Sponsors (4)
The bill centralizes and elevates federal emergency management to improve nationwide coordination, planning, and accountability, at the trade-off of greater federal control, higher taxpayer costs, and short-term transitional and legal risks that may constrain local flexibility.
State and local governments, federal emergency responders, and disaster-affected communities will have a single, Cabinet-level, statutorily accountable Federal emergency management leader (the Director) coordinating preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation, improving national coordination and clarity during disasters.
Emergency response organizations and communities will benefit from a consolidated National Response Plan and strengthened interoperable communications, which can reduce duplication, speed coordinated federal assistance, and improve on-the-ground responder coordination.
State and local governments and FEMA will have clearer statutory definitions (including aligning 'Hazard' with Stafford Act declarations), which can reduce ambiguity in declaring hazards and speed access to assistance for affected communities.
State and local governments and smaller jurisdictions may lose flexibility and face more prescriptive federal control as authority is centralized under a single Director, increasing administrative burden and potentially reducing locally tailored responses.
Taxpayers may face higher federal costs from creating a Cabinet-level agency, additional Senior/Deputy positions, Executive Schedule pay protections, and the expense of implementing a nationwide plan and interoperable systems.
The rapid multi-section transition (including one-year deadlines and transfers of functions) creates significant short-term risks: organizational disruption, timing uncertainty, staffing morale issues, and possible temporary gaps or delays in disaster response and approvals.
Based on analysis of 24 sections of legislative text.
Creates FEMA as an independent Cabinet-level agency led by a Presidentially appointed Director and transfers FEMA functions, staff, assets, and authorities out of DHS.
Introduced April 2, 2025 by Thomas Roland Tillis · Last progress April 2, 2025
Creates the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an independent, Cabinet-level executive department led by a Presidentially appointed, Senate‑confirmed Director with specified public- and private-sector leadership experience. The bill transfers FEMA functions, personnel, assets, contracts, records, and funds out of the Department of Homeland Security into the new Agency within one year, renames leadership positions, preserves existing legal actions and agreements, requires a post-transition report recommending conforming statutory changes, and protects employee pay and status during the transfer.