ICYMI: Trump's FY2027 Budget Would Gut $1.5 Billion in FEMA Preparedness Grants, Threatening Communities Nationwide
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this month, the Trump administration released its FY2027 budget request, proposing to eliminate all of FEMA's non-disaster grant programs — a sweeping $1.3 billion cut that would target key programs like the Emergency Management Performance Grant, the Homeland Security Grant Program, and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
These devastating cuts would leave states, localities, and hospitals without the resources needed to plan for, respond to, and recover from the disasters that are growing more frequent and severe each year. With hurricane and wildfire season on the horizon, FEMA should be protected and expanded, not gutted and unprepared for when disaster strikes.
“Gutting $1.5 billion in preparedness grants doesn't save money — it guarantees that when the next hurricane, wildfire, or flood hits, communities will be caught flat-footed and taxpayers will foot a far bigger bill for emergency response,” said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council member Ashley Shelton. “Every emergency manager, every governor, every mayor knows that prevention is cheaper than cleanup. But this administration would rather play political games with disaster funding than protect American lives.”
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT VS DISASTER RESPONSE: These proposals arrive at a moment of profound fiscal irresponsibility. Research consistently shows that every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves $13 in future disaster costs. Stripping preparedness funding today does not reduce government spending — it multiplies it, shifting the burden to far more expensive emergency response and recovery operations borne by taxpayers.
LET FEMA DO ITS JOB: Sabotaging Our Safety has been demanding accountability for the Trump administration's chaotic and reckless approach to disaster management, including calling for FEMA to become an independent cabinet-level agency protected from political interference. These proposed cuts represent yet another dangerous signal that the administration views disaster preparedness as expendable — even as climate change drives increasingly severe and costly disasters across the country.
