Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Funding Bill
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2026 Homeland Security bill:
I thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member, and I thank the Chairman of the full committee, and the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work, especially Shannon McCully, Jamie Wise, and Chris Pappe.
I am opposed to this Homeland Security bill, because it will make Americans less safe and more vulnerable to growing security threats.
Despite the ever-increasing threats against American families, businesses, critical infrastructure, and national institutions, House Republicans’ bill weakens our national security, and leaves Americans vulnerable to attacks from our adversaries by sharply cutting cyber and infrastructure security.
Their bill fails to protect Americans from terrorism and violent extremism by eliminating Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention grants, which help local leaders and law enforcement identify threats and intervene before violence occurs.
House Republicans’ bill allows President Trump to abuse Americans’ constitutional rights by shuttering civil rights offices, blindly funding costly private-run detention centers with limited oversight, greenlighting the deportations of people who have lived and worked here for ten to twenty years, abandoning due process protections, and defunding the community organizations that help these communities manage response to border issues.
And they do nothing to help with the cost of living.
The cost-of-living crisis is felt by every American family. But the president is not laser focused on the cost-of-living crisis. He is making it worse by stealing resources that help families and businesses recover from disasters.
Among the illegally frozen funding is over $100 billion FEMA awards state and local governments to respond to disasters and mitigate future ones, protect against terrorism, secure ports, and much more.
President Trump and Secretary Noem propose eliminating FEMA. When FEMA’s Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton came before the Homeland subcommittee and defended the existence of the agency he oversaw, he was summarily dismissed.
I asked him the question, should we eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and he said while he believed there were some reforms to be made, he would not recommend elimination. The very next day, he was fired.
I am aghast at the notion that this country would cease to lend our fellow countrymen a helping hand after disaster strikes, but that is the Administration’s goal.
Earlier this month, President Trump said of disaster relief, and I quote, “We’re going to give out less money, we’re going to give it out directly, it’ll come from the President’s office.” End quote. Not only does he want to cut aid – President Trump is going to personally dole out relief dollars based on favoritism. Helping Americans recover from disaster cannot depend on whether their state’s governor bends the knee, or how their state voted in the last election. Americans are not more or less deserving of disaster aid because of how their neighbors vote.
From housing to education to health care to disaster recovery, not one of our states can afford to take on the burden of everything this Administration seeks to shift upon them. Everyone here knows that.
They have cancelled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program or BRIC, a popular and effective tool for state and local governments to prevent the very damage and destruction FEMA responds to after disasters strike. It is hard to call this program wasteful, when research has shown mitigation efforts like BRIC save a minimum of $6 for every $1 invested.
Not far from here, the Town of Crisfield, Maryland, lost $36 million for a flood protection initiative, which will be impossible for them to cover with a town budget of only $4 million. Crisfield’s mayor said, quote, “We’re pretty much devastated…Without this, we know that we will be in a really bad position to protect our citizens, protect our property, protect our community, and really protect our way of life.” End quote.
This Administration’s reckless cuts affect all of our constituents, including mine. In the last year, Connecticut has been devastated by wildfires, historic flooding, and damaging storms.
Last fall, historic rainfall and flooding washed out several roads and bridges, and demolished a major shopping center in Seymour, Connecticut, called Klarides Village. 14 of 16 businesses in the center were destroyed, mostly family-owned.
Quote, “Everything is gone, everything is destroyed,” said Mike Abe, whose restaurant, the 67 Family Diner, ended up needing nearly $1 million in repairs. His insurance company refused to help – they told him, quote, “No thank you.” This is how important the federal role for disaster relief is. This is what government must do for people in need.
Connecticut announced a $5 million emergency grant program to help the victims of this disaster, but it was a FEMA federal disaster declaration that made enough funds, including SBA loans, available for the shopping center’s businesses to rebuild. This is what is at risk thanks to President Trump and Elon Musk.
In the wake of disasters going back to Hurricanes Sandy and Irene and even before, FEMA has played a critical role in helping the people of Connecticut get back on their feet. But now, the Administration is leaving them behind by stealing FEMA resources.
Without the federal support my district needs to rebuild, mitigate future disasters, and staff emergency management offices, my constituents will be left hung out to dry as they try to piece their lives back together, and as they prepare for whatever storm strikes next.
New Haven, Connecticut, was to receive $25 million from FEMA for flood control – but the funding freeze is putting our mitigation efforts in jeopardy, leaving my constituents exposed to the next flood.
And in addition to mitigation, Connecticut is losing emergency management support. Like many other states, FEMA helps fund well over 100 local emergency management offices throughout Connecticut. And this Administration’s threats to FEMA’s existence endanger Connecticut’s capacity to manage future emergencies.
Bill Turner, Connecticut’s State Emergency Management Director, said and I quote, “the option of just getting rid of FEMA and dumping it all in the states and locals isn’t going to work.” End quote.
Emergency management, response, recovery, and mitigation is not waste. Helping our neighbors and fellow Americans rebuild their lives after disasters is not abuse.
In the bill before us, House Republicans double-down on the Administration’s effort to throw the responsibility of disaster recovery and mitigation to the states.
In the face of worsening natural disasters, they seek to reduce FEMA’s staffing, slash funding for climate resilience, and they ignore an $8 billion shortfall in the Disaster Relief Fund.
Instead of focusing on ways to help lower the cost of living and help keep the American people safe from threats from our adversaries, extremists, and major disasters, House Republicans are using this bill to gut critical federal resources and advance their own agenda.
I cannot support this bill. But my hope is we can improve this bill to support our country’s safety and security.
Thank you, and I yield back.
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