PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Oct 21, 2025
FEMA Operations Continuity Act of 2025
This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue certain disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation operations during a lapse in appropriations (i.e., government shutdown).
Specifically, the bill authorizes FEMA to
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
continue all disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation operations funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF);
obligate and disburse DRF balances for all existing and future disaster declarations, including individual and public assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; and
maintain personnel and contract support necessary to ensure uninterrupted processing of claims and payments.
The bill also (1) requires all unobligated balances in the DRF to remain available to FEMA for expenditure during a lapse in appropriations; and (2) prohibits the funds from being withheld, sequestered, or reprogrammed during a lapse in appropriations, except as necessary to comply with the Antideficiency Act.
Finally, the bill specifies that, for the purposes of the Antideficiency Act, the FEMA operations authorized by this bill must be considered essential to protect human life and property and are exempt from government shutdown restrictions.
People & committees
Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] · D–MO
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Oct 7, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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