Condemning Federal workforce reductions that undermine preparedness, response, and recovery, and expressing concern regarding proposed future staffing cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1035 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1035

 Condemning Federal workforce reductions that undermine preparedness,
   response, and recovery, and expressing concern regarding proposed
    future staffing cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2026

Mr. Thompson of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr.
   Swalwell, Mr. Correa, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mrs.
 McIver, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Pou, Mr. Walkinshaw,
Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Norton, Ms. Velazquez,
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Titus,
 Mr. Beyer, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Case, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Mullin, Ms.
  Salinas, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Bell, and Mr. Subramanyam) submitted the
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on
 Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 Condemning Federal workforce reductions that undermine preparedness,
   response, and recovery, and expressing concern regarding proposed
    future staffing cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Whereas, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12127, which
        established the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
Whereas FEMA's mission is to serve the American public by helping people before,
        during, and after disasters;
Whereas FEMA's ability to fulfill its mission depends on a stable, efficiently
        managed, and adequately resourced workforce across disaster
        preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and support functions;
Whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly reported that
        for many years FEMA has operated with chronic staffing shortages,
        relying on sustained overtime, temporary staff surges, and extended
        deployments to fulfill its mission;
Whereas GAO has reported that staffing shortages have at times compromised
        FEMA's ability to respond to disasters, such as during the aftermath of
        Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the wildfires in California,
        that occurred concurrently in 2017;
Whereas major disasters, such as Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, Rita, Sandy,
        Harvey, Irma, and Maria, revealed severe deficiencies in Federal
        disaster staffing, prompting reforms to strengthen FEMA's hiring,
        deployment, and workforce capacity;
Whereas the Nation faces increasingly frequent and severe disasters, placing
        unprecedented demands on FEMA personnel;
Whereas for several years FEMA had been incrementally increasing its workforce
        to address the increase in disasters and existing staffing gaps, but
        those efforts were reversed in 2025 when the Trump Administration caused
        a steep drop in staffing levels;
Whereas recent workforce reductions and firings carried out by the Trump
        Administration have resulted in at least 2,000 permanent staff leaving
        FEMA and exacerbated the impacts of FEMA's longstanding staffing
        shortages;
Whereas GAO added Federal delivery of disaster assistance to its high-risk list
        in 2025--in part due to a 35 percent staffing shortage at FEMA--
        indicating that increasing FEMA's staffing levels should be one of the
        Federal Government's highest priorities;
Whereas recently reported internal planning and discussions led by the
        Department of Homeland Security and FEMA officials have created
        significant instability by contemplating substantially deeper workforce
        reductions at FEMA;
Whereas such workforce reductions, if implemented, would significantly delay
        disaster response, slow recovery, and reduce assistance to communities
        following disasters, including impacting ongoing recovery operations
        relating to Hurricane Helene, flooding in Central Texas, and wildfires
        in California;
Whereas FEMA employees perform essential public service under demanding and
        often hazardous conditions, and workforce instability undermines morale
        and retention;
Whereas the loss of experienced personnel and institutional knowledge at FEMA
        weakens long-term preparedness, continuity of operations, and emergency
        management expertise across the Federal Government;
Whereas effective disaster response and recovery require strong coordination
        among Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and is
        dependent on a fully staffed FEMA;
Whereas rural communities, coastal States, wildfire-prone regions, and small
        towns often depend most heavily on timely Federal disaster response and
        recovery assistance;
Whereas delays in disaster response and recovery increase overall Federal costs,
        prolong displacement, and raise long-term rebuilding expenses for
        taxpayers, undermining efficient and responsible use of Federal funds;
Whereas FEMA administers the National Flood Insurance Program, which depends on
        experienced Federal staff to ensure that families whose homes have been
        damaged by floods are paid fairly and that communities can reduce future
        flood risk;
Whereas in addition to leading the Nation's natural disaster response, FEMA
        employees support critical programs that were established in the wake of
        the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;
Whereas FEMA employees play a key role in ensuring that first responders, State,
        local, Tribal, and territorial governments, and nonprofit organizations
        can build and sustain capabilities related to mitigating, preventing,
        and responding to acts of terrorism;
Whereas FEMA employees provide indispensable technical expertise and
        administration of counterterrorism grants, such as the Urban Area
        Security Initiative, State Homeland Security Program, and the Nonprofit
        Security Grant Program, which protect and support lifesaving frontline
        responders, such as emergency medical services, firefighters, and law
        enforcement personnel;
Whereas these counterterrorism grants strategically allocate Federal resources
        to enable State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to increase
        the resilience of such governments against natural and man-made threats,
        including acts of terrorism, thereby enabling the Department of Homeland
        Security to carry out its mission to safeguard the American people; and
Whereas Congress has a responsibility to ensure that FEMA has the personnel and
        resources necessary to carry out its mission in service of communities:
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the current and future proposed workforce
        reductions at FEMA, which will endanger the Nation's capacity
        to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, both
        natural and manmade;
            (2) expresses grave concern that such workforce reductions
        blatantly disregard the lessons of deadly storms, such as
        Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria, and Helene,
        and Winter Storm Elliott, and will compromise the ability of
        State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to protect
        lives and property during future disasters;
            (3) denounces any such workforce reductions that will
        dangerously weaken the Nation's ability to prevent, prepare
        for, and respond to acts of terrorism, including by undermining
        counterterrorism grant programs that protect and support
        lifesaving frontline responders, such as emergency medical
        services, firefighters, and law enforcement personnel,
        nonprofit organizations, and high-risk communities;
            (4) disapproves of any reckless cuts to FEMA's workforce by
        the Trump Administration that would result in compromising
        FEMA's ability to maintain sufficient staffing, surge capacity,
        and institutional expertise to effectively respond to disasters
        and support survivors; and
            (5) commits to supporting a stable, adequately resourced
        FEMA workforce to ensure timely and effective disaster
        preparedness, response, and recovery for communities across the
        Nation.
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