[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1138 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1138
Recognizing the critical missions of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and
expressing concern that the systematic reduction of its career
workforce has undermined those missions and endangered the safety and
security of United States citizens.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2026
Mr. Bell (for himself and Mr. Stanton) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security,
and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the critical missions of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and
expressing concern that the systematic reduction of its career
workforce has undermined those missions and endangered the safety and
security of United States citizens.
Whereas FEMA, CISA, and TSA depend on a professional, nonpartisan career
workforce to carry out the missions entrusted to them by Congress;
Whereas the career civil servants of FEMA, CISA, and TSA include cybersecurity
analysts, disaster response coordinators, transportation security
officers, and infrastructure protection specialists, among many others;
Whereas the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the primary Federal
entity responsible for supporting disaster preparedness, response,
recovery, and mitigation on behalf of the American people, and
coordination with Federal partners;
Whereas FEMA's workforce shrank from approximately 25,800 employees in December
2024 to roughly 22,100 in calendar year 2025, a net loss of more than
3,000 positions, through layoffs, buyouts, and attrition;
Whereas more than 1,400 permanent FEMA staff accepted buyout offers from the
Department of Government Efficiency across 2 rounds, constituting a
substantial share of the agency's permanent full-time workforce;
Whereas internal planning documents circulated in late 2025 and early 2026
outlined a potential reduction of more than 50 percent of FEMA's total
workforce, over 11,500 positions, including a 41 percent cut to disaster
response staff and an 85 percent cut to surge staffing personnel;
Whereas the Government Accountability Office found that FEMA began the 2025
hurricane season with only 12 percent of its incident management
workforce available, a 5-year low;
Whereas, as of June 2025, numerous members of FEMA's Senior Executive Service
positions were vacant, and the President has yet to nominate a permanent
FEMA Administrator;
Whereas a 2023 Government Accountability Office report found FEMA was already
facing a staffing shortfall of more than 6,000 employees, approximately
35 percent below its target level, before the current reductions began;
Whereas the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (Public Law
109-295) prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from making
changes that would significantly undermine FEMA's ability to respond to
disasters;
Whereas the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was
established by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act
of 2018 (Public Law 115-278) as the Federal Government's lead civilian
cybersecurity agency;
Whereas CISA's workforce has been reduced from more than 3,000 employees at the
start of fiscal year 2025 to roughly 2,300 by December 2025, a loss of
nearly 1,000 employees, or more than 29 percent of its total workforce;
Whereas the team of CISA cybersecurity advisors, field staff who connect
companies and critical infrastructure operators with Federal resources,
was reduced from approximately 164 employees to approximately 97;
Whereas CISA's Election Security Program was completely eliminated, 14 positions
and approximately $39,600,000 in annual funding, ahead of the 2026
Federal midterm elections;
Whereas, by the end of May 2025, numerous members of CISA's leadership have
resigned or announced plans to do so;
Whereas the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employs approximately
62,000 transportation security officers responsible for screening
passengers, baggage, and cargo at airports across the country;
Whereas, during the 43-day Government shutdown in October and November 2025,
more than 900 TSA officers left the agency;
Whereas, since the current partial shutdown of DHS began on February 14, 2026,
more than 400 additional TSA officers have resigned, callout rates have
exceeded more than 10 percent nationally and reached more than 30
percent at some major airports, and travelers have experienced security
wait times exceeding more than 2 hours at airports across the country;
Whereas transportation security officers have had their paychecks held up for
nearly half of the past 170 days across multiple shutdowns, despite
being classified as essential employees required to report to work;
Whereas the Office of Personnel Management reported approximately 322,000 total
separations of Federal employees between January 20, 2025, and November
2025, representing the largest reduction in the Federal civilian
workforce since the professionalization of the civil service;
Whereas DHS's career workforce reductions were carried out without specific
congressional authorization and, in many instances, in apparent
contravention of appropriations enacted by Congress for fiscal year 2025
that funded the personnel and programs being eliminated; and
Whereas Federal courts have found elements of the administration's mass
workforce reductions to be unlawful, and the Merit Systems Protection
Board has granted class certification to a group of former DHS employees
challenging their terminations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the critical missions of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA), and other offices focusing on
cybersecurity, disaster preparedness and response, and
transportation security;
(2) affirms that the professional, nonpartisan career
workforce of FEMA, CISA, and TSA are essential to carrying out
those missions and protecting the safety and security of United
States citizens;
(3) expresses serious concern that the systematic reduction
of personnel and resources at FEMA, CISA, and TSA has weakened
the Federal Government's capacity to fulfill its statutory
obligations;
(4) notes that these workforce reductions were carried out
without specific authorization from Congress and, in many
instances, in contravention of enacted appropriations and in
violation of Federal employment law, as found by multiple
Federal courts;
(5) calls on the administration to halt further reductions
to FEMA, CISA, and TSA's career workforce that are not
specifically authorized by Congress through the appropriations
process;
(6) calls on the administration to transmit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a detailed accounting of all
workforce reductions at FEMA, CISA, and TSA since January 20,
2025, disaggregated by component agency, office, and reduction
mechanism;
(7) calls on the administration to immediately submit to
the Senate the nomination of a permanent Administrator for the
Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
(8) reaffirms that the security of the United States
depends not only on sufficient funding of FEMA, CISA, and TSA
but on the retention and recruitment of the skilled career
professionals who carry out its missions every day.
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