# 119-hr-5794: FEMA Operations Continuity Act of 2025

119-hr-5794, FEMA Operations Continuity Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5794
- As of: 2026-10-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5794
- Congress: 119
- Title: FEMA Operations Continuity Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-10-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Emergency Management
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-09

## Summary

**continuous FEMA disaster operations during funding lapses**. This bill would let FEMA keep disaster relief, recovery, and mitigation work running if regular appropriations lapse. It authorizes use of Disaster Relief Fund balances and deems those operations essential and exempt from shutdown restrictions under the Anti-Deficiency Act. - Families and disaster survivors: Would preserve access to individual and public assistance after disasters so claims can be processed and payments made without interruption. - State and local disaster programs: Keeps funding available for ongoing and future disaster declarations so recovery and mitigation projects can continue. - FEMA staff and contractors: Requires FEMA to maintain personnel and contract capacity to process claims and pay benefits. It also allows obligating unobligated Disaster Relief Fund balances and prohibits diverting those balances except to comply with the Anti-Deficiency Act.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2025-10-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Elfreth, Sarah [D-MD-3] (D-MD), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- FEMA disaster aid would keep running: benefit, high. If enacted, FEMA would keep disaster help flowing during a federal funding lapse. You could still get individual and public aid for any active or new federal disaster. FEMA could use leftover money in the Disaster Relief Fund to obligate and pay claims, and keep staff and contractors working. These…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-4916: Youth Voting Rights Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5794 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5794)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-4916: Youth Voting Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4916)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5794 (as of 2026-10-09).