Eight Questions Americans Deserve Answers To From Karen Evans on FEMA Delays, Disaster Aid, and Mitigation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Karen Evans, Acting Administrator of FEMA, testifies before the House Appropriations Committee subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security. As she does, committee members should press her on the chaos and delays that have plagued disaster response under Secretary Kristi Noem's leadership. Here are eight critical questions that Evans must answer to ensure Americans will be safe as disaster season approaches:Advancing critical FEMA reforms needed by survivors and their communities depends on transparent data-sharing with Congress.
Will you pledge to share all relevant data with the CBO in order to accurately score legislation associated with fixing long-standing issues at FEMA?
FEMA has billions in outstanding public assistance owed to communities still waiting for reimbursement, while individual survivors face high denial rates and inadequate aid amounts. Will you commit to paying all of FEMA's outstanding public assistance, improving the flow of individual aid to disaster-impacted families, and publishing clear, publicly accessible metrics on reimbursement timelines — by state, by disaster, and by project type — so Congress and survivors can hold FEMA accountable?
Under Noem, FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was terminated, but the program was recently re-opened by court order. Still, It has been over a year since Trump approved any state's request for hazard mitigation funding, a standard add-on to disaster declarations. Every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves multiple dollars in future disaster costs. Will you commit to fully reinstating BRIC and ensuring that approved mitigation funds are delivered to the communities that were promised them?
Critics of this administration's disaster policy argue that cutting mitigation programs is penny-wise and pound-foolish — every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves multiple dollars in future disaster costs. How do you reconcile the administration's cuts to proactive mitigation programs with your commitment to fiscal responsibility, and what specific steps will you take to reduce loss of life and property through resilience investments?
At a time when private insurance companies are gouging homeowners with rising premiums and under-paying claims, we need more public accountability in insurance programs–not less. Do you support the bipartisan NFIP RE act that would cap rising premiums and create more accountability for private insurers?
Reports have emerged that FEMA personnel have been reassigned to support immigration enforcement and deportation operations — pulling disaster response workers away from their core mission. Do you believe FEMA can effectively serve disaster-impacted Americans while housed within an agency that is simultaneously managing politically charged immigration enforcement operations?
The FEMA Review Council was established months ago, yet its findings have still not been released to the public or to Congress. What is your assessment of the Council's work to date, when will its findings be made public, and why has the administration withheld results that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been waiting for?
There have been credible reports and allegations that disaster declarations and federal aid allocation under this administration have been influenced by political considerations — including how states voted in presidential elections. Do you believe that a state's voting history should play any role in disaster declarations or the distribution of federal aid, and how will you ensure that FEMA's decisions are made solely on the basis of need?
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