Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) continued his push to reform FEMA on Tuesday when he introduced a bill to prohibit political discrimination in disaster relief, according to a copy of the bill first shared with The Daily Wire.
Lankford put forth the “Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act” to add “political affiliation” as a protected class for emergency relief. The bill comes as FEMA faces criticism over its handling of recent hurricanes, including an incident in Florida where a supervisor told workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
The Oklahoma Republican introduced similar legislation in November before Republicans had officially regained control of the Senate. He also asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to commit to prohibiting political discrimination during one of her confirmation hearings.
Other sponsors of the legislation included Republican Senators Roger Marshall (KS), Rick Scott (FL), Ted Budd (NC), Josh Hawley (MO), Marsha Blackburn (TN), and Thom Tillis (NC).
Lankford introduced three other disaster bills on Tuesday, including one that would establish a pilot program for communities to “directly apply to the Administrator for hazard mitigation assistance for the purposes of property acquisition and structure demolition or relocation assistance.”
Another bill would streamline approvals for hazard mitigation projects, and the third would encourage communities to be better prepared for natural disasters.
Lankford introduced the measures at the same time he sent a letter to President Donald Trump commending the president’s creation of a 20-person council to conduct a full review of FEMA’s activities.
“The current federal framework for responding to disasters is insufficient, and major reforms are necessary to ensure Americans are best supported in times of need,” Lankford wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. “The federal government’s labyrinthine disaster response and recovery programs have not been subject to the scrutiny needed to assess whether it is achieving its goals or whether its funding would be better spent with limited strings attached at the state and local levels.”
“I ask that your Council consider whether more federal emergency response capabilities should be consolidated under FEMA, which would reduce the number of agencies constituents need to work through when seeking federal disaster assistance, and whether other, current responsibilities should be placed elsewhere,” he added.
Lankford added that all levels of government, not just the federal government, should have “skin in the game” when it comes to emergency response.
Trump has floated the idea of eliminating FEMA altogether and leaving disaster relief to the states, with some percentage of funding still coming from the federal government. In his executive order calling for an evaluation of the agency, Trump cited concerns of political bias as one of the reasons needed for reform.
“Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President,” Trump wrote, referring to The Daily Wire’s report reporting on supervisor Marn’i Washington’s instructions for workers to skip Trump homes in Lake Placid, Florida.
