{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-chu-sherman-sens-schiff-padilla-press-fema-again-prevent-shutdown", "Reps. Chu, Sherman, Sens. Schiff, Padilla Press FEMA Again to Prevent Shutdown of Critical Wildfire Recovery Program", "2026-09-24", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Judy Chu", "C001080", "chu.house.gov", "chu", "https://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Lawmakers demand FEMA reverse denial of additional funding as September 30 shutdown looms\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-32), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) sent a follow-up letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Cameron Hamilton demanding immediate action to stop the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) serving survivors of the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires from shutting down on September 30.\n\nThe letter follows the lawmakers\u2019 September 10 demand that FEMA immediately release millions of dollars in outstanding DCMP funding, a demand that has gone unanswered. On September 11, FEMA Region 9 denied California\u2019s request for an additional $6.57 million needed to sustain the program, a decision the State has since appealed. The lawmakers are urging FEMA to grant the appeal, release the outstanding previously approved funding, and ensure there is no interruption in services.\n\n\u201cFEMA approved this program because survivors needed sustained case management throughout a long and difficult recovery. Yet FEMA\u2019s own funding delays now threaten to force the program to shut down months before the end of that approved period,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.\n\nFEMA approved DCMP to operate for 24 months, but has released only approximately $3 million of the roughly $13 million approved for the program, with three remaining installments still under review. Meanwhile, the need for case management remains significant: DCMP providers report more than 3,000 survivors have been served, including 1,288 active cases and 84 survivors on an immediate waitlist. Of the active caseload, 1,023 cases are categorized at the highest complexity levels.\n\nThe September 30 shutdown also lands just days before FEMA Rental Assistance for Los Angeles wildfire survivors is scheduled to expire on October 9. As of September 17, 801 households were receiving rental assistance, including 623 renter households, with another 329 applications pending.\n\n\u201cAllowing DCMP to terminate on September 30, immediately before this separate housing assistance cliff, risks leaving survivors without trained case managers precisely when many may need additional help navigating housing challenges and other unmet recovery needs,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.\n\nThe lawmakers are calling on FEMA to immediately grant California\u2019s appeal and approve the additional $6.57 million needed to sustain DCMP through its approved period, release the remaining installments of the existing award, and take all available steps to prevent an interruption in services.\n\n\u201cMore than 20 months after the Eaton and Palisades Fires devastated our communities, thousands of survivors remain in the midst of rebuilding their homes and their lives,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cIt would be unacceptable for that program to collapse prematurely not because the need has disappeared, but because FEMA has failed to release already-approved funding and denied the additional resources necessary to keep it operating.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers requested answers from FEMA by September 28 on the outstanding funding and what immediate steps the agency will take to prevent DCMP services from ending on September 30.\n\nRead the lawmakers\u2019 September 10 letter HERE.\n\nRead the full September 24 letter HERE and below.\n\n----\n\nThe Honorable Cameron Hamilton\n\nAdministrator\n\nFederal Emergency Management Agency\n\n500 C Street SW\n\nWashington, DC 20472\n\nDear Administrator Hamilton,\n\nWe write in strong support of the California Governor\u2019s Office of Emergency Services\u2019\n\n(CalOES) appeal of FEMA Region 9\u2019s September 11, 2026, denial of $6,568,265.60 in additional\n\nfunding for the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) serving survivors of the January\n\n2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires in Los Angeles County. Without immediate action from FEMA,\n\nDCMP operations will be forced to terminate prematurely on September 30, 2026, leaving\n\nthousands of wildfire survivors without critical rebuilding and recovery support.\n\nAs we indicated in our September 10, 2026, letter, which has not received a response, additional\n\nfederal funding is urgently needed to ensure DCMP can operate through the 24-month timeframe\n\nFEMA approved on May 5, 2025. FEMA approved this program because survivors needed\n\nsustained case management throughout a long and difficult recovery. Yet FEMA\u2019s own funding\n\ndelays now threaten to force the program to shut down months before the end of that approved\n\nperiod.