FEMA Faces Changes Amid California Wildfires

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could undergo significant structural changes in the wake of its response to the California wildfires.

The agency will go through a "streamlining" process with the aim of making disaster relief more effective, if Congress passes the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives.

Newsweek contacted FEMA for comment on their response to the California wildfires via email.

Why It Matters

FEMA has been repeatedly criticized over the last year for its response to disasters in the U.S. In particular, its management of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, as well as the southern California wildfires, has faced scrutiny over a delayed response.

The new legislation in Congress is designed to combat delays and make relief arrive to affected people faster.

What To Know

The newly sworn-in House of Representatives passed the Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act on Monday, meaning the legislation needs to pass in the Senate in order to become law.

If passed, the act would make changes to the 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act, calling on the government to "develop a study regarding streamlining and consolidating information collection and preliminary damage assessments, and for other purposes."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters, in Washington is photographed on October 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. The agency faces changes after new legislation passed the House of Representatives. Getty Images

This means that FEMA will undergo internal examination for ways in which the agency can make its disaster relief more efficient and get relief to those in need much faster, addressing one of the biggest criticisms the agency has faced in recent response efforts.

The legislation also calls on the FEMA Administrator, along with a member of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, to appear before Congress to outline the findings of the investigation and make recommendations on how the agency should be improved.

What People Are Saying

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds said on social media: "In the aftermath of a disaster, time is of the essence. This bill requires FEMA to streamline & improve information collection from those seeking disaster relief."

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said on Thursday: "What we need to work on now from the FEMA perspective is: how do we help those people who have lost everything?

"How do we help them understand what's going to be the next step of the process? How do we help them understand how they're going to jump-start their recovery now that they have lost everything?"

What Happens Next

The bill now needs to be passed in the Senate in order to become law. FEMA remains active in southern California as the response effort is ongoing.

President Joe Biden has said that the federal government will cover 100 percent of the immediate damage relief costs to the wildfires.

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