Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, in a House Oversight Committee hearing, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) discussed the essential work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and defended the agency and its workers from Republicans’ attempts to undermine their integrity and mission.

Congresswoman Pressley also discussed the progress made in addressing the trauma of natural disasters through her Post Disaster Mental Health Response Act, and urged FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to help ensure that the federal funding she secured for community projects in her district are swiftly disbursed.

A full transcript of Rep. Pressley’s question line is available here, and full video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Defends FEMA From Republican Attacks, Urges Swift Disbursal of Community Project Funding for Massachusetts 7^th
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
November 19, 2024

REP. PRESSLEY: Administrator Criswell, thank you for your stamina here today. It’s good to see you again. Thank you for joining us today and for your leadership.

In the face of repeated climate disasters, mass violence and humanitarian crises, the workers of FEMA represent the very best of public service and deserve the support of Congress.

Attempts by Republicans, many of whom are climate and science deniers, in the face of a frequency of events that were once anomalies, but I digress.

Attempts by Republicans to question the integrity of FEMA workers is a direct attack on FEMA’s mission. Its mission is especially vital for our constituents, many of whom face not only the loss of homes and livelihoods, but also lasting emotional and psychological trauma in the wake of such profound loss.

Ms. Criswell, Administrator, two years ago, my bill, the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act, was signed into law by President Biden. It expands mental health supports during emergency declarations.

Survivors, in my opinion, deserve not only to heal, but to thrive, and this law moves us closer to that. As someone who is deeply committed to addressing trauma, I’m proud to have partnered with you and FEMA in this fight.

Bearing this in mind, can you expound Administrator Criswell on how FEMA is incorporating long-term mental health care into its recovery plans to support the survivors of recent hurricanes?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Congresswoman, I appreciate your partnership in pushing that bill forward because the impact that these citizens have after a disaster is traumatizing, and what we don’t want to do is re-traumatize them with the delivery of our programs. We have worked with our teams to institute a trauma-informed care approach so we can understand better how a community feels and how a community is reacting to the impacts from the severe weather event. We also have teams that go out into the field, because our staff also get traumatized with the day in and day out conversations with people who have lost everything and it affects them personally, many of them survivors from previous storms themselves. And so, this holistic mental health support is so critical, and we have to destigmatize mental health support in a way that encourages our staff, but also survivors to get the help that they need.

REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you. Administrator Criswell, when we focus on healing, that’s right, we do have to also acknowledge the work of the healer who is healing the healer. So, FEMA workers themselves are exposed to immense stress and trauma during their services, and as Mr. Moskowitz was alluding to earlier, there is high fatigue and burnout and low morale, because these are extenuating circumstances with which to be proximate to.

What resources or initiatives does FEMA provide to support the mental health of its own personnel after a disaster?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: We’ve taken this very seriously, and we have our own mental health advisor at headquarters, but we’ve also put in mental health advisors in each of our regional offices, and we send teams out into the communities, into our disaster recovery centers, and our joint field offices to make sure we’re taking care of our people. And even back at headquarters, we will do stand downs to make sure that we’re providing the assistance that they need, making sure they know the resources that are available to them, and that when we ask somebody, ‘how are you doing?’ we’re not just doing it in passing, and we’re really listening so we can understand the stress that they may be going through, and encouraging them to take a break if you need a break, but come back so you can help these people.

REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you for recognizing the importance of that work and for your continued partnership. Now, my district, the Massachusetts 7^th, relies heavily on FEMA in times of crisis. That’s why earlier this year, I was proud to work with municipal leaders to secure two and a half million dollars for the Cambridge Community Center Resilience Hub and the Mill Creek Resilience Program in Chelsea and the Island End River Resilience Project in Everett.

Administrator Criswell, while I understand there are many priorities before the new Administration steps in, can I have your commitment that FEMA will work to quickly get these funds to my district? And can you follow up with a point of contact I can connect with the follow through on this?

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Congresswoman, we’ll certainly follow up with you on the status of those programs and see where they’re at and what we can do to move them along.

REP. PRESSLEY: Thank you. Like every district represented in this hearing room, the Massachusetts 7^th depends on FEMA’s ability to do its job.

We cannot turn the agency into a political game. Instead, we must ensure FEMA and its workers have the resources respect and public confidence they need to continue their work. Our constituents deserve nothing less. Thank you. I yield back.

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