IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1035 
Condemning Federal workforce reductions that undermine preparedness, re-
sponse, and recovery, and expressing concern regarding proposed future 
staffing cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2026 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Mr. 
SWALWELL, Mr. CORREA, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, 
Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HERNA´NDEZ, Ms. POU, Mr. 
WALKINSHAW, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. 
NORTON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Ms. TITUS, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Mr. CASE, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. SALINAS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 
BELL, and Mr. SUBRAMANYAM) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning Federal workforce reductions that undermine 
preparedness, response, and recovery, and expressing 
concern regarding proposed future staffing cuts to the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
Whereas, in 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed Executive 
Order 12127, which established the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:28 Feb 03, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1035.IH
HR1035
tkelley on LAP7H3WLY3PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1035 IH 
Whereas FEMA’s mission is to serve the American public by 
helping people before, during, and after disasters; 
Whereas FEMA’s ability to fulfill its mission depends on a 
stable, efficiently managed, and adequately resourced 
workforce across disaster preparedness, response, recov-
ery, mitigation, and support functions; 
Whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has re-
peatedly reported that for many years FEMA has oper-
ated with chronic staffing shortages, relying on sustained 
overtime, temporary staff surges, and extended deploy-
ments to fulfill its mission; 
Whereas GAO has reported that staffing shortages have at 
times compromised FEMA’s ability to respond to disas-
ters, such as during the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey, 
Irma, and Maria, and the wildfires in California, that oc-
curred concurrently in 2017; 
Whereas major disasters, such as Hurricanes Andrew, 
Katrina, Rita, Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, revealed 
severe deficiencies in Federal disaster staffing, prompting 
reforms to strengthen FEMA’s hiring, deployment, and 
workforce capacity; 
Whereas the Nation faces increasingly frequent and severe 
disasters, placing unprecedented demands on FEMA per-
sonnel; 
Whereas for several years FEMA had been incrementally in-
creasing its workforce to address the increase in disasters 
and existing staffing gaps, but those efforts were reversed 
in 2025 when the Trump Administration caused a steep 
drop in staffing levels; 
Whereas recent workforce reductions and firings carried out 
by the Trump Administration have resulted in at least 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:53 Feb 03, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1035.IH
HR1035
tkelley on LAP7H3WLY3PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1035 IH 
2,000 permanent staff leaving FEMA and exacerbated 
the impacts of FEMA’s longstanding staffing shortages; 
Whereas GAO added Federal delivery of disaster assistance 
to its high-risk list in 2025—in part due to a 35 percent 
staffing shortage at FEMA—indicating that increasing 
FEMA’s staffing levels should be one of the Federal Gov-
ernment’s highest priorities; 
Whereas recently reported internal planning and discussions 
led by the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA 
officials have created significant instability by contem-
plating substantially deeper workforce reductions at 
FEMA; 
Whereas such workforce reductions, if implemented, would 
significantly delay disaster response, slow recovery, and 
reduce assistance to communities following disasters, in-
cluding impacting ongoing recovery operations relating to 
Hurricane Helene, flooding in Central Texas, and 
wildfires in California; 
Whereas FEMA employees perform essential public service 
under demanding and often hazardous conditions, and 
workforce instability undermines morale and retention; 
Whereas the loss of experienced personnel and institutional 
knowledge at FEMA weakens long-term preparedness, 
continuity of operations, and emergency management ex-
pertise across the Federal Government; 
Whereas effective disaster response and recovery require 
strong coordination among Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial governments, and is dependent on a fully 
staffed FEMA; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:53 Feb 03, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1035.IH
HR1035
tkelley on LAP7H3WLY3PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1035 IH 
Whereas rural communities, coastal States, wildfire-prone re-
gions, and small towns often depend most heavily on 
timely Federal disaster response and recovery assistance; 
Whereas delays in disaster response and recovery increase 
overall Federal costs, prolong displacement, and raise 
long-term rebuilding expenses for taxpayers, undermining 
efficient and responsible use of Federal funds; 
Whereas FEMA administers the National Flood Insurance 
Program, which depends on experienced Federal staff to 
ensure that families whose homes have been damaged by 
floods are paid fairly and that communities can reduce 
future flood risk; 
Whereas in addition to leading the Nation’s natural disaster 
response, FEMA employees support critical programs 
that were established in the wake of the September 11, 
2001, terrorist attacks; 
Whereas FEMA employees play a key role in ensuring that 
first responders, State, local, Tribal, and territorial gov-
ernments, and nonprofit organizations can build and sus-
tain capabilities related to mitigating, preventing, and re-
sponding to acts of terrorism; 
Whereas FEMA employees provide indispensable technical ex-
pertise and administration of counterterrorism grants, 
such as the Urban Area Security Initiative, State Home-
land Security Program, and the Nonprofit Security Grant 
Program, which protect and support lifesaving frontline 
responders, such as emergency medical services, fire-
fighters, and law enforcement personnel; 
Whereas these counterterrorism grants strategically allocate 
Federal resources to enable State, local, Tribal, and terri-
torial governments to increase the resilience of such gov-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:53 Feb 03, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1035.IH
HR1035
tkelley on LAP7H3WLY3PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1035 IH 
ernments against natural and man-made threats, includ-
ing acts of terrorism, thereby enabling the Department of 
Homeland Security to carry out its mission to safeguard 
the American people; and 
Whereas Congress has a responsibility to ensure that FEMA 
has the personnel and resources necessary to carry out 
its mission in service of communities: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the current and future proposed 
workforce reductions at FEMA, which will endanger 
the Nation’s capacity to prepare for, respond to, and 
recover from disasters, both natural and manmade; 
(2) expresses grave concern that such workforce 
reductions blatantly disregard the lessons of deadly 
storms, such as Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, Sandy, 
Harvey, Maria, and Helene, and Winter Storm El-
liott, and will compromise the ability of State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial governments to protect lives 
and property during future disasters; 
(3) denounces any such workforce reductions 
that will dangerously weaken the Nation’s ability to 
prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of ter-
rorism, including by undermining counterterrorism 
grant programs that protect and support lifesaving 
frontline responders, such as emergency medical 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:28 Feb 03, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR1035.IH
HR1035
tkelley on LAP7H3WLY3PROD with BILLS