Exclusive: ‘A more vulnerable nation': FEMA memos lay out risks of plan to cut $1B in disaster and security grants

CNN

2 days ago

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has proposed cutting nearly $1 billion in grant funding that communities and first responders nationwide use to better prepare for disasters and to bolster security for possible terror or cyberattacks.
The proposed cuts, which still require approval from the White House budget office and Congress, would zero out funding for more than half of FEMA's emergency management and homeland security grant programs, according to internal memos and two FEMA officials familiar with the plans.
This comes amid an overhaul of the disaster relief agency at the hands of the Trump administration, which seeks to drastically shrink FEMA's footprint and shift more responsibility for disaster preparedness, response and recovery onto states. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, has looked at slashing grant funding as part of that effort.
In one memo signed by acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson, the cuts are described as a way to 'focus on appropriate spending for the Agency's core mission in emergency management.'
But the memos – signed by Richardson and approved by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – also acknowledge in stark terms the potential risks of eliminating the programs.
The loss of one program that helps communities plan and train for disasters would 'leave state and local governments more vulnerable to catastrophic incidents,' one memo states. Ending another that bolsters transportation infrastructure and terrorism protections would 'contradict the administration's commitment to a safer and more secure country,' the memo says.
Terminating the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) – the largest FEMA program on the chopping block, providing more than $500 million to prepare major cities for catastrophic emergencies – would create 'a less secure nation, especially at the border and in some of the nation's most targeted cities, including Miami, Washington DC, and Dallas,' the memo states.
The agency also plans to eliminate funding for the Next Generation Warning System initiative, which is designed to modernize and improve the nation's public alert and warning capabilities for severe storms and other emergencies, after pausing the program earlier this year.
According to the memo, FEMA staff had suggested that instead of terminating the program, the money could be allocated 'to high-risk flooding areas including Texas and New Mexico.' But Richardson signed off on eliminating it earlier this month.
Among the other impacts from the potential cuts, as outlined by FEMA, would be 'undertrained firefighters,' 'poor wildfire readiness,' more risk at '120 critical United States ports' and less homeland security training for cities hosting World Cup games. Axing another program 'could increase the risk of terror attacks on passenger rail,' the memo says, and cutting off a violence and terrorism prevention program 'results in a more vulnerable nation.'
DHS said the memos referenced in this story are 'cherry-picked,' but acknowledged the department is looking to cut 'unaccountable programs.'
'Secretary Noem and this Administration are focused on ending waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government - and FEMA is no exception,' a DHS spokesman said in a statement to CNN. 'For years, taxpayer dollars have flowed to bloated grants, political pet projects, and groups with questionable ties. That ends now.'
This comes after FEMA shut down the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, halting more than $600 million intended to help communities prepare for natural disasters, prompting 20 states to sue the agency.
Due to the ongoing litigation, the memos state, FEMA will address the future of the BRIC program at a later date.
The cuts to disaster and security grants could have wide-ranging consequences for communities that depend on these funds. The National League of Cities, an advocacy group representing cities, towns and villages across the US, 'strongly opposes' the proposed cuts, according to a statement provided to CNN by a spokesperson.
'Reducing or eliminating these programs would severely undermine the preparedness of our first responders and compromise the ability of local governments to effectively ensure the core capabilities necessary for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts,' the NLC spokesperson wrote.
Congress allocated a total of more than $4 billion this fiscal year for FEMA to support these national preparedness programs, which state and local governments, emergency management agencies, and fire and police departments depend on for essential staffing, equipment, and training.
But in recent months, the disaster relief agency, at the direction of DHS, has largely halted the selection of new grant recipients so it could review the programs.
That has left emergency managers across the country waiting for FEMA to issue Notices of Funding Opportunities, or NOFOs, which allow local jurisdictions and organizations to apply for grants and are now more than two months behind schedule.
'We've been ghosted by FEMA,' a North Carolina official recently told CNN, expressing frustration over the lack of guidance on whether states can expect funding in the coming months.
Now federal and state emergency managers are increasingly concerned that large portions of this year's funds will go unspent, as the funding streams expire unless allocated by the end of September.
At a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Richardson told concerned lawmakers, 'We're getting the NOFOs out the door as we speak.' The acting FEMA chief did not mention the looming cuts he had authorized in the memo he signed days before the hearing, though he criticized the agency's grant programs.
'A lot of the grants sound good, and then you dig into them, and they're not so good,' Richardson said, citing resilience projects 'used for things like bike paths and shade at bus stops.'
During Wednesday's hearing, Rep. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, pressed Richardson about the status of UASI funding, emphasizing its importance for protecting Las Vegas from potential terror threats.
Richardson responded: 'What I can commit to is that we've been doing due diligence on all of the grants.' He did not mention the program's potential termination.
Responding to CNN's new reporting Thursday, Titus said the plan to cut UASI is 'deeply irresponsible and endangers our public safety.'
'These grants played a significant role in the response to the Harvest Festival shootings and are critical to protecting the public in all major cities and at big events such as the Super Bowl, Formula One races, and golf tournaments,' Titus said in a statement to CNN.
'I implore Secretary Noem to administer these public safety grants as Congress directed and ensure that our first responders and emergency personnel have the tools they need to address future threats in our communities.'