:48:00They get there as fast as possible. I don't know if there's an hour number, but they get there as fast as possible.
▶ 0:48:05You could get back to the committee with that information. That would be helpful. With that, my time is expired, and the chair now recognizes the ranking member, Mr. Representative Stanton from Arizona.
▶ 0:48:14Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I too was at the briefing that you were at, and it sounds like you and I share our disappointment in FEMA staff for pointing the finger at Governor Abbott and blaming Governor Abbott and his team for a late request for urban search and rescue uh help in this horrible disaster. But um as Mr.
▶ 0:48:34Richardson, I'm sure, knows under federal law, under the national response framework, FEMA does not wait for a request from the local government. Under the national response framework, federal law requires FEMA to anticipate the needs of states in disasters, to coordinate proactively, and not to wait on the state's request for positioning resources. Mr.
▶ 0:49:02Richardson, were you aware that this is federal law for you to act proactively and not to wait for a request from Governor Abbott to preposition
▶ 0:49:12Thank you for the question, Mr. Sten. Uh capability indeed was prepositioned and that's why I mentioned Texas Task Force One. It was pre-positioned in Texas and ready to go. Once again, that's a federally trained, federally equipped, and they were they were m
▶ 0:49:32Mr. Rich, I got to cut out because I have a short time. You need to talk to your staff because your staff was pointing the finger at Governor Abbott and say the lack of urban search and rescue proactivity was based upon a late request from the governor's uh office. My belief, and it sounds like your belief is that the requirement for you as the FEMA administrator is to anticip in light of the weather reports and how bad it was going to be was to preposition those urban search and rescue folks uh in advance.
▶ 0:50:02Uh and I believe that FEMA has failed in that mission because there could have been a lot more urban search and rescue there later. They weren't there until 72 hours after the tragic incident. How many times you met with President Trump since you've assumed this role? I I have not met with President Trump.
▶ 0:50:18How many times have you spoken with President Trump uh one-on-one in your current capacity?
▶ 0:50:22I correspond with the president on a regular basis.
▶ 0:50:24Where were you on July 4th and July 5th of this year?
▶ 0:50:28On July 4th, I was on vacation.
▶ 0:50:30When did you return from your vacation?
▶ 0:50:33I I returned the next day.
▶ 0:50:35When So on July 5th, you returned to Washington DC? I spent the I spent the entire vacation in my vehicle speaking on my phone to either the state of Texas or DHS coordinating for the events in
▶ 0:50:49Were you on the first plane back to uh Washington then from your vacation?
▶ 0:50:54I was I was in my truck with my my my two boys and myself. I was in my truck. I remained in my truck the whole time.
▶ 0:51:01When were you first when did you first learn of Secretary Gnome's $100,000 signoff policy? And did you warn her or anyone at DHS about the potential for delays in FEMA's ability to respond as a result of that policy?
▶ 0:51:14Uh the secretary uh signs anything that comes across her decks just nearly immediately uh without undue delay and and I never had a concern about the $100,000 memo. Never concerned me. I've never seen it cause any undue delay.
▶ 0:51:32The $100,000 signoff policy did not delay your ability to proactively put forward resources, urban search and rescue uh resources in place uh as soon as you knew about the uh how bad the flood was.
▶ 0:51:48Under President Trump's leadership and Secretary Gnome's leadership, their exceptional leadership, the support that was so critical to the people and the state of Texas on their worst day was on target on time. And that is what they told me. That's what the president said. That's what the secretary said. Texas got what they needed when they needed it.
▶ 0:52:14Your so your lack of visibility in the hours and days and even week after this horrific flood that cost so many lives is shocking. Secretary Gnome was very present. You were not. Did President Trump, Secretary Gnome, or any official at the White House direct you to stand down during this crisis?
▶ 0:52:39I was in constant communication with the state of Texas, DHS, and the White House handling the DA disaster immediately when I found out and I remained so for the entire time. Constant communication with the state of the emergency manager in the state of Texas, NIMKID, as well as region 6, as well as communication with the White House and Secretary No. I was on full duty, full-time.
▶ 0:53:05Mr. Firsterson, you were nowhere near Texas at the critical moments in the search and rescue and you did not even show your face for more than a week after the flood. You are the administrator of this critical agency. You're the leader, but you did not lead as you are required to by federal law. But worse, you seem uninterested to learn what went wrong and how to respond better. Do the victims and survivors in Texas deserve an apology?
▶ 0:53:37What happened in Texas was an absolute tragedy? It's hard to fathom. I went to Texas. I flew over. It was an absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to the people in Texas.
▶ 0:53:52I know that there was
▶ 0:53:53that was intended as yes or no question. And I'll appropriately take that as a no. Mr. Chairman, this wasn't just It wasn't just indifference. It was both. And that deadly combination likely cost lives. I yield back.
▶ 0:54:11Gentleman's time has expired. The chair now recognizes Representative Vizelle from Mississippi.
▶ 0:54:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Rich, for being here, and thank you for meeting with me earlier last week. We discussed uh numerous FEMA issues the other day. Uh for years the agency has struggled to respond effectively to disasters both before and after they occur.
▶ 0:54:34A couple of months ago, one of the county managers from North Carolina testified before this subcommittee and reflected on the fact that FEMA did not even pick up the phone when tragedy struck within my own district as we've discussed projects that still linger after Katrina. We're coming up on the 20th anniversary next month. Uh 20 years after the deadly hurricane, my office is still battling with FEMA uh over issues from that hurricane. Uh Mr.
▶ 0:55:02Rich, what measures is uh FEMA taking to finally close out the Katrina projects? The the there's a great emphasis on closing out the FEMA projects. Um, it's it's it's one of my discoveries during the full emission analysis at FEMA that we have a long ways to go on closing out the um all the open disasters.
▶ 0:55:32In fact, just this morning, I was briefed on the open disasters. And that's one of the challenges we find with FEMA that it's um uh there's there's too many bureaucratic processes in the place for closing out the disasters. you going to work on cutting out some of those bureaucratic issues?
▶ 0:55:49Indeed, I am, sir. And I I would be glad to collaborate with you, come see you and talk you through how we're doing
▶ 0:55:55Thank you. Uh kind of switching gears here just a minute. Last Congress, I asked uh Administrator Chriswell to consider uh the flood maps provided by locals in my state. Uh I am encouraged by the positive feedback from that and uh you know, I want to continue on with the uh conversations about that between FEMA and the stakeholders in Mississippi.
▶ 0:56:15A more informed consumer base armed with clear signals about their flood risk would lead to a better insurance participation, stronger risk pools and encourage flood mitigation investments that reduce flood insurance premiums and help the taxpayer. How is FEMA modernizing NFIP to meet the need for property level risk flood management? So, uh, the National Flood Insurance is a a challenge.
▶ 0:56:45Um, the floods are the most damaging disaster that we have and that's what that that cost billions of dollars a year. So what what I can say is that um we are we are looking at ways to modernize and I don't want to get ahead of the FEMA uh council because I know that the FEMA council is also looking at ways to modernize the flood flood insurance program so that so that we can all uh benefit from it.
▶ 0:57:15Right now as I mentioned uh it's it's very expensive but we always pay out uh the premiums at
▶ 0:57:23Thank you. Uh Mr. Richardson, many states depend on preparedness grants uh for approaching disasters. Currently, we are in hurricane season as you well know and these grants are vital for preparation and mitigation. Uh Mr. Chairman, I request to submit for the record a letter from Representative Davidson and Representative Lansman to Secretary Nolam and Mr. Richardson.
▶ 0:57:46Without objection. So order.
▶ 0:57:48Mr. Richmond, can we expect the notices of funding opportunities for FY25 grants to be released? Uh, they're currently 68 days behind their past due date.
▶ 0:57:59Uh, I have good news. As we speak, notice of fundings are going out the
▶ 0:58:04Great. Well, that that that's really good news. Uh, lastly, Mr. Richardson, have you been able to read through the bipartisan work product the committee has introduced on FEMA reform? And, uh, what's your opinion of the reform draft? Uh indeed I have. Can you repeat the last part of the question?
▶ 0:58:22You know, have you you've been able to read through the reform we've asked and uh can you give us your opinion about the draft?
▶ 0:58:28So I read through the draft um and because we I've done my own thorough mission analysis at at FEMA. I'm I'm I'm pretty familiar with the language in your draft and there was a couple of uh things I saw and although it didn't address mission creep necessarily and what I did see was that it it was it was uh restricted to the statutory missions of FEMA which is good because what I discovered during the mission analysis there's a lot of mission creep.
▶ 0:58:58Um couple other things I saw in there there was a there was a large emphasis on coordination. I think part of the mission creep at FEMA is that we there's there's boots on the ground where we should be doing more coordination. Um I I do believe I saw something in there on continuity uh which is outstanding. And then um I I think there could be better survivor uh interface and that that's also something that was in the draft
▶ 0:59:27Thank you sir and I appreciate you being here today and Mr. Chairman I yield
▶ 0:59:31Chair. Thanks the gentleman. The chair now recognizes the ranking member of the full committee, Representative Larson from Washington.
