FEMA aims to cut nearly $1B in emergency management and homeland security grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has proposed cutting nearly $1 billion in grant funding that communities and first responders nationwide use to better prepare for disasters and to bolster security for possible terror or cyberattacks.

The proposed cuts, which still require approval from the White House budget office and Congress, would zero out funding for more than half of FEMA’s emergency management and homeland security grant programs, according to internal memos and two FEMA officials familiar with the plans.

This comes amid an overhaul of the disaster relief agency at the hands of the Trump administration, which seeks to drastically shrink FEMA’s footprint and shift more responsibility for disaster preparedness, response and recovery onto states. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, has looked at slashing grant funding as part of that effort.

Erica Hill speaks with CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. #CNN #News