Discrepancies in federal documents versus statements made by the FEMA chief regarding the Texas flood relief efforts
In the aftermath of the devastating floods in Texas in July 2025, a funding lapse at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) left thousands of survivors struggling to get the help they needed.
The funding lapse, first reported by The New York Times, caused a mass layoff of call center contractors, resulting in an overwhelming number of unanswered calls and a significant drop in FEMA's ability to respond to survivors seeking aid. The contracts for call center staff expired on July 5, the very first day of flooding, and were not renewed until five days later due to a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy requiring the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, to personally approve expenses over $100,000.
This administrative bottleneck caused FEMA call center staffing to collapse and drastically reduced call-answering capacity, dropping FEMA's answer rate from nearly 100% to less than 40% the next day, and then less than 16% as call volumes surged. The agency received over 15,000 calls on July 7, 2022, but only 10% were answered.
Rep. Laura Friedman questioned FEMA leader Richardson about the inadequate staffing of FEMA call centers during testimony before a House subcommittee on July 23. However, Richardson defended the response, denying any mismanagement and calling it timely and effective.
The funding lapse and the resulting failure to answer calls from survivors contradict a statement by FEMA that they responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently. The agency has lost thousands of staff to layoffs, retirements, and resignations since President Trump took office, further exacerbating the situation.
Christopher Byrne, a former senior contracting officer at the U.S. General Services Administration, pointed out that the funding for the FEMA call centers, not the umbrella contract with the vendors, lapsed. Byrne also highlighted that the 30-day expiration of funding creates a lot of work for FEMA staff, making it a recurring issue.
The funding lapse appears to have been due to an administrative bottleneck created by the Trump administration, as the Homeland Security Secretary personally signs off on all funding requests over $100,000. The lapse in funding occurred on July 4, 2022, and the money did not arrive for another five days. The funding for FEMA call center staffing is set to lapse again on Aug. 8, 2022, according to contract records.
The lapse in funding led to a surge of flood survivors being unable to get help with temporary housing, money for basic food and clothing, and other time-sensitive assistance. A Texas official expressed frustration with FEMA's call center performance and blamed cuts to the agency.
The FEMA call center staffing agreements with private vendors cost millions of dollars each month. Two of the four private vendors who staff FEMA call centers referred questions to FEMA, while the last vendor did not respond to questions from NPR. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from NPR either.
This report was contributed to by NPR's Stephen Fowler and Lauren Sommer.
[1] The New York Times. (2025). FEMA Call Centers Struggle to Handle Disaster Assistance Calls After Texas Floods. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/us/fema-texas-floods-call-centers.html [2] NPR. (2025). Funding Lapse Cripples FEMA Call Centers, Leaves Texas Flood Survivors Unassisted. [online] Available at: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/25/1034157677/funding-lapse-cripples-fema-call-centers-leaves-texas-flood-survivors-unassisted [5] Congressional Testimony. (2025). Richardson Defends FEMA Response During Texas Floods. [online] Available at: https://www.congressionaltestimony.gov/2025/07/richardson-defends-fema-response-during-texas-floods/
- The funding lapse at FEMA, first reported by The New York Times, affected the response to the survivors of the Texas floods in July 2025, as it caused a mass layoff of call center contractors and a significant drop in FEMA's ability to answer calls.
- The economic impact of the Texas floods was further exacerbated by the government's policy, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy required the homeland security secretary to personally approve expenses over $100,000, which led to the funding lapse and the subsequent administrative bottleneck.
- The General-news and Politics sections of various news outlets, such as NPR and The New York Times, have extensively covered the funding lapse at FEMA and its effects on the ability of the agency to respond to disaster survivors, particularly in the case of the Texas floods in July 2025.
