Representative Christian Menefee (D-TX) is continuing to demand action from President Donald Trump’s administration to strengthen federal disaster response and protect Texans from severe weather.
Rep. Menefee’s push comes as the Trump administration has pursued changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including proposals to reduce its role in disaster response. Critics of those efforts argue that scaling back FEMA could leave communities with fewer federal resources when major storms, floods and other disasters overwhelm local capacity.
“When a disaster hits, government has to show up,” Rep. Menefee said. “You can't outsource the responsibility to keep people alive fully to the market.”
In recent months, the Trump administration has moved to shrink FEMA’s workforce, directing the agency to cut its staffing and stop the renewal of thousands of temporary disaster-response contracts. Last week, a federal judge ruled the administration’s actions to be unlawful.
“Literally half of the people who are responsible for coordinating disaster relief across the entire country,” Rep. Menefee said. “A federal judge ruled just last week that wasn't lawful.”
The Trump administration has also proposed cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) budget by about 26 percent, which Rep. Menefee said would cut the satellite warning systems to detect severe weather.
“FEMA is how our communities rebuild, and NOAA is how we see it coming,” he said. “When you gut those agencies, you're gutting our ability to survive.”
With the Houston Ship Channel home to the nation’s largest petrochemical complex and a major hub for energy exports, Rep. Menefee said a major storm or hurricane could impact the entire country.
“That's a national security threat sitting just adjacent to my district, and the Trump administration is increasing the risk of that threat becoming a reality,” Rep. Menefee said.
Although Rep. Menefee said he sees how technology can help the government respond to disasters quicker, he said those tools cannot replace necessary federal infrastructure.
“You can't defund the foundation while celebrating the building that's on top of it,” he said. “These tools make government better. They don't make government optional. They make it better.”
