Contradictory federal documents challenge assertions made by the FEMA leader concerning the Texas flood emergency response to Congress.
In the devastating flash floods that hit Texas in early July 2025, FEMA's call center operations were severely disrupted due to a funding lapse in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to FEMA call center logs and contract records obtained by a news website, only 10% of the more than 15,000 calls received on July 7 were answered.
The funding lapse occurred on July 5, 2025, coinciding with the emergency, resulting in hundreds of contractors being let go. This left thousands of flood survivors' calls largely unanswered for several days, leaving many without critical assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
The lapse was linked to DHS contracting processes and unresolved funding issues related to government appropriations for fiscal year 2026. Although some funding bills were approved, the overall uncertainty and political gridlock contributed to delays in finalizing funding necessary to avoid lapses.
The funding was approved for all the vendors on July 10, and call centers were staffed adequately once again. However, over a period of five days, FEMA answered only about 27% of the calls from disaster survivors.
The internal policy requiring Secretary Noem's personal sign-off on any contract expenditure over $100,000 also contributed to delays in both disaster response teams and the call centers functioning.
Christopher Byrne, a former senior contracting officer at the U.S. General Services Administration, stated that the funding for the call centers lapsed between July 5 and July 9, 2025, making it impossible for the call centers to operate. He also mentioned that the 30-day expiration of call center funding creates a lot of work for FEMA staff.
A Texas official expressed frustration with FEMA's call center performance and blamed cuts to the agency. The agency has lost thousands of staff to layoffs, retirements, and resignations since President Trump took office.
Despite the urgent need for aid, FEMA was hindered by these circumstances, leading to a markedly impaired disaster response. The call center funding is set to lapse again on Aug. 8, 2025.
In response to a question about the number of calls answered by FEMA call centers on July 7, 2025, Acting Administrator David Richardson sent a memo to Secretary Noem on July 10 asking for funding for at least one call center vendor. However, internal FEMA documents contradict Richardson's testimony about the number of calls answered on that day.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about why funding lapsed for FEMA call centers. Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Calif., asked Richardson if it was accurate that 80% of the calls on July 7 went unanswered, to which Richardson replied that "when there was a spike in calls, FEMA was there to answer the calls" and "the majority of the calls were answered at the call centers."
However, the July 10 memo obtained by the news website shows that Richardson requested DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to approve call center funding, acknowledging that most calls were not being answered at that time. This raises questions about the accuracy of Richardson's initial statement.
President Trump has repeatedly said that FEMA should be eliminated. This funding lapse highlights the potential consequences of such a decision, as it directly caused FEMA call centers to lose staffing and contract support during the critical period of the Texas flash floods, leading to thousands of unanswered emergency calls and a markedly impaired disaster response.
- The lapse in funding for FEMA's call centers was linked to ESG issues related to government appropriations for fiscal year 2026, while politics and policy-and-legislation contributed to the delays in finalizing necessary funding to avoid lapses.
- In the aftermath of the Texas flash floods, politics played a significant role in the disrupted call center operations of FEMA, resulting in crucial calls from flood survivors largely going unanswered for several days.
- As FEMA's call center funding is set to lapse again in August 2025, there are concerns that similar issues may arise in the future, with potential impacts on ESG and retirement for those affected by disasters.
