Democrats Say FEMA’s Pause on Long-Term Recovery Projects Is ‘Just Being Mean’

Democrats say the Trump administration is sabotaging a key Federal Emergency Management Agency fund, which could keep operating during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, in order to raise the shutdown’s stakes.

The lapse in funding is in its second week, with Democrats and Republicans still in a stalemate regarding new guidelines for federal immigration officers. But that’s left FEMA, which is part of DHS, without funding as well. And earlier this week, the administration announced it was freezing disaster aid for long-term recovery projects. The decision has taken heat from Democrats and experts who say there is still money in the Disaster Relief Fund that could pay for these projects.

“That’s just another bonehead decision that Kristi Noem has done,” Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, told NOTUS. “Generally, there has always been an exception with ongoing disasters. They’re just being mean. They have significant resources available to them. They can make the adjustment if they want to.”

Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat from Louisiana and another member of the committee, called the decision “counterproductive” and “ridiculous.”

“It’s to try to make an issue out of an issue,” Carter told NOTUS about the administration’s rationale for pausing the funding. “To paint a picture that somehow, because of the dysfunction of the Republican Party’s lack of negotiations, that they can blame it on someone other than themselves, and to exact pain from the American people in cases where they don’t have to.”

“The resources are there. For them to suggest otherwise is just untrue,” Carter added.

After disasters, states request and then wait on approval from the agency to begin working on projects like reconstructing sewers, roads, bridges and schools. When they are completed, local governments and other entities turn to the agency for reimbursement from the Disaster Relief Fund.

“I have introduced legislation that would ensure the law-abiding agencies under DHS – excluding ICE, CBP, and the Office of the Secretary – receive the funding they need to operate,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told NOTUS in a statement. “There is no excuse for Republicans to reduce critical services or force public servants to work without pay.”

FEMA told Congress last week that the Disaster Relief Fund had a balance of $9.6 billion as of Feb. 19, a source familiar with the matter told NOTUS. Politico reported Sunday that the agency has typically waited for funds to plummet to around $3 billion before activating constraints.

“It is not uncommon for an administration to use scaling back reimbursements and things as a negotiating tool to try to get Congress to pass a budget or increase the amount of money in the Disaster Relief Fund,” a former senior official at FEMA told NOTUS.

However, the former official added that FEMA does not typically “pause standard reimbursements from FEMA public assistance unless you’re in immediate-needs funding and you’re about to run out of money in the DRF.”

“It’s conceivable that in many jurisdictions, not receiving a reimbursement for a few hundred-thousand dollars, to millions, depending on the size of reimbursement,” the former official continued. “That could really be a major challenge for them if it goes on long enough, and of course, contractors are waiting on reimbursements as well.”

Rep. Sam Graves, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which also has jurisdiction over FEMA, told NOTUS that he needs to “evaluate” the announcement, adding that it’s “obviously gonna have an impact on every state.”

Other Democrats are still searching for an explanation for the decision.

“There’s money in the Disaster Relief Fund,” Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told NOTUS. “There’s no reason to stop the money. But that said, I think there’s some twisted brains at the White House or at Homeland Security who think they’re somehow punishing people because of the shutdown at DHS. All they’re doing is punishing people, period.”

FEMA did not respond to a request for comment.

Prior to the shutdown, a top FEMA official warned members of Congress that the Disaster Relief Fund could be compromised if a major disaster occurred during a funding lapse. And during the shutdown’s first week, officials expressed concern about how a strained FEMA could affect their state.

Danielle Silva, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told NOTUS that the agency has been nonresponsive about the state’s approved recovery projects.

“We need FEMA to kind of monitor and check in every step of the way,” Silva said. “We hope it’s resolved soon, because these projects are kind of key to helping the communities that are impacted rebuild. But we also know that monsoon season is coming.”

The shutdown has also resulted in questions from lawmakers about the return of funding from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program. The program, which was funded using the Disaster Relief Fund, was cut by the Trump administration last year. But a federal judge ruled that the administration’s move was “unlawful.”

Republicans held back on criticizing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Anytime FEMA doesn’t have the necessary resources to rebuild communities after natural disasters, is certainly something that I’m going to be considerate of,” Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a Republican from Pennsylvania who introduced legislation to protect the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, told NOTUS. “But without actually seeing or reading the intricacies of that specific position, I’m going to defer until I can actually have a chance to review that actual memo.”

Rep. Tom Cole, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told NOTUS that FEMA helped his home state of Oklahoma respond to wildfires last week.

While he’s “sure” his state will be affected by the freeze and has concerns about securing long-term funding, he’s not disappointed with the agency.

“We’re still waiting on some relief from tornado activity last spring that we think has been approved,” Cole said. “But for whatever reason, hasn’t been released. So we’re working on that. But again, it’s hard to complain about an agency when we didn’t give them the money to operate on. And again, that’s squarely the fault of Leader Schumer and Democrats in the Senate.”