▶ 0:59:38Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, Mr. Richardson, your testimony says that you've been asked to quote, "Return FEMA to its statutory mission." You've mentioned that a couple times. So, I have a list here uh compiled by the Congressional Research Service of the actions that the law mandates FEMA needs to do. And currently, uh, FEMA doesn't, uh, follow all these laws. is 518 statutory missions.
▶ 1:00:02Um, and uh, this kind of a crazy question, but can you commit today that you'll fulfill the promise in your testimony to return FEMA to its statutory mission and implement all the mandates in this list?
▶ 1:00:14So, uh, the answer is I did we did our own mission analysis at FEMA, which comes up with not far from the statutory tasks that you have there. And what we did and I can commit to is that we developed eight mission essential tasks that we have to do by statute. We've only done the initial analysis, but what I can commit to is we uh until otherwise directed, we'll continue to carry out the mission essential tasks for the federal emergency.
▶ 1:00:43Well, I think it's fair to say that there probably eight categories of missions. I don't think FEMA only does eight things. And I think that what this uh these 518 actions that are in law says said that uh says FEMA ha has to do that are your mandates um are worth uh going over. So I I want to be sure we enter these enter this in the record. Mr. Chair, um Mr. Chair, I'll take care of it. Um the next thing I want to ask is um you noted that the
▶ 1:01:14without that objection. The uh your testimony says the original intent of FEMA was to help state, local, tribal, territorial partners build their disaster resilience and that FEMA quote must bolster our partners' operational readiness to support our homeland for the risks of today and threats of Here's the thing. There are there are three really kind of basic three missions of FEMA. Pre- disaster mitigation, immediate response, and recovery.
▶ 1:01:38It sounds to me like the administration really wants to do response and recovery um and leave sort of the the preparation to lower the lower the damage from disasters. Leave that to state and local governments. That is the the pre- disaster mitigation bit which is why the administration canled um billions of dollars in brick money, building resilient infrastructure and communities uh money and pulled that back.
▶ 1:02:05Um but it does seem that you aren't helping communities prepare for their worst day if we are not helping them if we're not including in the recovery bit the uh ability to uh build for that worst day. So the impact of the worst day is less than it could have been and that is pre- disaster mitigation assistance. I'm thinking specifically of a lot of things in my state. One in particular the $85 million grant that was four years in the making for for the county of Grace Harbor.
▶ 1:02:34I get the details on it, but this is not a county that is going to find $85 million under, you know, in the couch cushions to be able to do that work. And there and there are places all over the country that need federal assistance for pre- disaster um mitigation uh in order to prepare for the the likelihood that something's coming in the future. Could be floods in my area, could be earthquakes in my area, could be wildfires and so on.
▶ 1:03:01But the administration is sort of saying, "No, states and locals, you need to do that when they don't have the money to do that. We're the backs stop. We prep we need to be helping states and locals prepare for this and paying for this with appropriate review so that the disaster the the disaster respond to is less than it could have been." And so I mean, do you do you think that FEMA has no responsibility to help local governments and state governments prepare for that worst day? Because that's what it sounds like.
▶ 1:03:31What what what I think is that I I think I believe you're referring to mitigation, correct? Yeah. Okay. What I what I what I believe and what FEMA believes is mitigation is very important and I think you know what the return on investment for
▶ 1:03:44absolutely 7 to1 mitigation it's like yeah 7 to1 or what 6 to1 I don't remember. Um, however, uh, you know, under Secretary Gnome's outstanding leadership as well as the president's outstanding leadership, what FEMA is responsible to ensure there is proper oversight of the grant funding for
▶ 1:04:05Here's here's the point on and I appreciate that. I don't think their leadership's been outstanding on that and I that's my job to be critical and to be and to be complimentary when when things are when both circumstances avail themselves to that. But on on on pre- disaster mitigation, uh on helping communities prepare, I don't think they've been they've done outstanding leadership. They've actually cut the money to zero to help our state and local governments prepare for that worst day. So the worst day is less than it would have been.
▶ 1:04:32And um you know, we're and we may not be we may not have been specific in the FEMA act to include that. We're looking at changes to make as part of the FEMA act. It doesn't mean we're against um uh um uh disaster mitigation assistance because we already have that. What you're all choosing to do is to not do what you can do. Now, the law doesn't say you have to fund the brick program.
▶ 1:04:59It authorizes you to fund the brick program, DRF, but not funding the brick program is actually making the worst day the actual wor really the worst day as opposed to um investing in ensuring the worst day is less than it could have been. I just really got to hit home on that and really going to push hard on you all the administration so that their leadership can be outstanding. I want it to be outstanding. I don't think it is right now. I'll yield back.
▶ 1:05:26Gentleman's time is expired. The chair now recognizes Representative Kennedy.
▶ 1:05:31Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Richardson, for being here. I wanted to start off with a disaster that's unfolding in the state of Utah right now, a fire that currently is the Deer Creek Fire has burned more than 17,000 acres and we have over 580 firefighters and personnel on the line right now in the state of Utah. There's helicopters, dozers, and engines that are backing up these individuals trying to help with that.
▶ 1:05:55But I want to recognize their courage and thank FEMA for stepping in to help early with a fire management assistant grant. That's really important to us and that federal support actually make can make all the difference as we deal with the wildfires not only in the state of Utah but throughout the West. That said, serious challenges remain. In 2024, Utah expected to spend $12 million on wildfire suppression and instead we spent $28 million by late August.
▶ 1:06:24and FMAG reimbursements from previous fire seasons are still delayed for us, leaving the state to front the costs. Thanks to your leadership and the Utah State Legislature, we're now operating with unified wildfire suppression fund that supports prevention and postfire recovery. It's a forward-looking state-led model that gives Utah the flexibility to act quickly and invest wisely. Utah needs federal partners who help us move faster, not slow us down in these circumstances.
▶ 1:06:53I have a few questions regarding that. So the first question is working with the Utah legislature, we've got this wildfire suppression fund that is designed to manage all phases before, during, and after the fire. How is FEMA supporting that kind of state-led model, especially for major incidents like the Deer Creek Fire and smaller fires like Amelia and
▶ 1:07:15Thank you for your question. So the way we we we manage that is uh not only through FEMA but also through the FEMA the regional administrator and they work very closely with the states on those issues. Um I am very aware my heart goes out to the people of Nevada of the fires. I get briefed on that you know nearly every day so I see them
▶ 1:07:36and um so that's kind of how we we handle that at the normally at the regional level and the regional managers they'll they'll contact me. We're in close communication and we work through any issues that happen but no that generally happens at the regional level which is the it's how it should be because that is the closest to the
▶ 1:07:54Good. Thank you very much for that. As to these reimbursements, the assistance grants reimbursements. Utah is still waiting for FMAG payments from past fire seasons. What is FEMA doing to speed that up to help these states that have spent a lot of money to suppress these wildfires often that are on federal lands? So, you're asking me how we're speeding up the FMAG process.
▶ 1:08:13How do we how do we speed up the FMAG
▶ 1:08:16So, um I I'm not I'm not real familiar with exactly how we do the FMAG. What what I like to do is go back to my office and see exactly how it's done and then we'll bring to you some recommendations.
▶ 1:08:28Yeah. And anything we can do to help with that with recommendations on your part or our part. Uh the reality is this is in the state, but the federal lands are often implicated. Which leads me to my final question. If I have any time remaining, I'll yield that to my chair. But the Deer Creek fire currently is crossing county and state lines as well as tribal lands. And what systems is FEMA using to support real-time coordination as we deal with various jurisdictions associated with these fires which don't respect boundaries?
▶ 1:08:56So, are you asking me what what technology we're using?
▶ 1:08:58Technology or methods that we'll use as these fires cross various jurisdictions, including state lines, county lines, and tribal lands. Once again, I'm going to have to get back with my staff and and and I'll circle back with you on I don't know the exact answer to that.
▶ 1:09:12Mr. Chair, I'll yield time to you if I've got about a minute left. So,
▶ 1:09:17Sure. Thanks, the gentleman. Uh Mr. Richardson, in previous questioning, it was implied that FEMA is I think uncaring and many of us on either side of the aisle here have certainly plenty of I think justified criticism of FEMA. But in regard to the Texas fire or Texas flood and the uh search and rescue effort, it's my understanding in the briefing last week that the governor requested the Coast Guard indeed close by.
▶ 1:09:46Um one unit located in Houston, neither unit could get to the site of the flooding and actually do uh uh search and rescue or recovery operations due to weather. And as a matter of fact, one of the members of the Coast Guard has been highly decorated for his actions on the ground there.
▶ 1:10:08Can you look like I said we we just want to make sure that we level set here and we understand what happened what FEMA's role was what FEMA was repa prepared for but what was actually used by the governor the govern if FEMA was stationed on site but the governor didn't want FEMA there because he wanted to use the Coast Guard because of a pre-existing relationship or because of capability or location. That's important to know now. Can you provide or shed any light on that issue? Uh definitely and thank you for the question.
▶ 1:10:38So let's let's back up. So from the second that I found out about the the horrible disaster in Texas, uh what I was doing was coordinating, okay? Uh from where I was, I was coordinating to ensure that these assets were being applied to the disaster.
