FEMA Administrator told state officials FEMA will soon scale back federal support after a disaster

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today released the following statement in response to new reporting that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Cameron Hamilton told state disaster response officials the Trump Administration soon plans to shift disaster response to state governments:  

“President Trump’s efforts to dismantle FEMA and limit the federal government’s disaster response will put countless Americans in danger and destroy state and local economies. The Trump Administration has little concern or understanding of the limited capacity of state governments to respond in the wake of a disaster. State and municipal governments do herculean work after a disaster hits, but many communities simply do not have the capacity or budget to rebuild and repair. The federal government must help states weather the storm. 

“Vermont’s catastrophic floods of 2023 and 2024 would have been impossible to recover from without the immediate, lifesaving response efforts provided by FEMA. I have no doubt our next flood or natural disaster will be harder to recover from because of President Trump’s misguided, reckless policies.  

“FEMA reform must be done in a bipartisan and collaborative way, with state and local governments at the table, working with us, to improve this agency. FEMA does need to be fixed, and state and local governments should be empowered to spend federal disaster funds faster and more efficiently—but limiting federal aid and shifting even more administrative burden onto the states after a disaster will only make recovery more painful and more expensive.” 

Senator Welch has advocated for disaster aid funding throughout Vermont’s catastrophic back-to-back flooding in July 2023 and July 2024. On the anniversaries of Vermont’s brutal floods, Senator Welch introduced the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act, which would cut red tape and support hazard mitigation efforts, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide technical assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster response. The bill was inspired and shaped by the disaster recovery experience of communities across Vermont.    

The Senator also introduced the Rural Recovery Act, which would create a new program at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) to provide RD state offices with automatic funding for emergency recovery technical assistance after disasters take place in their jurisdiction.   

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