Bipartisan Bill Proposes Making FEMA an Independent Cabinet-Level Agency to Improve Disaster Response
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Current FEMA employees would be transferred from the Department of Homeland Security to the new independent agency. The bill protects workers from being fired or having their pay cut for at least one year after the transfer, but the reorganization could still bring uncertainty about new leadership, reporting structures, and long-term career paths. Employees in executive-level positions would keep their current pay rates as long as their new duties are comparable.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
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.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
House lawmakers have revamped a bipartisan push to make FEMA a Cabinet agency even as the Trump administration talks about eliminating it entirely. The FEMA Independence Act would mark a major change to how the agency operates, showing a clash between Capitol Hill and the White House.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials expressed support for diminishing FEMA's role. In response, Reps. Moskowitz and Donalds introduced a bill to establish FEMA as an independent, Cabinet-level agency to free it from sprawling bureaucracy and help it move with more agility.
Following a series of winter storms, critics and whistleblowers are calling for FEMA to become independent again. The article notes that the Trump administration has hampered the agency through budget cuts and staff reductions, highlighting the urgency of the FEMA Independence Act.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
FEMA Independence Act of 2025
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