September 3, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) announced today that the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved, H.R. 4669, the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025.

This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), represents the most significant reform to the federal disaster response system in decades. Key provisions of the bill include:

• Restoring FEMA as a cabinet-level agency, reporting directly to the President.
• Streamlining response and recovery programs to accelerate the delivery of assistance.
• Incentivizing state and local preparedness, including investments in mitigation and insurance coverage.
• Simplifying the survivor experience through a universal application for assistance and clearer communication.
• Enhancing transparency and accountability in the distribution of aid.
• Modernizing permitting, procurement, and mitigation processes to reduce long-term costs and speed up reconstruction.
• Updating the disaster cost-sharing framework to enable more efficient resource allocation across federal, state, and local governments.
• Establishing pre-approved project lists for mitigation efforts to accelerate implementation and improve the effectiveness of preventive investments.
• Creating a disaster review task force to evaluate and continuously improve federal emergency response.
• Expanding flexibility and responsiveness in emergency management to better adapt to the unique needs of each disaster.
• Ensuring the contributions of states and territories are reflected in the legislation so that reforms address real-world experiences and local needs.

This legislative proposal was developed through extensive consultation with lawmakers, experts, and emergency management professionals, with the goal of ensuring faster and more effective disaster assistance.

“The Government of Puerto Rico, under the leadership of Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, is closely monitoring these reforms given their direct impact on federal recovery and preparedness policies that apply to the Island. The bill approved today by the Committee complements ongoing discussions led by the Executive Branch through the FEMA Review Council, which will be visiting Puerto Rico in the coming weeks. Our commitment remains to advocate for Puerto Rico’s realities and needs to be fully considered in any reform of the federal disaster response system,” said Gabriella Boffelli, Executive Director of PRFAA.

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