{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/bell-introduces-fema-operations-continuity-act-protect-disaster-relief-during", "Bell Introduces FEMA Operations Continuity Act to Protect Disaster Relief During Government Shutdowns", "2025-10-21", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.\u2014Today, U.S. Representative Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) introduced the FEMA Operations Continuity Act of 2025 to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can continue delivering disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation assistance during a lapse in government funding.\n\nThis bill would authorize FEMA to maintain essential operations funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF)\u2014including individual and public assistance programs\u2014so families and communities impacted by natural disasters are not left behind during a government shutdown.\n\n\u201cThis spring, the St. Louis region was hit by devastating tornadoes, and we couldn\u2019t have afforded to wait for assistance any longer than we did. Families rebuilding their lives after a disaster should never have to wait for Congress to get its act together before receiving life-saving help,\u201d said Rep. Bell. \u201cThis bill guarantees that FEMA\u2019s essential work continues uninterrupted during a government shutdown\u2014because protecting human life and property should never be subject to drama in Washington.\u201d\n\nThe legislation would further prohibit the diversion or withholding of DRF funds during a lapse in appropriations and explicitly classifies FEMA\u2019s disaster response activities as essential functions under the Anti-Deficiency Act, exempting them from shutdown restrictions.\n\nRead the bill text here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-31T05:33:41Z", "2026-03-31T05:34:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/bell-introduces-fema-operations-continuity-act-protect-disaster-relief-during"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8752527646720409, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}