Trump council recommends major changes to FEMA : NPR

Key Points:

• A 12-person council appointed by President Trump recommends major reforms to FEMA, including raising the threshold for federal disaster aid, giving states more control over funds, and simplifying aid applications for survivors, marking the most significant policy shift in decades.
• The council proposes increasing the damage threshold for federal disaster declarations by over 50%, which would reduce federal spending but could leave states financially responsible for many disasters, raising concerns about state capacity amid worsening climate impacts.
• To expedite funding, the council suggests paying states lump sums immediately after disasters using parametric triggers based on objective disaster metrics, though experts warn this could lead to unfair aid distribution and implementation challenges.
• The council also recommends streamlining FEMA's aid application process for disaster survivors and shrinking the financially troubled National Flood Insurance Program by shifting policies to private insurers and improving flood risk mapping.
• Some earlier controversial recommendations, such as halving FEMA’s workforce and renaming the agency, were dropped from the final report, which arrives amid ongoing political turmoil and criticism of FEMA’s response efficiency under previous leadership.