New Rule Slashes FEMA Disaster Funds for States, Critics Say

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has changed how it reimburses states for management costs associated with disaster declarations, moving from a sliding scale to a 3.34 percent flat rate. Now emergency management officials are worried the new rules mean a greater shift in costs to states.

In an article on the Government Technology website, David Raths says that while the “change to the management costs provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act hasn’t had widespread impact yet, state emergency management officials are alarmed by what they see as an effort to shift more costs to the states.”

“This is the number one regulatory issue in emergency management right now,” Kristin Robinson, government relations director of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), told Raths. “This is the heart attack issue.”

Why are state emergency management officials up in arms over the new rule? They say it
slashes funding FEMA disburses to states through its Public Assistance Grants Program, which is allocated for infrastructure such as roads, government buildings, debris removal, overtime for first responders and sandbagging.

“Last year, NEMA surveyed its members and found the average administrative and management costs for the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant programs was 6.21 percent, which is 2.87 percent more than FEMA will pay under the new rule,” Raths says.

However, FEMA’s James McIntyre, acting press secretary, told Raths the rule change won't impact how state and local agencies manage disasters.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.govtech.com/gt/394745?topic=290167