FEMA Independence Act of 2025

There shall be transferred to the Director all functions of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as such Agency was constituted on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.

There shall be transferred to the Inspector General all functions relating to the Inspector General that were transferred from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Department of Homeland Security on or after January 1, 2003.

The transfers under this section shall be carried out not later than 365 days following the date of enactment of this Act. During the transition period, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the Director such assistance, including the use of personnel and assets, as the Director may request in preparing for the transfer.

The Director may appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees as may be necessary to carry out the respective functions transferred by section 6.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the personnel employed in connection with, and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, arising from, available to, or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred by section 6, subject to section 1531 of title 31, United States Code, shall be transferred to the Agency. Unexpended funds transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be used only for the purposes for which the funds were originally authorized and appropriated.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, may make such determinations as may be necessary with regard to the functions transferred by section 6, and may make such additional incidental dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to be made available in connection with such functions, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall provide for the termination of the affairs of all entities terminated by this Act and for such further measures and dispositions as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the transfer pursuant to this Act of full-time personnel (except special Government employees) and part-time personnel holding permanent positions shall not cause any such employee to be separated or reduced in grade or compensation for 1 year after the date of transfer of such employee under this Act.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, any person who, on the day preceding the date of the transfers of functions by section 6, held a position compensated in accordance with the Executive Schedule prescribed in chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, and who, without a break in service, is appointed in the Agency to a position having duties comparable to the duties performed immediately preceding such appointment shall continue to be compensated in such new position at not less than the rate provided for such previous position, for the duration of the service of such person in such new position.

The legal documents and actions described in paragraph (2) shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the President, the Director, other authorized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

The legal documents and actions described in this paragraph are all orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privileges, and other administrative actions that both—

(A) have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to become effective by the President, any Federal agency or official thereof, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the performance of functions that are transferred by section 6; and

(B) are in effect on the date of the transfers of functions by section 6, or were final before such date and are to become effective on or after such date.

The provisions of this Act shall not affect any proceedings, including notices of proposed rulemaking, or any application for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending before the Agency on the date of the transfers of functions by section 6, with respect to functions transferred by section 6, but such proceedings and applications shall continue. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this paragraph shall be considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this Act had not been enacted.

The provisions of this Act shall not affect any cause of action commenced before the date of the transfers of functions by section 6, and in all such causes of action, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

No cause of action commenced by or against the Agency, or by or against any individual in the official capacity of such individual as an officer of the Agency, shall abate by reason of the enactment of this Act.

Any administrative action relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regulation by the Agency relating to a function transferred by section 6 may be continued by the Agency with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

Any reference to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any law, Executive order, rule, regulation, certificate, directive, instruction, delegation of authority, or other official paper shall be considered to refer and apply to the Agency established by section 2.

Any reference to the Director or the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any law, Executive order, rule, regulation, certificate, directive, instruction, delegation of authority, or other official paper shall be considered to refer and apply to the Director established by section 3(a)(1).

Any reference to the Inspector General of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or to the functions relating to such office that were transferred from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Department of Homeland Security on or after January 1, 2003, in any law, Executive order, rule, regulation, certificate, directive, instruction, delegation of authority, or other official paper shall be considered to refer and apply to the Inspector General established by section 5 or to the functions related to such office.

The following provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) are repealed:

(1) Section 501 (6 U.S.C. 311).

(2) Section 503 (6 U.S.C. 313).

(3) Section 504 (6 U.S.C. 314).

(4) Section 505 (6 U.S.C. 315).

(5) Section 506 (6 U.S.C. 316).

(6) Section 507 (6 U.S.C. 317).

(7) Section 508 (6 U.S.C. 318).

(8) Section 509 (6 U.S.C. 319).

(9) Section 510 (6 U.S.C. 320).

(10) Section 513 (6 U.S.C. 321b).

(11) Section 514 (6 U.S.C. 321c).

(12) Section 519 (6 U.S.C. 321h).

Sections 502, 511, 512, 515, 517, 518, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, and 529 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 312, 321, 321a, 321d, 321f, 321g, 321i, 321j, 321k, 321l, 321m, 321n, 321o, 321p, 321q, and 321r) are redesignated as sections 501 through 516, respectively.

The heading for title V of such Act is amended by striking National Emergency Management and inserting Other Offices and Functions.

The table of contents contained in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by striking the items relating to title V and inserting the following:

The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date on which the transfers of functions by section 6 are carried out.

Title XX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended—

(1) in section 2002(a) (6 U.S.C. 603(a)) by striking, through the Administrator,;

(2) in section 2009(a) (6 U.S.C. 609a(a)) by striking, acting through the Administrator,;

(3) in the subsection heading for section 2022(c) (6 U.S.C. 612(c)) by striking by the Administrator; and

(4) by striking Administrator each place it appears and inserting Secretary.

Title XX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended—

(1) in section 2001(1) (6 U.S.C. 601(1)) by striking Secretary each place it appears and inserting Director;

(2) in section 2006(b)(4)(F) (6 U.S.C. 607(b)(4)(F)) by striking Secretary and inserting Director; and

(3) in section 2006(b)(5) (6 U.S.C. 607(b)(5)) by striking Secretary and inserting Director.

The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date on which the transfers of functions by section 6 are carried out.

Section 640(a) of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 727(a)) is amended by striking, in coordination with the Chief Information Officer of the Department,.

Section 901(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(H) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Subsection (c) of section 612 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 313 note) is repealed.

The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date on which the transfers of functions by section 6 are carried out.

After consultation with Congress, the Director shall prepare a report describing recommended legislation for additional technical and conforming amendments to reflect the changes made by this Act.

Not later than 90 days after the last day of the transition period referred to in section 6(c), the Director shall submit to Congress the report referred to in subsection (a).

The term Agency means the Federal Emergency Management Agency established by section 2.

The term Director means the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency established by section 3(a).

The term hazard has the meaning given that term in section 602(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a(a)) and includes any major disaster or emergency.

The term Inspector General means the Inspector General of the Federal Emergency Management Agency established by section 5.