WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) led 11 of his Northeastern colleagues in requesting answers from President Trump on reports that the White House is considering a proposal to eliminate certain Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) regional offices, including the Region 1 office. In their letter, the Senators urged President Trump and his administration to reject any attempt to downsize or eliminate FEMA offices, which would take critical personnel farther away from the communities they serve.
FEMA Region 1 serves state, local, and tribal governments in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. The regional offices coordinate immediate response efforts when disaster strikes and, once the storm has passed, facilitate the deployment of federal assistance to support long-term recovery across New England. These offices also help communities mitigate the impact of future extreme weather events, and help homeowners, farms, and businesses stay safe before a storm or disaster hits.
“We sincerely hope these reports are untrue and that you will reject any attempt to consolidate FEMA regional offices, which would take critical personnel farther away from the communities they serve,” wrote the Senators. “As you know, FEMA Region 1 serves state, local, and tribal governments in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. It coordinates immediate response efforts when disaster strikes and, once the storm has passed, facilitates the deployment of federal assistance to support long-term recovery across New England.”
Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Angus King (I-Maine) cosigned the letter.
Read the full text of the letter to President Trump here and below
Dear President Trump,
We write regarding reports that the White House is considering a proposal to eliminate Region 1 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We sincerely hope these reports are untrue and that you will reject any attempt to consolidate FEMA regional offices, which would take critical personnel farther away from the communities they serve.
As you know, FEMA Region 1 serves state, local, and tribal governments in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. It coordinates immediate response efforts when disaster strikes and, once the storm has passed, facilitates the deployment of federal assistance to support long-term recovery across New England.
In recent years, New England has been struck by several natural disasters resulting in tragic loss of life and billions of dollars in property and infrastructure damage. Through their partnership in our states’ recovery efforts, FEMA Region 1 personnel have developed an intimate familiarity with our state, local, and tribal government counterparts and with the unique attributes that differentiate New England from the rest of the country. Any attempt to shutter Region 1 or subsume it into a larger entity will squander that expertise, gained over years of experience navigating increasingly frequent disasters in the region, and materially degrade service in our states.
FEMA regional offices provide critical, on-the-ground assistance to disaster-affected communities. They offer the resources and expertise many communities lack. FEMA must be improved to benefit recovering communities, but regional office consolidations will leave state, local, and tribal governments stranded when disaster strikes, and make federal disaster assistance less effective in the long term. In the wake of a disaster, our communities should not be forced to navigate critical federal disaster assistance programs with only the limited counsel of staff far removed from conditions on the ground.
We respectfully request a prompt response regarding the veracity of reports that your Administration is considering eliminating FEMA Region 1 and, if such reports are true, urge you to reject this deeply misguided proposal.
Sincerely,
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Senator Welch has been outspoken in opposing any attempt to dismantle FEMA. Earlier this year, Senator Welch published a guest essay in The New York Times entitled: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.” In his piece, Senator Welch outlined why President Trump’s actions to undermine and potentially dissolve FEMA are misguided—but also committed to working with the President on good faith efforts to reform the agency’s long-term recovery process.
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