Top Republican Expects Disaster Agency Overhaul Vote Next Year

Bipartisan legislation that would overhaul the disaster relief and recovery process and restore the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Cabinet-level status likely will move next year, its Republican sponsor said Tuesday.

The government shutdown and the few remaining legislative weeks left in 2025 have affected the House floor schedule, including consideration of the FEMA reform measure.

“This will be the most comprehensive FEMA reform since Hurricane Katrina,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said during a Punchbowl News event in Washington. “FEMA is broken.”

The panel in September advanced the legislation (H.R. 4669), which Graves and ...