▶ 1:10:58Now, Texas uh task force one, which is a FEMA paid for and equipped asset, was working also with with the uh emergency state manager, but they also have a direct relationship with the Coast Guard, CBP, public health, and the Texas National Guard.
▶ 1:11:18So there were other forces on the ground uh that were either federal forces like Texas Task Force One which is a national and then there was also other DHS assets and through Secretary Nolam's extraordinary leadership my coordination we made they sure they were available to the emergency operations center.
▶ 1:11:37I appreciate the answer. The time of the gentleman is long expired and I want to respect everybody on the committee. The chair now recognizes the delegate from Washington DC, Miss Norton.
▶ 1:11:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Mr. Richardson, the PTOAC River is the only source of drinking water for the nation's capital, uh, which I represent. The Army Corps of Engineers produces the drinking water for the nation's capital and the Army Corps only has one day of backup water supply.
▶ 1:12:13This poses a significant risk to the residents of the nation's capital, the operations of the federal government, national security, and regional economy. What steps, if any, has the Federal Emergency Management Agency taken to prepare for the possibility that the Po PTOAC River could become unusable for drinking water at any moment, whether through man-made or natural events.
▶ 1:12:44Mr. Norton, uh, thank you for your question. And the the first time this came to my attention was yesterday afternoon. And before I left the office, I asked my staff, I said, "We need to get together a a information so that I can go sit down with Miss Norton and walk through this and we need to know all the issues." So, if you would allow me to come and talk you through this and figure out how we're going to address this, I would appreciate it
▶ 1:13:10very much. I I'd appreciate you coming. Uh, do you believe that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil is the primary cause of climate change? thank you for the question, M. Norton. What what I believe is, you know, I'm I'm the the the sitting in the chair of the FEMA administrator.
▶ 1:13:37What I believe that we will address disasters regardless of their origin. Well, do you believe that the frequency and severity of natural disasters in the United States are increasing?
▶ 1:13:56What I believe is regardless of whether they're increasing or not um that the that the FEMA is there to assist the American public, the nation in disaster response and recover regardless of the origin or regardless of the frequency.
▶ 1:14:13Thank you very much and I yield back.
▶ 1:14:16Chair, thanks the gentleoman. Chair now recognizes a gentleman from Texas, Representative Bab.
▶ 1:14:22Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. And uh also thank you Administrator Richardson not only for being here uh but also for your service as a marine. Thank you so much. The tragic events that took place during the flood in the heart of the Texas Hill Country has shaken us all very very deeply. But for me and many families in my district uh this hit pretty close to home.
▶ 1:14:47Uh the Hill Country is home to Camp Mystic, Camp Stewart, Camp Baltimore, Heart of the Hills, many other ones. cherished summer camps. The children at these camps were heavily impacted by the flooding. My family's connection to these camps spans generations. As a matter of fact, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law were there in the 30s and 60s. Uh I was a teenage counselor myself in the 60s.
▶ 1:15:12Uh my own granddaughter had just returned from Camp Mystic's first term earlier this summer. And another one of my granddaughters was planning on attending Camp Mystic as well in the second term, but unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, she had a torn meniscus and we had to cancel. I've had four grandsons attend Camp Stewart just a few miles down the road, and there are so many more people not related necessarily by blood, but uh who feel like camp family to me.
▶ 1:15:40Uh it was a cultural thing uh that went for many, many generations. The entire state mourns the loss of longtime camp director Jane Ragsdale, a woman who poured her heart into shaping generations of young lives, including my own daughters and granddaughters. No words can really truly capture the the grief and heartbreak that so many of us feel. Uh but we owe it to these families and future generations to ensure that this never happens again. We must learn everything we can from this tragedy.
▶ 1:16:11We must act. And that's why the House Science Committee, which I chair, uh will be conducting a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding this event. And it's also why reauthorization of the Weather Act must prioritize improving weather communication, strengthening coordination with local officials, and accelerating technological innovation. Communities must have every single advantage when severe weather hits.
▶ 1:16:38Noah and the National Weather Service must be equipped to fulfill their core mission, protecting life and property. National Weather Service has been found to have done their job. They were not understaffed. Uh the truth of the matter is they did what they needed to do. Administrator Richardson, as you know, heavy rains and flash floods are not uncommon in Texas, especially in my own district over on the east side of the state where we've had seven disaster declarations in 10 years.
▶ 1:17:06Uh but the scale and suddenness of this particular event in Kerr County, Texas, demand urgent attention. And here on the transportation and infrastructure committee, where we work closely with FEMA on long-term planning and disaster mitigation, I look forward to working with you and your team to identify gaps, streamline inter agency communications, and support smart datadriven solutions.
▶ 1:17:30Whether it's investing in flood mapping, modernizing uh warning systems, or expanding public education, we've got to work together to prevent another tragedy. This flood has changed lives forever. We we owe it to every single family, camper, counselor, first responder, uh to make sure that their pain leads to progress. I don't have well, I've got a little time left, so I want to ask you uh I have a question.
▶ 1:17:56What steps will FEMA take to ensure that something like this will never happen again and how can we in Congress support your efforts to strengthen preparedness and response cap uh capabilities?
▶ 1:18:09Thank you for your question.
▶ 1:18:10Yes, sir. So, you know, once again, the the events in Texas, uh, the the tragic. I mean, we we've all heard, you know, descriptions of it, seen descriptions of it was absolutely horrible. And our hearts go out to the great state of Texas and all the people. Um, I've got two boys and I just when I when I flew over the Guadalupe River and and and saw Cat Mystic and my my heart, which had already sank sunk further.
▶ 1:18:36So, but and and this is how we kind of work this. This is locally led, state managed and federally supported. So, what we do is we work as closely as we can with emergency managers in Texas and the local communities. Uh and and through mitigation grants and resilience and and those type of efforts, we work with them to build the best emergency management system we can have.
▶ 1:19:04And as you saw in Texas through under the secretary's leadership and the president's leadership, it worked very very well under Nimid's guidance. It's that's a model of how it works. And I can tell you that Texas is in good hands and we want to use Texas as a model for how it's done. I spoke to immediately when I found out about disaster.
▶ 1:19:26I was on the phone uh Friday, Saturday and Sunday almost constantly speaking to NIMKID, the region and that crew there. And that's why that was was that the partnership between FEMA and the state and the local was the reason why that was handled so well and why although it's a it's a tragedy um uh it was a model for how to respond to his
▶ 1:19:53gentleman's time has expired.
▶ 1:19:54Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yield back. Thanks a gentleman. The chair now recognizes Representative Freriedman from California.
▶ 1:20:01Uh thank you Mr. Richardson for being here today. Um I represent uh lot parts of Los Angeles which of course was devastated by uh huge mega fires recently. I'm very appreciative of FEMA's efforts on the ground. Uh what we've discovered is that uh currently FEMA bars uh providing assistance to disaster victims who've received individual charitable donations like through their church or through a GoFundMe page. They're finding that FEMA is deducting that amount.
▶ 1:20:29So I introduced uh a bill don't penalize victims act to ensure that charitable donations are not considered a duplication of benefits um uh by FEMA. Um, you know, people aren't raising money to give it to FEMA. They're raising money to give it to victims to help them rebuild their lives. I would like you to to say that you're willing to work with us on this and that you will support these efforts as they move
▶ 1:20:56I would be glad to work you what I like to say there's no there should be no politics in uh emergency management. I would be glad to work with you and glad to look into it.
▶ 1:21:04Thank you. Now, I'd like to continue on some of the questions that have been asked about FEMA's response to the horrific flooding in Texas. And as a mom whose daughter has gone to Girl Scout camp and been up in in wild areas, uh that that whole incident really broke my heart. Um so my heart goes out to everybody in Texas that was affected. Uh the New York Times reported last week that on July 7, 3 days into the emergency response effort, FEMA call centers responded to less than 20% of the calls coming in from disaster victims for help.
▶ 1:21:32That means more than four out of five calls went unanswered. And I can just imagine the frustration of people looking for loved ones, dealing with damage, dealing with incredible tragedy to find out that their government just wasn't answering the phone. Secretary Gnome, however, claimed that on on Meet the Press that the New York Times piece was quote fake news. So, I'd like to clear this up for the record. Isn't it accurate that 80% of at least of the calls that went to FEMA call centers on July 7th went
▶ 1:22:04when the tragedy struck? Uh we knew there would be
▶ 1:22:07a simple yes or no question. They either answered the calls or they didn't answer the calls on July 7th.
▶ 1:22:12When there was a spike in calls, FEMA was there to answer the calls. The majority of the calls were answered at the call centers.
▶ 1:22:20Well, that's not what the report says. The report says that uh that on July 5th, as the flood waters were starting to recede, FEMA received 3,027 calls from disaster survivors and answered 3,18 of them, which is n over 99%. Uh contractors with four call center companies answered the vast majority of the calls. That evening, however, Miss Gnome did not renew the contracts with those four companies, and hundreds of contractors were fired.
▶ 1:22:48According to the documents and the person briefed on the matter, the next day, July 6th, FEMA received 2363 calls and answered 846 or roughly 35.8% according to those documents. And on Monday, July 7th, the agency fielded calls and answered 2613 of them, which is only 15.9%. That's shown by official documents.
