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.
H. Res. 1138 is a House resolution that recognizes the missions of FEMA, CISA, and TSA and argues that reductions in their career workforces have weakened those agencies’ ability to protect public safety and national security. The resolution describes staffing losses at FEMA, CISA, and TSA, cites shutdown-related resignations and vacancies, and references court findings and oversight reports suggesting the reductions may have been unlawful or inconsistent with congressional appropriations.
The resolution does not change substantive law or appropriate funds. Instead, it expresses the sense of the House, calls on the administration to stop further unauthorized workforce reductions, asks for a detailed accounting of staffing cuts since January 20, 2025, and urges the President to nominate a permanent FEMA Administrator. It also reaffirms that these agencies’ missions depend on retaining skilled career personnel, not just funding levels.
Because this is a resolution rather than a statutory bill, it has no direct legal effect on state laws and does not amend federal statutes. Its practical impact is political and oversight-oriented: it would place the House on record supporting FEMA, CISA, and TSA staffing levels, press the executive branch for transparency about workforce reductions, and potentially influence future appropriations, personnel decisions, and agency leadership nominations. The resolution is aimed at federal agencies and federal employment practices, not state governments or state regulatory schemes.
The overall sentiment in the bill text is strongly supportive of FEMA, CISA, and TSA career staff and strongly critical of the workforce reductions described. The resolution frames the cuts as harmful to disaster response, cybersecurity, election security, and airport security, and it presents the agencies’ staffing losses as a threat to public safety. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no additional recorded debate or roll-call sentiment beyond the resolution’s own language.
The main point of contention is the administration’s reduction of career employees at FEMA, CISA, and TSA, which the resolution says occurred without specific congressional authorization and in some cases in violation of enacted appropriations and federal employment law. Supporters of the resolution appear to favor restoring or protecting staffing, preserving election security functions, and filling leadership vacancies, especially at FEMA. The resolution also implicitly contests the use of buyouts, layoffs, attrition, and shutdown-related departures as management tools for these agencies.