Welch opposes shifting disaster response to states

Welch challenges FEMA direction

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, on Wednesday opposed the Trump administration’s reported plan to scale back federal disaster support and place more responsibility on state governments.

Welch issued his statement after reports that Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Cameron Hamilton told state disaster-response officials that the administration intended to make the shift soon. Welch said many state and municipal governments lack the budgets and capacity to manage recovery and rebuilding without federal assistance.

He pointed to Vermont’s floods in July 2023 and July 2024, saying FEMA’s immediate response was essential to the state’s recovery. Welch said reducing federal involvement would make recovery from a future flood or other natural disaster more difficult and costly.

Welch calls for a collaborative overhaul

Welch said FEMA needs changes, but argued that Congress and the administration should work across party lines and include state and local governments in that process. He supports giving those governments more ability to use federal disaster money quickly and efficiently, rather than adding administrative duties while limiting aid.

Welch has introduced the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization Act, known as the Disaster AID Act. The measure would seek to streamline disaster assistance, support efforts to reduce future hazards, provide technical help to small communities and prevent the White House from withholding disaster-response funding. Vermont communities’ experiences recovering from floods helped shape the proposal.

He also introduced the Rural Recovery Act. That bill would establish a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency to give state offices automatic funding for emergency recovery technical assistance after a disaster in their area.