▶ 1:23:13and FEMA officials were incredibly frustrated by the lapse in those contracts and that it was taking days for Miss Nome to act. A little while ago, you said that part of your job you felt was to remove, you called them bureaucratic uh closing out bureaucratic procedures. To me, having someone, one person only, having to sign off on every contract of $100,000 or more is the definition of bureaucracy.
▶ 1:23:39And in this case, it led to thousands of victims not having their calls answered by their government. Their government wasn't there when they reached out for help in their darkest hour. So, are those numbers fake? Are you telling me that those are fake numbers or are they verifiable? And did Miss Gnome misspeak when she said that it was fake news?
▶ 1:24:01What I can tell you is the vast majority of phone calls were answered. there was never a lapse in uh the contract. Secretary Gnome under her leadership, she's concerned about due diligence and making sure the American people get what they deserve.
▶ 1:24:17In your mind, 15.9% of calls being answered is the vast majority. That's the vast that's your So that the benchmark now we're looking for for FEMA to answer their calls. 15% or in one case 35% in a day in the middle of this disaster, this huge disaster. I would have to agree with Secretary Nome. That's fake fake news. The majority of the calls were answered. There was never a lapse in contract.
▶ 1:24:44Well, that is absolutely not what the reports from these companies from the disaster says. They give specific numbers of calls that went unanswered and I don't see how you can deny uh these reports. But um I will yield my time back.
▶ 1:25:00Chair. Thanks, gentle lady. The chair now recognizes Representative Ander from the state of Missouri.
▶ 1:25:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Richardson, for being here with us today. Missouri experienced severe storms and flash flooding earlier this year on May 23rd. Um, and we didn't receive a disaster declaration until last night. My constituents were frustrated by how long it takes to get temporary housing and debris removal assistance support from FEMA.
▶ 1:25:31Why does it take so long to make these determinations and what's being done to cut the time uh to uh get help uh in these situations?
▶ 1:25:41So when when the deter det terminations come in uh uh we review them, we work with the regions uh primarily. Uh as far as specifics of each one of the um uh declarations, I I'd like to get back to you and I'll I'll go back I'll go back home. I'll look into it. I'll figure it out and I'll come back to you and give you any specific details because I think you're looking for specific information on a in a certain declaration. Correct.
▶ 1:26:07Yeah. Or what is the process of of issuing these declarations?
▶ 1:26:11The declarations come in there there's a set of criteria uh and then we make a recommendation on that criteria. Once again it's it's elig eligibility based. So there's criteria and we have to take a look at the criteria and make sure for example uh from the when when I from the first second I found out about the horrific events in Texas, I got on the phone, I was speaking to the emergency manager there and we were talking about how the declaration was going to come in, how it
▶ 1:26:42was going to be crafted. So there's some pre-work that's done right in the middle of the disaster normally and then there's some administrative work that needs to be done at the regional level and then it comes to FEMA. So, but it's it's normally worked out very early what the if they meet the criteria or not because we all kind of have a pretty good idea what it is and then we got to get it down on paper and that's what I spent a lot of time on the 4th of July or really really the fourth and the fifth uh with with Nim kid because theirs came in I believe it that was it was just after midnight
▶ 1:27:12on Sunday so it it came in very quickly from Texas and then the criteria took it and we turned that around within just a couple Very good. Um, and you emphasized the need uh to cut red tape and remove cumbersome processes to speed up disaster recovery. Can you walk us through specific uh internal FEMA policies or procedures that you have streamlined to speed up delivery of
▶ 1:27:42Yeah. So one one of the things that I recognized immediately and part of it was doing from being the assistant secretary at CW CWMD prior uh part of it was doing mission analysis. What I discovered is um there were three or four contract shops around FEMA. So we consolidated that. Okay, because that makes it a lot faster. If you consolidate, you've got the same people, you're keeping track.
▶ 1:28:07And then the other thing we do is we make sure that we we've got a team that tees those contracts up for me to sign and we have certain ones that have to come to me. So what we've done is we've reduced uh the number of of of hands so to speak that touch those. We also consolidated so we know where they all are are all exactly. So it's actually working pretty uh good now. And that's so that's what we've done.
▶ 1:28:34And you've said that FEMA needs to return primacy to the states. Um for states like Missouri, what um would that look like? Um what kind of shift in operational authority and flexibility to state and local managers might we see?
▶ 1:28:50Well, it wouldn't it wouldn't necessarily be it probably has to do with more with training and coordination. So the coordination is the key piece. How the coordination is done. One of the challenges that FEMA has is when the region comes into the state, even though we run TTXs all the time, I think I think I was involved in at least seven or eight TTXs all the way from Guam to um uh to the Virgin Islands.
▶ 1:29:15And one of the things I talked to the folks in the afteraction about was what gaps in capability they had. So if if the states can become you know adept at identifying their gaps and if they can communicate they communicate that to the region that is part of it so they know what their shortfalls are. They've pre-identified them so that we can pre-position assets.
▶ 1:29:42That's the key and state once again states like Texas are are kind of a model and they did that very well as demonstrated in the events um uh of the flood.
▶ 1:29:52Very good. Thank you. I yield back.
▶ 1:29:55Chair. Thanks, gentlemen. The chair now recognizes representative figures.
▶ 1:30:00Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Richardson, uh for being here with us today. I represent uh the second congressional district of Alabama uh which begins in Mobile. Uh it's where I'm from, where I was born, where I was raised. Um and with the exception of probably Congressman Eel, I don't know from Mississippi, I don't know that there's another member on this committee that's actually been through more FEMA responded uh disasters uh from hurricanes throughout uh the entirety of my life.
▶ 1:30:30So, it's important to me that FEMA uh is ready uh is prepared uh because it's not a matter of if we get hit by a hurricane. It's a matter of when we get hit uh and how severe uh the damage will be and what FEMA's role will have to be uh in responding to that. We are approaching the 20-y year anniversary of Katrina and uh a lot of focus on Katrina is uh is on New Orleans.
▶ 1:30:55Um, but there was an entire realm of the east side of that storm that that decimated parts of Mississippi and and Alabama uh as well. And so this is a a time where people are focused uh on some negative history uh as it relates uh to FEMA and FEMA's response.
▶ 1:31:12And as I sit here, the question that I I just have to ask uh because if we get hit by a hurricane or when we get hit by a hurricane, and uh fortunately there's not a bad response, but if there is a a bad response from FEMA, um I don't want to sit here and the answer is I'm sorry. Uh I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to be careful. I want you to be prepared. I want you to be ready.
▶ 1:31:37Uh so in light of what just happened in Texas uh where you know a a family of five uh from Mobile uh a grandfather, a grandmother uh their son, his wife and their 5-year-old daughter uh were camping uh there in the Hill Country and all of them with the exception of their son um died. And so this is something that is resonating in my district right now. Uh what is and I'm in no way insinuating that that was FEMA's fault.
▶ 1:32:07um or what lessons have you learned in the response to Texas uh that you will apply going forward uh particularly through this hurricane season?
▶ 1:32:18Thank you for your question. So a lesson learned um from Texas and and is essentially how Texas uh had forces preposition. for example, the there are 28 National uh urban SAR units. One of them was in Texas and and it's not that it's a lesson learned, but what we did is we confirmed how effective that is.
▶ 1:32:43And and under Secretary Nolan's leadership, we also confirmed how effective it was for the emergency operations center in Texas to be able to communicate with CBP as well as Coast Guard. So all those DHS assets were already there. So prepositioning is is something that we've confirmed is a is a solid practice. Now I think one of my my my lessons learned and and I think this is important one um obviously communication.
▶ 1:33:11Nim kid and I were in communication I was in communication with secretary gnome coordination pre-positioning planning but the lesson that I particularly learned was personal relationships. Uh, I had come to know the uh, emergency manager in Texas, Nim Kid, and it helped a lot from the second I heard about the disaster.
▶ 1:33:33I'll cut you off, but I want to preserve my time, but is there is there anything you think FEMA did wrong in its response to to the Texas floods that we can rectify and and do differently next time? I I I I can't see anything that we did wrong and I think the president and the secretary acknowledged that and so is governor Abbott by saying how well we did.
▶ 1:33:55So what we would like to do is we would like to take the the the strengths that we did in Texas and we were going to share them with other states and we'll work on them in tabletop exercise to make sure that they can do it as
▶ 1:34:06Your testimony here today that FEMA's response to the Texas flooding was was it was a perfect game. It was perfect. Well, nothing is perfect. However, I will say that it was a model particularly at FEMA, the region, and the state level that that continuity. It was a model how disasters should be handled. And that's thanks to the sec the president's guidance, the secretary's guidance, Governor Abbott, the state emergency operations center uh in Texas, the emergency manager, as well as the region six manager.
▶ 1:34:36Well, if one thing I would encourage is it's important to see leadership there on the ground when it happens. So if this happens in in Mobile, uh we certainly want to see you on the ground um you know within certainly within the within a reasonable time um of when it happens.
