Right now, Congress is considering a critically important bill that would provide the most robust reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and federal disaster assistance programs in decades.
But we need YOUR help to make sure the bill passes Congress!
When a natural disaster strikes, electric cooperatives are on the front lines working to restore power. FEMA is a critical partner in these efforts.
However, FEMA reform is needed to better address the needs of rural Americans after a disaster occurs.
The Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 (HR 4669) is bipartisan legislation that will reform and modernize FEMA, to make it work for all Americans.
The FEMA Act of 2025 would help ensure essential services are restored quickly and protect your taxpayer dollars after a disaster.
ACT NOW and tell your representative to VOTE YES in support of the FEMA Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669).
Sending a letter takes less than two minutes. We are expecting the House to vote on this bill in the coming weeks, so don’t wait!
Members of Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative in New Jersey are represented by Congressman Josh Gottheimer in the House of Representatives. Members in the New York section of our territory are represented by Congressman Patrick Ryan. If you'd like to support the movement to fix FEMA and ensure our rural communities can get the resources they need during disasters, send in the below message to their Congressional offices so they know which side of the issue their constituents support!
Please vote YES in support of the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669).
Electric cooperatives are not-for-profit electric utilities, owned and operated by local community members like me. They deliver electricity to the most rural, hardest-to-reach parts of the country.
When a natural disaster occurs, communities come together to re-build. Electric co-ops are regularly on the front lines working to restore power in the hardest-hit areas. This work happens in the toughest of conditions after hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms, and many other types of disasters.
FEMA is a critical partner in these efforts, but delays in funding approvals, complex documentation requirements and a lack of transparency slows down recovery and strains local resources. This puts even more burden on the very communities recovering from these disasters. H.R. 4669 would address my concerns by:
· Expediting reimbursement for emergency recovery work
· Streamlining approval and execution of longer-term, permanent restoration
· Improving access to resiliency funding to mitigate against future hazards
· Reimbursing co-ops for interest on private bridge loans used in the immediate aftermath of a storm
· Reforming the disaster declaration process to better account for localized damage to rural and economically distressed areas
These common-sense reforms will help strengthen rural resilience, protect taxpayer dollars, and ensure essential services are restored as quickly as possible after a disaster.
Please vote YES in support of the FEMA Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669). Thank you for your time.