Sponsors (14)
The bill restores FEMA staff and restarts mitigation projects to strengthen near-term disaster readiness and protect homeowners, but does so at measurable taxpayer cost and with requirements that may strain FEMA operations and reduce the agency's ability to reallocate people and funds to evolving hazards.
State and local governments, homeowners, and local construction workers can immediately continue BRIC and FMA mitigation projects and grants, speeding flood/resilience construction, protecting homes from future flood damage, and preserving mitigation-related jobs.
Communities (urban and rural) will see improved disaster response capacity and continuity because experienced FEMA staff are available again, boosting preparedness and operational knowledge during emergencies.
Federal employees who were involuntarily separated between January 20, 2025 and enactment can return to their FEMA jobs and have pay and benefits restored, reversing recent job losses for those individuals.
Taxpayers may face additional payroll, benefit, and continued project spending costs to reinstate separated FEMA employees and resume BRIC/FMA projects.
FEMA, federal employees, and state/local partners could experience operational disruption because forced rapid reinstatements within short timelines may require rushed administrative reallocations and strain agency capacity, potentially delaying other disaster responses.
FEMA and disaster planning may lose flexibility because reinstatement mandates and locking into existing BRIC/FMA program structures could limit the agency's ability to reassign positions or reallocate funds to emergent hazards or more cost-effective approaches.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires FEMA to reinstate certain involuntarily separated employees using available funds and to resume and not restrict BRIC and FMA mitigation projects.
Requires FEMA to reinstate any employee who was involuntarily separated from a FEMA position between January 20, 2025 and the date of enactment if that person elects reinstatement, and directs that funds already appropriated or otherwise made available to FEMA be used for those reinstatements within 30 days. Directs the FEMA Administrator to continue existing congressionally mandated preparedness and mitigation programs for extreme weather, immediately reinstate and carry out previously funded projects under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs, and prohibits narrowing or otherwise reducing access to those congressionally authorized resources.
Introduced August 19, 2025 by Greg Casar · Last progress August 19, 2025