▶ 1:34:52The last thing um I'll say is I know notice of fundings for FEMA grants just went out or are in the process of of going out the notice of funding opportunities um but they're 68 days late and so my concern is making sure that you guys have the resources and the commitment to actually review the incoming applications um in a manner where we will not end up in an excessively delayed uh state when it comes time to actually awarding the funding opportunities. And with that I yield back. Thank you Mr. Richardson.
▶ 1:35:18Chair. Thanks the gentleman. The chair now recognizes Representative Fong from
▶ 1:35:23Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Um and uh thank you m thank you administrator for uh for being here and for your leadership. Um a few questions. Uh I represent a lot of rural communities in uh the central valley of California. Uh we've been dealing with floods and fires uh for a very long time.
▶ 1:35:39Um the the Bell fire recently was the largest fire that ever hit Kern County and I was wondering uh rural communities have a challenge of capacity and of course be coming from a large state sometimes the uh or u a lot of times the per capita indicator uh doesn't doesn't uh help rural communities. I was wondering if from your perspective, has there been conversations about creating a county level or a zip code level threshold so that uh resources can go help these communities rebuild?
▶ 1:36:10Could you repeat the last part of the question again? I
▶ 1:36:13is there a way to to to help communities uh rural communities rebuild uh if when when the uh tragedies and the fires and the floods they don't hit the major disaster declaration? Is there a way to to uh to are you guys looking at a ways to adjust the the per capita indicator uh to to allow for more rural community rebuilding after a disaster?
▶ 1:36:37So I I got your question. Thank you for the question. So um the question is about rural areas and and meeting the what what I will say to that is that and I don't want to get ahead of the uh FEMA council, but you know the the president wants for the country better emergency management and it's reasonable uh to believe that that piece that you're just speaking to would be a part of that because it's re I I don't personally come from a rural community, but my parents come
▶ 1:37:07from a rural community. I spent a lot of time in rural community. My best friend is a hog farmer in eastern North Carolina. I know what rural communities are. So, um it's it's reasonable that that would be considered in something in the future. Yes,
▶ 1:37:20I I would certainly love to partner with you on that and your council. Uh it's in an area where rural communities just don't have the capacity to when a a fire hits significant impact to that community. Uh and and they may need resources, but they just may not hit the threshold of of a major disaster declaration. And so, we want to ensure that we rightsize the response.
▶ 1:37:41Yeah. you have my commitment that that that I'll I'll engage with you and we can kind of look at it and get your
▶ 1:37:46Thank you very much. Um I want to follow up from a questions that my colleague from Utah asked. Uh we also dealt with floods. My my community in Terary County um uh had to uh endure uh and and and kind of front a lot of the resources to help rebuild. FEMA um has a somewhat before you a more of a complicated complex assistance work through the complexity of the assistance programs.
▶ 1:38:12Um is there a way to simplify the the the reimbursement process uh and maybe expand the advanced payments process uh to help rebuild roads, rebuild bridges that may have been washed away from from like a flood?
▶ 1:38:25Uh so once again thanks for your question and and when I when my team did the mission analysis uh uh when we when we first came aboard it was kind of phase one of the mission analysis and now we're breaking down each one of the mission essential tasks and we're now we're getting to those things you're talking about right now. Once again I'll share that with you when the time comes.
▶ 1:38:47Sure. And and and I would your team has been very helpful uh uh since the new administration has come in. Um, I think we're kind of working through the complexity. So, um, I think you're going to hear a lot from from a lot of the rural areas, you know, just, you know, the small communities, they don't have the technical assistance capacity to to to work through everything and and the back and forth constantly um adds adds a layer of bureaucracy that that maybe we can cut through.
▶ 1:39:13Yeah, it's it's a very important issue. Um and then in terms of um um in incentivizing investments uh to mitigate before disaster strikes has FEMA and your team looked at how to better incentivize investments in in in areas of limited resources.
▶ 1:39:33We are working on that now. This will be part of the discussion the wider discussion that we can have if you give me some time on that.
▶ 1:39:39Perfect. And and I just want to extend an invitation for you to come to my community. uh we we would uh we'd roll out the red carpet for you if you ever come to California. And with that, I'll y back.
▶ 1:39:48I I would love to come.
▶ 1:39:51Chair, thanks. The gentleman, the chair now recognizes a gentleman from California, Mr. Garandi.
▶ 1:39:56Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh this committee has for a long time been concerned about FEMA, the way it runs and operates. Uh there have been major efforts by the committee as a whole and by the subcommittee. I'm thinking back on much of the work done by Mr. Graves before he left Congress. Going forward, the question of whether FEMA is going to be is going to survive or not remains open. Um in the first week in office, Mr.
▶ 1:40:26Trump, President Trump talked openly about getting rid of FEMA. In March, Secretary Nolam said, "We're going to eliminate FEMA." In June, Trump said FEMA should could be eliminated as soon as December, saying he wanted to wean off FEMA and bring it back to the state level. It's not just those words, which are not fake news, by the way. It's also what has actually happened.
▶ 1:40:52A third of the staff at FE at FEMA has been eliminated in the Doge process. So there's serious concerns, at least by me and I suspect by other members of the committee about the future of FEMA. Is it even going to Can you commit to us today that FEMA will exist in the future? We'll be able to carry out its functions under the law and under the needs of this nation or do you not know?
▶ 1:41:21Uh thank you for the question. What I could commit to is that the president wants a better emergency management for the American people and that's a noble goal. The president is a noble man and that's what he wants. He wants a better emergency management capability.
▶ 1:41:38Does that mean FEMA is gone and there'll be something new and different? So the the in his wisdom and with secretary gnome and secretary he setth guide uh the president has appointed a FEMA council okay that are going to give them recommendations.
▶ 1:41:56So the answer is blowing in the wind. We do not know and you cannot confirm that it is a policy of the administration to maintain FEMA. I understand that. Let me move along here. Uh a third of your staff is gone. 2,000 employees have been uh have departed for multiple reasons. Some of them fired, others of them taking uh early retirement.
▶ 1:42:21It took nine days for you to arrive in Texas following the disaster there. Is that the normal going forward? It took three days for your team to arrive, nine days for you to arrive. Is that the new normal?
▶ 1:42:36So, as I promised the people of Texas, they would get the what they needed on time and on target and both I talked to the emergency manager of Texas and he I asked him, "What is the best thing I can do for you?" And he said, "Remain on the ground and make sure that we get what we need on time." So, I remained in Washington DC
▶ 1:42:58kicking down the doors of bureaucracy. That's where I remained. So, the top leadership of FEMA is not expected to respond to emergencies across the nation. Instead, you're going to remain in your offices here in Washington, DC. I got it. Um I I I I did go to Texas and I went to Texas to confirm with the people of Texas that I had delivered on my promise. We'll see if that delivery is real or not.
▶ 1:43:26Uh the next series of questions has to do with disaster mitigation. That is getting ahead of the disaster. You just heard from Mr. Fong about his uh request for funding to reduce the fire risks in his area. Certainly that exists in my area in the Bay Area. Uh however, that program was terminated. Even though it was started in 2018 by uh President Trump in his first term, it's now eliminated.
▶ 1:43:56So the effort, so is it the policy of FEMA to rebuild that program to get ahead of the disasters and to fund disaster mitigation before it happens? What is the policy of the department?
▶ 1:44:14You're speaking of the building
▶ 1:44:16That is correct. So, it wasn't it was started in 18, but under the Trump administration, that program began to use be used for things like uh bike paths and shade at uh uh bus stops.
▶ 1:44:31So, instead of eliminating and so instead of dealing with those specific rather small funding programs, you decided to eliminate this entire program. Is that correct?
▶ 1:44:43Well, that that program brick is under litigation. I can tell you about the past, but I can't tell you anything about the future for that program. But it was being used for bike.
▶ 1:44:52Question, what is the future? Is the the brick program is terminated? Is it the intention of FEMA to restart it or are we simply not going to pay attention to an effort to reduce the potential for a
▶ 1:45:09What is resilience is a top priority of FEMA. Uh but that program once again there's litigation surrounding that program and I'm I'm not at liberty to speak of it.
▶ 1:45:19Gentleman's time has expired. Chair thanks. The gentleman the chair
▶ 1:45:23now recognizes representative Rouser from North
▶ 1:45:28Thank you uh Mr. Mr. Chairman and Mr. Richardson. Uh thank you for your service. It's not an easy job that you have by any means uh but a very very important job. Uh just to finish that line of questioning or your answer rather, you mentioned uh brick uh the brick program was funding bicycle paths and then what else you got cut off. I was just curious what else you were going to say.
▶ 1:45:50So there was bicycle paths. It was uh uh trees surrounding um bus stops and you know these grants have been used for a lot of rather what I would call odd things. For example, we we put people up in the Roosevelt Hotel or or illegal immigrants up in the Roosevelt Hotel uh with some of the grants. Uh that wasn't wise thing to do.
