Three Commitments Cameron Hamilton Must Make Before the Senate Confirms Him to Lead FEMA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Cameron Hamilton faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. As Americans enter their second hurricane season under an administration that has taken every opportunity to undermine FEMA, it’s critical that Hamilton is prepared to buck Trump, build FEMA up from the ground, and meet the needs of the American people before a disaster strikes. 

Ahead of today’s Senate votes to confirm Hamilton as FEMA administrator, Sabotaging Our Safety is calling on him to make three concrete commitments.

Commitment 1: Disaster declarations based on need, not politics.

Under the current administration, political considerations have influenced who receives federal disaster aid and who doesn't. Hamilton must commit that as administrator, disaster declarations and aid distributions will be made solely on the basis of assessed need, not the electoral map. 

Commitment 2: Pay what FEMA owes.

Communities across the country are waiting on billions in outstanding public assistance. These are reimbursements promised and not delivered. Under pressure, the administration has begun to pay out what is owed, but now Hamilton must commit to fully clearing this backlog and to publishing publicly accessible data on reimbursement timelines, by state, by disaster, and by project type. 

Commitment 3: Defend FEMA's mission against further dismantlement.

Hamilton was fired the last time he stood up for FEMA. The Senate must ask him directly: will he do it again? Specifically, Hamilton must commit to opposing further cuts to FEMA's non-disaster preparedness grants, to fully reinstating BRIC with FY2027 funding, and to resisting any effort to shift the federal government's core disaster responsibility to states that lack the capacity to absorb it. Every dollar invested in hazard mitigation saves at least $13 dollars in future disaster costs.

"Cameron Hamilton goes before the Senate with the chance to be a different kind of Trump appointee — one who actually fights for the Americans FEMA exists to serve," said Rafael Lemaitre, Sabotaging Our Safety Council member. "We're not asking for promises. We're asking for commitments he will be held to. The Senate should not confirm anyone who won't make them."

Hamilton has previously defended FEMA's value. Now the question becomes: Is he able to commit to protecting the agency on the record? 

Sabotaging Our Safety has been demanding FEMA become an independent cabinet-level agency following years of incompetence and politicization that left millions of Americans facing disasters without adequate federal support. The organization continues to call for transparent data-sharing with Congress, accountability in disaster aid allocation, and an end to the diversion of FEMA resources away from their core mission.

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