\n\nOn September 11, 2026, FEMA denied the State\u2019s request for additional funding, stating the\n\nState had not provided sufficient cost justification demonstrating a need for funding beyond the\n\noriginal FEMA-approved award. But FEMA has not even provided the full amount of that\n\noriginal award. Of the approximately $13 million approved by FEMA, only one installment of\n\napproximately $3 million has been released to date, while the remaining three installments are\n\nstill under FEMA\u2019s review.\n\nThe State\u2019s supplemental funding request is not an effort to unnecessarily expand DCMP. It\n\nreflects the documented cost of continuing to provide services through the timeframe FEMA\n\nalready approved. FEMA should not allow its own delays in releasing approved funding to\n\nprematurely terminate a program it determined was necessary for this recovery.\n\nThe continued need for DCMP is clear. According to DCMP providers, more than 3,000\n\nsurvivors have already been served by the program, including 1,288 active cases and 84\n\nsurvivors on an immediate waitlist. Of the active caseload, 1,023 cases are categorized at the\n\nhighest complexity levels. And a broader provider database indicates that 7,000 additional\n\nsurvivors are awaiting assignment to a case manager. These numbers demonstrate that the need\n\nfor case management has not diminished. Thousands of survivors remain in the middle of their\n\nrecovery and thousands more are still waiting for assistance.\n\nThat need could become even more acute in the coming weeks. FEMA Rental Assistance for Los\n\nAngeles wildfire survivors is currently scheduled to expire on October 9, just days after DCMP\n\nis scheduled to terminate. As of September 17, 801 households were receiving rental assistance,\n\nincluding 623 renter households, with another 329 applications pending. Allowing DCMP to\n\nterminate on September 30, immediately before this separate housing assistance cliff, risks\n\nleaving survivors without trained case managers precisely when many may need additional help\n\nnavigating housing challenges and other unmet recovery needs.\n\nWe therefore urge FEMA to immediately grant the State\u2019s appeal and approve the additional\n\n$6,568,265.60 necessary to sustain DCMP through its approved period. We further urge FEMA\n\nto immediately release the remaining installments of the existing DCMP award and take all\n\navailable administrative steps necessary to ensure there is no interruption in DCMP services\n\nwhile the State\u2019s appeal and outstanding funding installments are under review.\n\nGiven the impending September 30, 2026, termination of this program, we request responses to\n\nthe following questions no later than September 28, 2026:\n\n1. FEMA stated in its denial that the State did not demonstrate the need for additional\n\nfunding beyond the program\u2019s initial scope and award. What specific additional\n\ndocumentation or cost justification does FEMA require to approve the State\u2019s\n\nsupplemental funding request?\n\n2. How did FEMA determine that the State had not demonstrated a need for additional\n\nfunding when less than one-quarter of the approximately $13 million FEMA already\n\napproved has actually been released?\n\n3. What is the expected timeframe for FEMA to complete its review and release the second,\n\nthird, and fourth installments of the existing DCMP award?\n\n4. In its denial of the supplemental funding request, FEMA stated that these installments\n\nwere delayed in part because non-disaster program grants were prioritized due to\n\ndeadlines that could have \u201cplaced funding at risk.\u201d Given that DCMP itself is now at risk\n\nof prematurely terminating because of a lack of funding, what steps is FEMA taking to\n\nexpedite review and release of these outstanding funds?\n\n5. What immediate steps will FEMA take to ensure there is no interruption in DCMP\n\nservices on September 30 while the State\u2019s appeal and the remaining installments of the\n\nexisting award are under review?\n\nMore than 20 months after the Eaton and Palisades Fires devastated our communities, thousands\n\nof survivors remain in the midst of rebuilding their homes and their lives. FEMA approved\n\nDCMP to support survivors through this lengthy recovery. It would be unacceptable for that\n\nprogram to collapse prematurely not because the need has disappeared, but because FEMA has\n\nfailed to release already-approved funding and denied the additional resources necessary to keep\n\nit operating.\n\nWe urge FEMA to act immediately to grant the State\u2019s appeal, release the outstanding funds, and\n\nensure there is no interruption in services for the thousands of survivors who depend on DCMP.", 1, "2026-09-25T10:04:52Z", "2026-09-25T10:05:46Z"]], "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://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-chu-sherman-sens-schiff-padilla-press-fema-again-prevent-shutdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.127056173980236, "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"}