▶ 1:46:12We also uh have uh funded projects that made DEI uh ambassadors for the New York City Police
▶ 1:46:22So, not exactly mitigation efforts,
▶ 1:46:25right? dur during the Biden administration, it seems like there were a lot of the grants a lot of the grants sound good and then you dig into them and they're they're not so good. I' I've got a note here on a handful of them, but so yeah, if if you're housing folks in the or illegal aliens in the Roosevelt Hotel, that's probably not the best use of the American taxpayers money. Looks good on the surface, but when you get into it, it's not. Um,
▶ 1:46:54I got I got the answer there. Let me move on to act my questions before I run out of time. So, uh, the review council, um, when does, uh, FEMA anticipate the review council will finalize and share its recommendations for for Congress? Do you have an idea of a timeline on that? the FEMA review council is working now and and there's you know in the late fall uh I believe that's when or or or when they plan to give their recommendation to the president.
▶ 1:47:26Thank you for that. Um hurricanes Matthew and Florence, they affected my district pretty significantly. Uh Matthew was in 2016, Hurricane Florence was in 2018. Uh in 2018, Brock Long was uh the administrator. Uh and I have to say in both uh in both of those storms, uh the FEMA response was was very very good. Um but uh we still have uh those cases are still open. We they've not yet closed. And in other words, there's still need there.
▶ 1:47:55There's still reimbursement uh uh that's um uh waiting to be be signed or I'm not sure where it is in the bure bureaucratic process. And of course those storms were uh seven and nine years ago uh respectively. Uh any uh can or let me just put it this way. Can you get me a report on exactly what's uh what's left to be uh uh finished up on as it relates to those two storms? Not right now uh but uh soon after this hearing when you can.
▶ 1:48:23Uh yeah, thank you for the question. Each day I get a snapshot of the open u uh disaster claims and it's it's shocking to see how many of them are still open and no doubt we need to reduce the number of open declarations and yes I can get back with you I'd be happy to get back with you on
▶ 1:48:43Yeah. Is is that an issue of resources or administrative uh time or what what is the holdup there or regulatory burden of some sort? Uh my my gut feeling is it's just how it's developed over time. Uh probably at one point a handful of people, you know, touched it and by this point there's there's many more people than necessary to touch that.
▶ 1:49:03Okay, one one last thing. Uh Hurricane Helen, uh didn't hit my district, uh but it did hit my friend and colleague Chuck Edwards and Virginia Fox really really hard. Uh their districts in western North Carolina. Uh obviously you have uh every and every storm is different. Uh, every local is is different. In in western North Carolina, you have a lot of private roads.
▶ 1:49:26Uh, you know, FEMA traditionally doesn't help out with private roads, but if those private roads don't get rebuilt, uh, you can't um, you know, get debris uh, and other uh, and other items that are necessary for recovery. Uh, and I think that's been one of the big issues uh, for Western North Carolina. Uh, Chuck Edwards had tried to get uh, some clarifying language included as part of the CR. that didn't work out.
▶ 1:49:49Uh but uh flexibility in terms of addressing need uh because again not every place is the same I think is crucially important. Is that um uh a line of thought uh that you are all are pursuing at all?
▶ 1:50:05The question involves private roads and and thanks for the question again. Um, right. Private roads is an issue uh particularly for some reason in North Carolina and we're we're working for a way where we could can resolve that and and try to try to provide a a resolution to that and and and I'll keep in contact with you and make sure you kind of stay a breast of that.
▶ 1:50:30Well, until that aspect is handled, it's just hard for that area to make any kind of substantial recovery. That's the bottom line and and it's somewhat unique to western North Carolina which speaks to the need for flexibility when you're dealing with these disasters in
▶ 1:50:45And my heart goes out to the people of North Carolina and that whole region Tennessee uh western Virginia that had to uh suffer that tragedy.
▶ 1:50:54Thank you, sir. I yield back.
▶ 1:50:56Gentlemen, thanks or the chair thanks the gentleman. Chair now recognizes Representative Gilly.
▶ 1:51:02Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Richardson for being here today. So, as acting administrator of FEMA, you oversee the AY's preparedness grants, including the nonprofit security grant program. And as I'm sure you're aware, synagogues, churches, yeshivas, and many other houses of worship uh across our country and certainly in my district on the southshore of Long Island rely on these grants to keep their congregants, their worshippers, and their our residents safe.
▶ 1:51:30And right now, we're facing a huge spike in anti-semitism and other threats. And these critical grants are more important than ever for my constituents and I'm sure for many other folks across the country. And I'm grateful that FEMA recently awarded uh some of the emergency supplemental funding that was allocated for fiscal year 24. However, the agency still has not opened applications for fiscal year 25 funding um which Congress had approved back in March. So, Mr.
▶ 1:51:59Richardson, fiscal year 25 is coming to a close soon and synagogues and houses of worship churches in my district are wondering when you might open the application for fiscal year 25 nonprofit security grant program so we can make this $275 million um available for this really important need in my in my district and across the
▶ 1:52:21Yeah. and and thank you for the question and I believe those grants are very very important and and we've spent a lot of time in the last couple of months moving forward and doing due diligence on those. Uh but I do have good news there there are no going I can't speak to that grant specifically but there are no foes going out as we speak.
▶ 1:52:42Okay, great. And can my office follow up with you about these specific grants because they are so important in my
▶ 1:52:49Please do. And you know, one of the things we want to do is we want to make sure we get those notice of fundings out uh so uh the districts have a chance to apply and get back with us. So yes, please do.
▶ 1:53:00Okay, great. And um also with respect to these grants, I've heard from a lot of pastors and rabbis that um the funding is is okay to be used for infrastructure but not actually for personnel. And so a lot of our synagogues and houses of worship are looking to expand the scope of appropriate uses for this funding to include perhaps security personnel to stand guard at the synagogues particularly during the high h holidays um or during worship services and is that something that we could work with
▶ 1:53:30your office on to try to maybe expand the scope of funding?
▶ 1:53:34Yeah, I understand the question. Thank for the question. Yeah, please do. I I need to look into you know the the details of the grant. Uh but but I'm sure there's some way we can we can work around that.
▶ 1:53:46Okay, great. Thank you. Um and finally, in May, FEMA opened applications for FY24 safer grants to help hire, recruit, and retain firefighters. And I wrote uh to fire departments across my district encouraging them to apply for these grants.
▶ 1:54:02Um, and I'm really pleased that the Oceanside Fire Department, uh, in my district, which operates with volunteer service members, put together a really strong application for funding to help them recruit and retrain and train new volunteer firefighters to keep uh, their community safe. And I I wrote you a letter in support of their application, and I'd appreciate the opportunity to get in touch with your uh, office again. Um, can you commit to working to follow up on this issue also with me after this hearing? Sure.
▶ 1:54:32And and and thanks once again. I think I replied to the letter, but yes, I I would be happy uh to speak with you.
▶ 1:54:38Great. Thank you so much, Mr.
▶ 1:54:41I yield back.
▶ 1:54:42Chair, thanks, gentle lady. The chair now recognizes Representative Kylie.
▶ 1:54:47Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh thanks for being here today, Mr. Richardson. I'd like to talk with you briefly about uh a very simple action that the president and FEMA could take that would come at a relatively modest cost, would make an enormous difference uh for many people in my district and would uh reverse an enormous wrong uh committed by President Joe Biden. Uh it relates to the Calder Fire, which you might be uh familiar with. The Calder Fire was one of the uh biggest fires in California history. It was in 2021.
▶ 1:55:17Uh and uh you might remember the images that were really surreal of the ski slopes that were on fire and were ablaze. Um the uh the blaze came very close to actually uh destroying the entire town of of South Tahoe, which I represent. Uh fortunately, there was uh legislation that had created a categorical exclusion for fire mitigation that had allowed for a fire break to be created and we were able to stop it from going into South Tahoe.
▶ 1:55:44Uh but folks in the community of Grizzly Flats were not so uh fortunate. Uh hundreds of homes there were destroyed in 2021. Uh the fire was uh so massive that uh Joe Biden actually came and visited uh shortly after uh and did a tour in a helicopter and then he made a promise to the victims in Grizzly Flat that he was going to help that the federal government would support them. He said it was a federal responsibility. Um he then broke that promise.
▶ 1:56:14Uh Joe Biden's uh FEMA denied individual assistance to the victims of the CER fire in Grizzly Flats on multiple occasions. I spoke with the president about it personally. Uh and he said he wanted to correct the the wrong. Uh he never did. And so these folks uh now uh several years later uh many continue to uh to suffer with the rebuilding process.
▶ 1:56:39Many are still just camped out in RVs or trailers on on their property and they still have not received the individual assistance uh that they're entitled to. So, uh FEMA uh under President Biden uh you know, as I mentioned, denied this multiple times. Uh but the president has the authority uh to grant the assistance himself. And in fact, President Trump did this during his first term uh for multiple wildfires uh in California.
▶ 1:57:08So my question is, is this something that you might be able to look into and talk with the president about to finally get the the victims of the fire in uh in the CER fire, the victims in Grizzly Flats the individual assistance they deserve?
▶ 1:57:20Yeah, I can go both ways on that. I can talk to uh and thank you for the question. Uh I can talk to region 10 Bob Fenton and I can also reach out to the White House, find out where the Delta is and and then get back to you uh with the potential way forward.
