Lawmakers unveil bipartisan measure making FEMA its own Cabinet-level agency

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday that would make the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) its own Cabinet-level department, elevating its importance as natural disasters regularly thrust it into the national spotlight. 

Moskowitz, who formerly headed Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, and Graves argued that bureaucratic red tape is hindering FEMA’s ability to respond rapidly. 

By removing the agency from under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they said in their press release, they hope to “drastically improve FEMA’s ability to prepare, respond, and recover.” 

“As the first Emergency Management Director ever elected to Congress, I have seen firsthand the challenges faced when responding to emergencies, recovering from them, and mitigating their impacts,” Moskowitz said in a press release. 

“There is no doubt that in the future FEMA will be busier than ever before and this move will help cut unnecessary red tape and make FEMA quicker,” he added.

After the 9/11 terror attacks, DHS was created to house nearly two dozen agencies involved in responding to national emergencies. Both congressmen argued FEMA was best as its own agency and ought to be reinstated as its own Cabinet-level department. 

The legislation they introduced would change the leader’s title from FEMA administrator to FEMA director, and it would give the new chief the same responsibilities as other Cabinet members. 

“When a disaster threatens, we need action not bureaucracy. Having FEMA buried within the Department of Homeland Security only contributes to delays, lack of action, and do-loops. This experiment of putting FEMA under the Secretary of Homeland Security has failed,” Graves said in the press release.

“Americans deserve better. Louisianians deserve a FEMA that responds with the same urgency that they feel after a disaster,” he added. “I am proud to work on this bipartisan bill with Rep. Moskowitz. It’s long overdue for FEMA to become an independent cabinet-level agency once again.”