FEMA Review Council Term Extended as Draft Report Proposes Shifts in Disaster Aid
President Trump issued an executive order last week extending the FEMA Review Council’s term until March 25, 2026. The council, originally slated to conclude on Jan. 25, now has an additional 60 days to finalize its vision for the nation’s emergency management agency.
Created by executive order in January 2025, the FEMA Review Council was tasked with recommending ways to reform and streamline the nation’s emergency management and disaster response system.
The 13-member council held public meetings throughout 2025 and was expected to release and then vote on its report at a meeting on December 11. That meeting was cancelled at the last minute without explanation. The day before the meeting was to take place, CNN reported that it had obtained a copy of the report, which it said recommended FEMA remain within the DHS but with a new name, a 50% reduction in workforce, and a higher threshold for states to qualify for federal assistance.
Parametric Triggers and Policy Shifts
New details regarding the council’s direction emerged this week. According to a Jan. 28 article from Politico’s E&E News, the 75-page “final draft report” dated Dec. 11, 2025 proposes a dramatic shift toward creating a parametric system for disbursing FEMA payments. Unlike traditional damage assessments, this model would use pre-defined data to trigger funding, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the reimbursement and recovery process as well as potentially providing savings on federal costs.
As E&E News explained:
“For FEMA, disaster aid would be “triggered automatically,” the report says, “when pre-defined, objective event criteria are met, like wind speed or earthquake magnitude.”
“This eliminates the need for time consuming loss assessments and quickly provides a financial backstop and cashflow for rapid response and recovery,” the report adds. States seeking disaster aid would have to only show “evidence the parametric trigger occurred.”
Other notable recommendations reported by E&E News include:
- A 25% reduction in its cost-share for public assistance funding, although states could receive up to 75% by demonstrating proactive mitigation measures.
- Debt forgiveness for the NFIP, which is currently paying $700 million/year in interest on its $20.5 billion debt
- Better, more updated flood maps
ASFPM’s Advocacy and Concerns
During last year’s three public comment periods, ASFPM pressed the FEMA Review Council on key priorities of importance to the floodplain management community. We submitted formal comments in May, July and August consistently urging the council to improve FEMA by keeping its critical mission functions intact, enhancing hazard mitigation, and preserving the NFIP.
In October, ASFPM submitted a detailed letter expressing our concerns to the FEMA Review Council. In our letter, we explained how a potential push toward privatization of the NFIP with a focus on insurance only, ignores the nationwide public benefits of the NFIP’s mapping, mitigation, floodplain management, and community compliance programs. More importantly, the premise rests on market assumptions that are not supported by history or current realities.
As the new March deadline approaches, ASFPM will continue to be a strong voice for sound floodplain management. We remain committed to sharing our technical expertise and perspective whenever the opportunity presents itself, ensuring that any effort to “streamline” federal policy does not come at the expense of community resilience or the long-term stability of the NFIP.
