(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Emergency Management and Technology Subcommittee, announced they sent a letter with Committee Democrats to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Senior Official Performing the Duties of FEMA Administrator David Richardson outlining widespread failures in the rollout of fiscal year 2025 preparedness grants, which were already unnecessarily delayed by the Trump administration.
The Members wrote: “We write to express our deep concern regarding the fiscal year 2025 Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) and accompanying Terms and Conditions for FEMA’s preparedness grant programs. Numerous provisions—both procedural and substantive—are causing serious confusion and implementation challenges for State Administrative Agencies and potential subrecipients. Compounding these concerns, DHS released the NOFOs more than two months past their statutory deadlines, while allowing State Administrative Agencies only two weeks to prepare and submit their applications.”
FEMA’s preparedness grants are supposed to be a lifeline for state, local, and tribal governments, funding the capabilities needed to prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other disasters. When the Trump administration drags its feet and then injects sudden and confusing policy changes, it leaves communities scrambling in the middle of emergencies. Further, DHS's lack of transparency about its risk-analysis methods undermines confidence in its funding decisions—especially since those undisclosed methods led to $134 million in terrorism-prevention cuts for cities long recognized as top terrorist targets.
Click here to read the full letter.
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