FEMA at a crossroads: What county officials need to know about reform efforts

Key Takeaways

The federal emergency management landscape is shifting rapidly, and counties — as the first layer of government that residents turn to when disaster strikes — have more at stake than nearly any other stakeholder. 

Two overlapping efforts are now unfolding in Washington: a sweeping executive-branch review of FEMA and a bipartisan legislative push to reform the agency through Congress. County officials should understand both tracks, what they could mean for local governments and where each stands today.

The FEMA Review Council: A blueprint, not a law 

On May 7, 2026, the President’s Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency released its final report, outlining 10 recommendations to fundamentally overhaul the nation’s approach to disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. The council was established by executive order in January 2025 and spent more than a year gathering input through listening sessions in 13 cities, engagement with all 50 states and territories, four tribal listening sessions and more than 13,000 public submissions. NACo participated actively throughout, including testifying before the council during a public meeting in New Orleans. 

The report’s proposals are far-reaching. Among the most consequential for counties: 

• replacing the existing Public Assistance reimbursement program with a parametric block grant model that would send funds to states within 30 days of a presidential disaster declaration; 
• streamlining Individual Assistance into a single direct payment of up to $150,000;
• replacing the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program with a two-phase state-managed structure;
• raising the thresholds required before a federal disaster declaration can be requested (an estimated 16 fewer major declarations per year); 
• and restructuring FEMA itself into a leaner agency designated as the federal government’s “payer of last resort.” 

County officials should read those proposals with one critical fact in mind: this report contains recommendations only – it is not policy. The most consequential changes, including restructuring Public Assistance and Individual Assistance, would require acts of Congress to take effect. Some narrower administrative adjustments could move through regulatory channels or executive action, but the full vision described in the report cannot be realized without significant legislation. The path forward for implementation is unclear, and it is far from certain which — if any — of these recommendations will ultimately be acted upon. 

If the report’s framework were enacted, counties should expect a significant transfer of responsibility — and cost — to the state and local level. Greater federal reliance on states as intermediaries could create uneven outcomes depending on how individual state governments choose to administer funds and fill the gaps left by a reduced federal footprint. 

Smaller, rural and under-resourced counties face the greatest risk in a scenario where state capacity does not keep pace with new expectations. The report does recommend preserving several critical federal capabilities counties rely on, including Urban Search and Rescue task forces, the National Disaster Medical System and the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, and it recommends retaining the Emergency Management Performance Grant program. 

NACo is actively engaging with FEMA and the administration as implementation discussions progress and will continue to provide updates as the process unfolds. Counties should monitor developments closely but should not expect immediate changes to existing programs. 

The FEMA Act: County wins in committee, Senate work ahead 

Congress has its own FEMA reform effort underway, and this one has already cleared a major hurdle. The bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act (H.R. 4669), introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership in the 119th Congress, passed committee on Sept. 3, 2025, by a vote of 57-3. The bill now awaits action on the House floor. 

 The FEMA Act represents the most significant proposed reform of the agency in decades. It would establish FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency, removing it from the Department of Homeland Security. It would also overhaul both Public Assistance and Individual Assistance policies and reform mitigation programs, with a focus on making federal disaster assistance more direct, timely and transparent for local communities. 

 Several provisions in the bill reflect direct recommendations from NACo’s Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force, through which county officials provided input to federal partners throughout the drafting process. Among the top county wins included in the legislation: 

• Advance payments for Public Assistance projects, reducing the burden on counties that must currently front costs and wait for reimbursement under a seven-phase process — a model that has long created financial strain, particularly for counties with limited tax bases and capped borrowing capacity. 
• A universal disaster application to streamline survivor access to federal aid, reducing confusion, duplication and delays across assistance programs. 
• A publicly accessible, interactive dashboard tracking all Public Assistance reimbursement requests — a transparency provision that NACo separately secured in recent appropriations legislation, giving counties unprecedented visibility into the status of disaster recovery funding. 
• Strengthened coordination between FEMA and state and local governments to ensure disaster assistance is delivered more efficiently and that federal programs are better aligned with local needs. 

One critical gap remains: a Senate companion bill has not yet been introduced. NACo is actively working to secure Senate introduction of a companion measure, and that effort makes continued county advocacy essential. County officials have a direct role to play in advancing this legislation: scheduling meetings with U.S. senators, sending formal letters of support on county letterhead and sharing real-world examples of how the current FEMA reimbursement system delays recovery and strains local budgets. 

Why this matters for counties 

The stakes for counties in both efforts could not be higher. Counties clear debris, operate shelters, rebuild public infrastructure, administer recovery grants and fund hospitals. We are, in every practical sense, the institution through which disaster response reaches individual residents. 

The current FEMA framework, while essential, has drawn consistent criticism from county officials for bureaucratic delays, complex grant requirements and slow reimbursements. The FEMA Act offers a legislative path to address many of those structural problems in ways that could meaningfully benefit local governments. The Review Council report, by contrast, raises important questions about whether a shift toward greater state primacy and reduced federal presence would leave counties — especially smaller and rural ones —  more exposed, not less. 

NACo will continue to monitor both tracks and represent county interests in all relevant discussions. County officials are encouraged to use NACo’s advocacy toolkit to engage their congressional delegations and to coordinate with NACo to align messaging as the legislative and administrative landscapes evolve.