(NewsNation) — The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has moved forward with a proposal to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling it the most significant reform effort in decades.
The bill, taken up in a markup hearing Wednesday, would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and establish it as an independent agency. Under the plan, the FEMA administrator would become a Cabinet-level official reporting directly to the president.
Other changes would include creating a centralized website to streamline disaster assistance requests.
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Lawmakers: Bill will cut through bureaucracy
Lawmakers have said the changes would cut through bureaucracy and help Americans access the aid they need during a disaster more quickly.
The Trump administration has said it wants to dismantle FEMA — at least as it currently exists.
Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., said this proposed bipartisan legislation would instead strengthen FEMA.
“We think dismantling FEMA is a really bad idea and not a cost-effective one, because it will be devastating for states and localities,” he said. “I don’t want to underplay how important it will be to make the FEMA administrator a cabinet position. It’s going to send a message that this, this emergency management function of the United States government is as important as anything else we do.”
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Employees criticize Trump’s FEMA agenda
FEMA staff sent a letter to Congress last month criticizing the agency’s leadership and direction, arguing their inexperience could harm the agency’s mission and lead to another disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina.
Nearly 200 current and former FEMA employees also warned recent budget cuts have weakened the agency’s ability to respond to disasters.
Wednesday’s hearing is just the first step for the legislation, which will next head to the full House for a vote.
