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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Review Council released its final report, outlining its recommendations to reform federal disaster response, recovery, and mitigation programs. The Council’s final report details 10 recommendations:

1. Equip SLTT to lead disaster response with the federal government in a supporting role
   1. Encourage National Capability Standards Adoption
   2. Build Scalable Training Resources
   3. Professionalization of Emergency Management
   4. Catastrophic Planning & Exercise Standards
   5. Revitalize & promote use of the Unified Resource Catalog
2. Enhance critical federal programs & resources to support communities
3. Realign the criteria for federal disaster assistance
   1. PA Solution: Explore alternative methods for PA declarations; ie. Adjust the national per capita indicator for inflation from 1986-1999
   2. IA Solution: Eliminate the cost-to-capacity ration and replace it with a simplified evaluation of damage to impacted state
4. Replace the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program with a two-phase funding structure
   1. Rapid Mitigation: Within the first 30 days provide up to 5% of the federal government contribution for the disaster to facilitate immediate residential mitigation to primary residences and communities impacted by the event or in other high-risk zones
   2. Strategic Mitigation: Within the first six months provide up to the remaining 10% of the federal government contribution to improve the performance of the NFIP by mitigating properties and critical infrastructure based on Federal Administration priorities
5. Streamline the Individual Assistance Program into a single direct payment program
6. Reform the Public Assistance program to provide direct funding block grants
7. Reform the National Flood insurance Program for financial stability and risk resilience
8. Maximize every dollar spent by reducing administrative costs
9. Revitalize a Unified National Network for Partnership
10. A Transformed Agency

The impacts of the Council’s recommendations relevant to public entities (i.e. local governments, special districts, etc.) include, but are not limited to:

• Emphasis on Federal-State-Local Partnerships:
  • Establishes a formal governing board of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) stakeholders to codify national minimum standards for incident response and recovery capabilities
  • Gives States authority to handle environmental reviews locally within the Refined Risk Reduction (R3P) program
  • Expedites funding for states and territories with approved hazard mitigation plans and a history of successful Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) performance within the new R3P program
  • Revitalizes National Business Emergency Operations Centers to formalize coordination between government, private sector, and nonprofits
• Urban Search and Rescue:
  • Enhances funding and expands capabilities for the National Urban Search and Rescue Program’s network of 28 task forces
  • Recommends leveraging the National Urban Search and Rescue Program as a model to expand the State Urban Search and Rescue programs
  • Preserves the nationwide Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), National Incident Management System (NIMS) standards, U.S. Fire Administration, Center for Domestic Preparedness, Emergency Management Assistance Compact
  • Establishes a national inventory system (Unified Resource Catalog) to catalog all FSLTT-typed teams, including search and rescue assets
  • Expands the National Qualification System to integrate volunteer and private sector responders into a centralized database
• Program Consolidation:
  • FEMA’s Individual Assistance program would be consolidated into a single direct payment (the FAIR program)
  • Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) would be eliminated and replaced by the two-phase R3P model
  • The Public Assistance program’s seven-phase reimbursement process would be replaced by the RAPID direct funding block grant
  • FEMA would be a “payer of last resort," requiring other federal agencies to exhaust their own benefit programs before accessing FEMA funds

Public comments on the final report can be submitted here and are due by Monday, June 8, 2026.

Links for more information:

View Draft FEMA Review Council Report dated April 22, 2026

View Draft FEMA Review Council Summary dated April 22, 2026