The Trump administration on Sunday halted disaster aid to states for long-term rebuilding projects in order to focus on emergency operations as the partial government shutdown enters its second week.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency “is scaling back to bare-minimum, life-saving operations only,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “All non-emergency recovery work is paused.”
The funding freeze for projects stemming from past disasters adds a new source of uncertainty for states as they navigate the government’s shifting system for catastrophe response after President Donald Trump vowed to reduce aid for extreme weather.
It’s also a sign that political acrimony over Trump’s immigration crackdown has affected FEMA, which is housed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security. Congressional Democrats have blocked a DHS spending bill over ICE’s aggressive tactics.
It’s the 11th time since 2003 that FEMA has suspended funding for long-term disaster-recovery projects, such as rebuilding public facilities, based on budget constraints.
The latest restriction was unusual because the agency had $7.1 billion available in its disaster fund in late January. Historically, FEMA has waited until the disaster fund drops to about $3 billion before it restricts spending.
FEMA officials told Congress last week that the fund had $9.6 billion, according to a senior congressional aide who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. The fund’s balance increased in February because FEMA recovered aid that had been approved but not spent, the aide said.
On Sunday, Noem said DHS “must take emergency measures to preserve limited funds and personnel.” The announcement came days after FEMA employee travel was restricted by DHS.
Noem blamed Democrats for the shutdown, which she said forced her to halt the FEMA funding. Noem also suspended two DHS airport programs over the weekend that allowed some travelers to skip long lines at screening checkpoints and at customs entry stations. “These actions reflect the reality of operating without appropriations,” she said.
Noem, whose department includes the Transportation Security Administration, said she wanted to “refocus Department personnel on the majority of travelers.”
The TSA contradicted Noem hours after her announcement and said its PreCheck program at passenger screening checkpoints “remains operational with no change for the traveling public.”
That led some Democrats to criticize the administration for politicizing homeland security programs.
“These nitwits are at it again,” Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement, adding that the airport programs “REDUCE airport lines and ease the burden on DHS.”
Noem’s decision on FEMA funding will not affect operations at 44 active disaster sites, including those in a dozen Southern states that are recovering from a massive winter storm in late January. Nearly 2,800 disaster specialists were working across the country on Sunday, and another 4,400 were available to be deployed, according to a FEMA report.
But the funding restrictions could delay thousands of long-term disaster rebuilding projects. FEMA pays at least 75 percent of the cost of eligible projects. Many states and localities delay or halt work when FEMA stops its payments.
“States and communities will be forced to wait for long-term response work to continue,” Gregg Phillips, FEMA’s associate administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery, told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Feb. 11.
The FEMA disaster fund “has sufficient balances to continue emergency response activities for the foreseeable future,” Phillips said in written testimony submitted to panel. But if a disaster occurred, the fund “would be seriously strained.”
The funding restriction also threatens to further delay Trump’s decisions on granting 14 requests for disaster aid by governors and tribal leaders since Nov. 26.