▶ 1:57:36I I really appreciate that and uh I I think that you know there's also room to look at the process by which these determinations are made uh within FEMA uh because uh you know one of the things for example that they uh used in their analysis even though there are bigger wildfires where folks have gotten the individual assistance uh they for example uh looked at the income level in Elorado County as a whole which is where Grizzly Flats is.
▶ 1:58:00uh even though Grizzly Flats itself is uh not by any stretch of the imagination uh a wealthy area, but they counted the overall u median income of the county against the people who lost their homes within this particular jurisdiction. There's a lot of arbitrary things like that that just don't make sense. But at the end of the day, this is a promise that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, made to the people in our community and then he broke that promise. And uh I'm really hopeful that uh the president, if he has the ability to do so, can can write that wrong. I
▶ 1:58:27I'll reach out to Region 9. I'll reach out to region 10 um and then I'll be able to get back with you.
▶ 1:58:34Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Yield back. I yield to the chair. In
▶ 1:58:38I thank the gentleman. Uh regarding the issue of call time, I just want to reference the New York Times article which apparently was the source for um for the dispute over how many people actually uh received an answer on the call. And it according to the article it says according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
▶ 1:59:03Now like I've said before we all have I think reasonable uh criticisms of and valid criticism of FEMA but on this occasion I just want to make sure we're not making judgments based on people that spoke on condition of anonymity. And and further in the article, it says the the agency did publish similar data on October 29th, 2024, which I'll remind everybody was during the last administration during President Biden's administration.
▶ 1:59:33Days after Hurricane Helen barreled across the South and nearly 3 weeks after Hurricane Milton hit Florida, that information showed the agency did not answer nearly half of the 57,766 incoming calls over the course of a week. E and E news reported. With that having been said, Mr. Administrator, can you, like I said, I think we all want to level set here.
▶ 1:59:57People on both sides of the aisle would like to know the efficacy of the call center and and and the response to people calling in for disasters. Can FEMA uh provide that information and the uh and the source of that information moving forward? Can we get a report on that so that we can know how well FEMA is re is performing in that in that paradigm? so this how I'll answer them, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 2:00:26I think we can legally share that with I'm not I I think we can. Okay. I I not I don't know for sure, but if we can uh we will. Um I do know that we surged support.
▶ 2:00:37Yeah, I understand. I just I think that both sides of the aisle would like like again to level set and know what that information is and the source of that information and if there's some reason that you can't do it legally, we would like to know that as well so we can take whatever action is appropriate here in
▶ 2:00:53All right. I thank the gentleman. The chair now recognizes the gentle lady uh Representative Titus.
▶ 2:01:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um Mr. Secretary, I'd like to go back to the uh conversation about no foes. you mentioned it several times, said that information is out the door. That's good news because some of these are months behind. I I'm particularly interested in the UASI grants. That's the uh urban area security initiative grants, if you're familiar with that. Those are especially important in my district of southern Nevada, Las Vegas.
▶ 2:01:29We have a lot of events, largecale events that might be subject to a terrorist attack or some other disaster. And we've seen how these grants have been very helpful. In fact, there was a report that showed where they made such a difference after the harvest festival shooting, which is still the largest shooting in American history. Got the Super Bowl, the F1. Want to be sure those are going out the door.
▶ 2:01:53and if you'll commit to checking on that and letting me know so I can tell the first responders and all back home that that's coming.
▶ 2:02:01What I can commit to is that that we've been doing due diligence on all all of the grants and then and we're getting the no out the door as we speak. So want to make sure we got the noses out the door so that we have a chance to respond to them. I can't tell you can't necessarily tell you exactly which ones but I can tell you that they are going out the door as we speak.
▶ 2:02:22Okay. Okay. Well, I'm glad to hear that. I led a letter to you about this with the Nevada delegation trying to encourage this to happen. So, if your office will let me know if we're one of the ones that's going out the door, I appreciate it.
▶ 2:02:35Yeah. And and I believe I responded to your to your letter, uh, Representative
▶ 2:02:38Well, thank you. And we'll look forward to getting that. Um, I also want to talk about another thing that's particular to my district and to the Southwest. I wonder if you're aware of which weather condition causes the most death in the United States. I I don't know exactly which one causes the most. I I I have a hunch which direction you're going on this. I'm not exactly sure.
▶ 2:03:04Well, you know, it's surprising. A lot of people wouldn't guess this. They'd say tornadoes or floods or hurricanes, but it's not. It's extreme heat. Extreme heat causes more deaths. Now, it's less visible than some of these other disasters. It's harder to show on TV. It lasts longer. It impacts different people in different ways, but it is the largest cause of death.
▶ 2:03:25And last year in southern Nevada alone, there were 520 heat related deaths and we already have nearly 30 just in Clark County in my district already this year. So, I'm been working on getting FEMA to recognize extreme heat and be prepared to help communities deal with it, mitigate, recover, whatever. I'm pleased that I'm introducing a bill that's the extreme weather and heat response modernization act with our ranking member.
▶ 2:03:56Uh, so Mr. Stanton, we introduced that in May and I it'll empower FEMA to have more authority to help with this. So, I I wondered if you are aware of it or you would be willing to work with us to help us get this through so extreme heat can be recognized and addressed because it's only going to get worse. It's not going to get better.
▶ 2:04:17Thank you, Representative. Uh I I do know uh and I'm I'll be glad to work with you and and I do know that the Stafford Act does recognize heat. So, I I am aware of the Staf Stafford Act recognizes. I'm willing to work with
▶ 2:04:32I appreciate that. And it does recognize, but it's not uh you know, it's hard to get it declared and and recognized formally because like I said, it it's not as easy to recognize as a flood that happens in two days like in Texas. It's an extended problem and it like I said, it hurts different people in different ways, affects lives, uh and it affects livelihoods. So, uh Mr. Stanton and I'm sure will appreciate your getting involved and helping us with that. Thank you.
▶ 2:05:02I yield back.
▶ 2:05:03Thank you. The chair thanks the gentleoman. The chair now recognizes the representative from Pennsylvania, Representative Bre.
▶ 2:05:11Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Richardson, for being here. Um, I represent northeastern Pennsylvania, which has been um, privy to flooding over the years, dating back to 1972, slightly before my time, but still as I drive around with my family, my grandmother, she'll occasionally point to different areas about how high the water actually was.
▶ 2:05:33Um, and then back to 2011, um, northeastern Pennsylvania saw some flooding in an area outside of a levy system, which totally decimated a community, uh, ultimately redrawing the flood maps and making it extremely challenging for various different homeowners to be able to get, um, flood insurance and created some additional strains on the school districts. So, uh, actually back to 2021, we also saw a flood that actually claimed the lives of at least one person in Lacawana County.
▶ 2:06:02And, uh, this past May, the city of Scranton was finally able to complete 40 projects totaling 5.5 million to improve eight waterways and infrastructure damaged, uh, by severe flooding in August of 2018. Um, in April, I sent a letter to then acting administrator Hamilton asking for the brick program to be reinstated. And, Mr. Mr. Chairman, I'd ask for unanimous unanimous consent to enter that letter into the record.
▶ 2:06:26Without objection, so ordered.
▶ 2:06:28Thank you. Um my my question would be uh I've heard some evolution relating to the brick program and there were a few different programs uh actually levy projects that were slated to take place inside of my district. Um and unfortunately because of the cancellation of the brick program though about $10 million of levy construction was unfortunately cancelled. uh as well as another $2 and a half million dollars in the city of Scranton for buyouts for properties that were ravaged uh by that earlier flooding that I mentioned.
▶ 2:06:59My question would be, have you given any thought or has there been any dialogue relating or or circulating around the brick program or the possible reinstatement of the brick program or something to the likes or similarity of
▶ 2:07:12Uh so thank you for the question. uh and a bit on brick first as I I think you might have alluded to. Brick uh originally was was during the 2018 during the Trump 45 and then it went into the Biden administration and kind of brick went off the rails and it went off the rails because we were funding things like bus stops and bike paths.
▶ 2:07:38So right now it's under litigation and what I what I can so I can't really speak about but what I can tell you is that resilience is is a priority for me and it's a priority for FEMA. So even though the brick program u is under litigation u uh resilience is important and a top priority for me and I would like to stay engaged with you on that regarding brick I mean regarding um uh resilience.
▶ 2:08:05really appreciate that and I'll use this as an opportunity to invite you to northeastern Pennsylvania and see some of the communities that have unfortunately suffered dire consequences because of flooding where levies were never even projected. Some of these areas never even had received water uh in 1972 that ended up being decimated in 2011 just because of different dynamics and landscapes with inside of the river. Um, but I definitely want to continue to stay in touch, work together, um, on some different systems and solutions uh, for my community.
▶ 2:08:35So, I appreciate you being here. I yield back.
▶ 2:08:38Chair. Thanks, gentlemen. The chair now recognizes Representative Oil.
▶ 2:08:43Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Richardson, for joining us today. I represent the central and south coast of Oregon. very beautiful place and my constituents have been pummeled by increasingly severe weather due to climate change.
