Democrats press Noem to drop disaster funding approval policy

Source: The Hill

08/15/25 1:16 PM ET


Two Democratic Senators sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday urging her to end a policy requiring her personal sign-off on grants of more than $100,000.

“We write to convey our deep concerns about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) policy requiring the Secretary’s personal approval of all expenditures exceeding $100,000, including those for disaster-related costs,” wrote Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

“This directive, as currently implemented, creates dangerous delays and undermines the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) effectiveness, placing lives at unnecessary risk,” they continued. This comes after reports that FEMA’s response to the devastating Texas floods in June may have been delayed by Noem’s policy.

The letter said this resulted in call centers being “understaffed in the crucial early days of the disaster, leaving thousands of survivors without answers or assistance.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/5454485-senators-urge-noem-policy-change/