Good News/Bad News: FEMA Review Council’s Recommendations Are a Mixed Bag

Last year,¹ KBRA published research detailing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) status and its challenges with respect to response timeliness, staffing adequacy, and funding certainty. In May,² the President’s FEMA Review Council released its report, recommending shifting FEMA toward a more supportive federal role, with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments taking greater responsibility for disaster management. It proposes stricter disaster-declaration criteria, faster direct funding, simplified survivor aid, restructured mitigation grants, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reform, and lower administrative costs. If implemented, these recommendations would aim to speed assistance and reduce bureaucracy but could increase fiscal risk for state and local governments. While the Review Council report addresses states, localities, tribal and territorial governments, this commentary…