▶ 2:08:59So whether it's fire or floods or heat domes or ice storm, these extreme weather events that we have not experienced before um make it so that my communities and constituents had suffered greatly and they aren't prepared. So I will echo my colleague Mr. Gar Mendey and my colleague from Pennsylvania in stressing the importance of the brick grant program. Um because I want I agree with you.
▶ 2:09:28We have to make sure our tax dollars are used efficiently and well and not in a wasteful manner. But like Port Orford, this is a coastal rural community in Curry County, Oregon that just had millions of dollars for water infrastructure upgrades eliminated even though they had already been allocated. So they have to stop this project. That's not that's not a bus stop. That's not DEI. This is absolutely critical.
▶ 2:09:53So, I would um encourage I'd love to work with you to see how we can move forward because now they're in limbo and there's just no other way for them to go forward without federal assistance. And I also would like to express my gratitude because last night FEMA approved um public assistance um of $9 million to address um public infrastructure for damage that happens because of floods.
▶ 2:10:20But there's hundreds of families who are still waiting for federal support to put their lives back together. These people were advised not to get flood insurance because the areas had never flooded before. So, the personal assistance, and even though it's like $800 to $2,000, my community, um, these communities are are almost $20,000 less than the median income, that $800 to $2,000 make all the difference in the world for them to get their lives back on track.
▶ 2:10:48So, we still have um I I'm I I don't want to play a blame game. There is no administration that has handled FEMA well. None. It is inefficient. You have people that are traumatized that have to go through bureaucratic processes. I still have 200 people up river from me that are out of their homes from the 2020 Labor Day fires. We are waiting for reimbursement from FEMA from 2020, 2021 and every year since then.
▶ 2:11:18And the process is bureaucratic. We're so worried about someone not stealing a penny that we make these traumatized people go through too much. So again, would love to work with you on how we can have this be more efficient and get um aid directly to people and those tax dollars working. So I have two questions. It's been over two months since Oregon request requested a disaster declaration for these floods. When can families expect a decision on individual assistance?
▶ 2:11:47And secondly, is FEMA still considering changes to the public assistance thresholds that would cut off support disasters like our floods in Oregon? Um because that doesn't look like reform. It looks like an action that's going to like punch people while they're down. So those are my two questions.
▶ 2:12:07So So thank you for the questions. Um and and flooding, by the way, is as you know, the most the costly uh disaster that we have. um re regarding the the the first question which is could could you just real summarize the the two questions? I'm going to jot them down real quick.
▶ 2:12:24So like first question um how do we track and when can we expect a decision on individual assistance? We got the public assistance but this individual assistance might in the scope of a federal budget look small but it's massive massive to my communities. So all all the declarations have have been cleared. Um I was briefed on that this morning. So they're all cleared at this point. Um
▶ 2:12:50so even for the for the individual
▶ 2:12:53Yeah, I I I I believe so, but I was briefed on it this morning. So I do believe they they were cleared
▶ 2:12:58And then um is FEMA still considering changes to the public assistance threshold that would cut off support for disasters like our floods, our floods, our fires, the ice storms. I mean these are not things we have suffered from before and they're kind of smaller areas so we oftentimes just get overlooked.
▶ 2:13:18So as and I understand the question as we currently stand we we the the they remain the same. However, the future of FEMA is going to be determined by the council. So that would be forthcoming depending on what the council uh decides to recommend to the president.
▶ 2:13:38Okay. And then finally, I will just say again, please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Do not eliminate and completely take out the brick programs because they're really, really important work that's done. And we need those dollars.
▶ 2:13:57I get that we can disagree or you know you can say you don't think this is the way money should be spent but water infrastructure and resilience are critical and that is something in a bipartisan way we should agree that our federal dollars should be um pointed towards. So thank you so much.
▶ 2:14:14Thank you chair. Thanks the gentleoman. The chair now recognizes Representative
▶ 2:14:21Thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you Mr. Richardson for being here. I want to start by reminding all of us why these federal dollars exist in the first place. To support the American people when they need it the most. These funds are meant to help communities prepare for the worst and respond quickly when disasters strike. Mr. Richardson, you say you've stayed in Washington during a recent disaster to kick down the doors of bureaucracy.
▶ 2:14:49But for the Central Coast and for many communities across the country, FEMA delays in reimbursements have had real consequences. Contractors, cities, counties are forced to front the cost of emergency response and recovery, straining local budgets and slowing down rebuilding efforts. Yet, when it's time for the federal government to pay back local communities, it is holding funds rather than repaying its share. Why?
▶ 2:15:18Because Secretary Gnome is now personally reviewing every FEMA grant contract over $100,000. This bureaucratic bottleneck is suffocating our communities. I have heard from my constituents from the county of St. Louis Abyspo, the city of St. Louis Abyispo, the county of Santa Barbara, the county of Ventura, and various water districts throughout my district. They are not receiving the reimbursements that they are owed.
▶ 2:15:47Today, I want to focus my questions on these issues. Mr. Richardson, what specific action is FEMA taking to clear these overdue reimbursements, and how much longer will my constituents on the Central Coast have to wait? Thank you for your question.
▶ 2:16:02So the the reimbursements and the the bureaucratic nature of that is indeed something I'm concerned about because I I I will kick down doors of bureaucracy and we are digging into that now because it takes far far too long for for the reimbursements and also to close out the disasters. So it's something that we are looking into. I don't necessarily have a timeline, but I can work with you to let you know.
▶ 2:16:32Thank you. For months, uh, Donald Trump has claimed that he is cutting red tape, and his administration is doing that in Washington. For communities on the Central Coast, it sure doesn't feel that way. What process improvements has FEMA implemented or will implement to accelerate these reimbursements?
▶ 2:16:51So one one of the things that I've done and once again thank you for the question is I've consolidated uh the the the the office was somewhat desperate when addressing these. So what I've done is I've consolid those fun consolidated those functions at FEMA so we can get a better handle on it and and better reporting measures for it and I can share those with you.
▶ 2:17:16Love to have that information. Uh, what accountability measures or metrics does FEMA use to track reimbursement timelines internally? And would you commit to provide this committee and me a report on average processing times for reimbursement claims from the especially for the Central Coast disasters over the past few years?
▶ 2:17:38What I can do is I can commit to looking into it and then uh uh getting hold of you and talking through it.
▶ 2:17:44Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Chair. Thanks a gentleman. The chair is going to recognize the ranking member for a moment for a close.
▶ 2:17:54Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I do have one final questions for uh Mr. Um like like you the loss of life from the Texas flood haunts me. the pictures in my mind of people clinging to trees, some who were saved by Coast Guard or other heroes in this incident. But it haunts me that we could have had more urban search and rescue preposition in place.
▶ 2:18:24We could have saved more of those people who were clinging on to those trees but weren't able to hang on for long enough. you testified here today that you relied on the judgment of the Texas emergency management officials, including um Texas pre-based urban search and rescue, but but FEMA did not act to bring in and preposition additional urban search and rescue. That was a choice.
▶ 2:18:54Uh the choice was made not to preposition those additional search and rescue. um in light of the fact that the lack of the greater number of urgent search search and rescues that could have saved more Do you still agree with President Trump's assessment that this that the response to the horrific Texas floods was quote the best FEMA response ever The response in Texas
▶ 2:19:24which was le state managed or state managed and federal supported brought the maximum amount of capability to bear in Texas at the right time and the right place through the secretary's leadership to the president's leadership to my own leadership to Nim kid's leadership to region six we made that happen and that is a model of how response should be done.
▶ 2:19:55The maximum capability, remember, emergency management is not a pileon sport. It's well coordinated, relies on personal relationships. It's got to be exercised beforehand. And all those things came together on Texas's worst day. And we all grieve for the state of Texas. All those things came together to uh show what President Trump and Secretary Nom called the best response ever.
▶ 2:20:21And I agree that it was an outstanding response and the people of Texas deserved that outstanding response and Texas uh emergency managers region six all did a outstanding job. Well, I will uh strongly disagree that all of the resources brought to bear that could have been I think it was a choice by to not fulfill their statuto responsibility to preposition under the circumstances.
▶ 2:20:49I believe that that li like likely cost lives in his circumstances and uh I believe it's a shame that you will say that this was the quote best FEMA response ever. I yield back
▶ 2:21:01chair. Thanks the gentlemen and just again once to level set let's make sure we understand definitionally what prepositioning means uh and and why it occurs. And in this instance, flood warnings happen all across the country on a regular basis and FEMA doesn't preposition to every flood warning it gets because they would preposition literally 365 days a year or just about something close to that.
▶ 2:21:28That having been said, with fastmoving disasters like the one that occurred in Texas, it is not like a hurricane which you can track, you can anticipate landfall or the location of the disaster to preposition assets. And so, definitionally, we need to just make sure again level setting what the expectation is here. Again, there are plenty of reasons to be critical of FEMA.
▶ 2:21:52Um, and and those criticisms are uh are justified in many cases, but definition definitionally, we must understand and recognize what the limit of expectations are and in this case, what prepositioning is for and what it's all about. That having been said, I thank the gentleman. The gentleman does yield back. Are there further questions from any members of the subcommittee who have not been recognized? Seeing none, that concludes our hearing for today. I'd like to thank the witness for his testimony.
▶ 2:22:22This subcommittee now stands