WASHINGTON, D.C. – In two letters this week, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ),Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Subcommittee whose jurisdiction includes disaster management and FEMA, continued to press Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on ensuring FEMA is fulfilling its mission on behalf of the American people, including to prepare, protect against, and respond to terror threats and to execute efficient and critical disaster response.

Letter 1: Senator Kim urges the immediate release of Fiscal Year 2025 notice of funding opportunities (NOFOs) for its State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP), and Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). FEMA was statutorily required to issue NOFOs for all five of these programs by no later than May 14 and the deadline for eligible applicants to submit applications was June 3.

Senator Kim writes: “I therefore urge you to publish these NOFOs as soon as possible without additional unnecessary requirements and expeditiously disburse these funds to ensure communities continue to receive support to address terrorism and other threats. Each of these programs works differently; together they contribute to a multi-faceted approach to safer and more secure communities throughout our country.”

Letter 2: Senator Kim demands Secretary Noem immediately rescind her June 11, 2025 directive subjecting all DHS obligations for any grant or contract award over $100,000 to personal review and approval. These reviews are expected to take a minimum of five days, an unrealistic timeframe that works against the success of FEMA’s disaster response.

Senator Kim writes: “Your directive is another layer of bureaucracy that could impede crisis response. Recent reports indicate that FEMA “almost instantly […] ran into bureaucratic obstacles” caused by the June 11 directive in response to the Texas floods. As we enter peak hurricane and wildfire season, and the likelihood of larger, concurrent regional multi-state natural disasters and extreme weather events increases, it is crucial that FEMA can operate quickly and without unnecessary bureaucratic red tape to prepare for and respond to these incidents”

The letters build on Senator Kim’s commitment to support and uplift the importance of FEMA’s life-saving operations and work to ensure FEMA has a qualified and experienced administrator leading its emergency and disaster response. In a previous letter sent on July 8, Senator Kim demanded Secretary Noem uphold her commitment to provide FEMA’s completed 2025 hurricane response plan. This came after a committee hearing in June where Senator Kim pressed on the critical need for this plan and the Department of Homeland Security’s central and critically important mission to respond to natural disasters. The Senator also has demanded the Trump administration reinstate FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) programand not cancel critical grant funding it provides for local disaster mitigation.

Senator Kim has long advocated for permanent and comprehensive disaster relief at the federal level, pushing to fully authorize and fund federal disaster recovery grant programs and to invest in climate resilient infrastructure. He has also worked to ensure federal funding from FEMA reaches New Jersey to assist in response efforts, including after extreme storms, flooding, and wildfires in South Jersey.

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