GEORGIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Wednesday it has begun using “immediate needs funding” after its Disaster Relief Fund fell below the $3 billion threshold, limiting the agency to support only lifesaving and life-sustaining disaster work while Congress remains without a full appropriation.
The announcement comes as wildfires continue to burn across the Southeast and ahead of Hurricane Season, which starts on June 1.
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FEMA said the shortfall stems from a lapse in appropriations that began with a partial government shutdown that started on Feb. 14. The agency said the Disaster Relief Fund had been about $9.8 billion at the start of the lapse and that the fund dipped below the $3 billion trigger after more than 70 days without replenishment.
“While FEMA will continue lifesaving and life-sustaining support, recovery efforts may be delayed until funding is restored,” the agency said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blamed congressional Democrats for the funding lapse.
“Democrats are endangering national security by playing political games with the Department’s budget,” Mullin said. “Communities across the country rely on FEMA in times of great need. While FEMA will continue lifesaving and life-sustaining support, recovery efforts may be delayed until funding is restored. Americans deserve better. Funding for DHS must be replenished as soon as possible.”
On Wednesday, House Republicans adopted a budget resolution on a largely party-line vote, 215-211. The action doesn’t automatically fund the department — it’s focused on eventually providing $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s time in office, which Democrats oppose.
But launching the GOP budget process, which will play out over weeks to come, has been what Speaker Mike Johnson needed to unlock a broader bipartisan bill for TSA agents and others that has languished during the longest-ever agency shutdown in history. That bill is expected to come to a vote on Thursday to fund much of the agency.
“It takes time,” Johnson, R-La., said after another day of start-stop action in the chamber that dragged for hours into the evening. “We will get there.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D‑Ga., who visited fire-ravaged Brantley County this week, said that he will make efforts to get the bill signed. Brantley County officials have said they are waiting to see if the area, where nearly 90 homes were destroyed in a wildfire, will get FEMA funding.
“These natural disasters remind us that Mother Nature is not waiting on politicians to get their act together, so I’ll be doing everything I can as a voice in the Senate for Georgia to encourage the passing of the legislation that we’ve already passed out of the Senate through the House. I’d like to see that legislation signed into law this week,” Warnock said.
The House’s narrow Republican majority has repeatedly stalled out under Johnson’s gavel, with his own party tangled in internal disputes on a range of pending issues, including the Homeland Security funding.
Under Immediate Needs Funding, FEMA said it will prioritize meeting survivors’ immediate needs and ensuring states, local governments, tribes and territories have the resources necessary for ongoing response. The agency said it will delay or pause nonurgent recovery obligations until sufficient funding is restored.
What FEMA says it will continue to fund
- Individual Assistance payments to survivors for critical needs and housing.
- Public Assistance that supports ongoing lifesaving and life-sustaining activities.
- Mission assignments and contracting necessary for ongoing response activities.
- Fire Management Assistance grants.
- State management costs deemed critical.
- Joint Field Office and recovery office operations, including salaries of Stafford Act employees.
- Some non-congregate sheltering, reviewed case by case.
What FEMA says it will not fund under INF
- Reimbursements for disaster activity that already has been completed.
- Public Assistance work already completed that is not supporting ongoing lifesaving activities (Categories A and B).
- Public Assistance Categories C through G.
- Hazard mitigation grants, including the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.
- State management Category Z funds not currently needed.
FEMA warned that without additional appropriations, its ability to support ongoing disaster response and recovery operations will remain severely constrained.