Minnesota legislative leaders are urging the federal government to reinstate critical FEMA grant programs that have been paused, warning of serious consequences for public safety and disaster preparedness across the state.
Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Chair Ron Latz and House Public Safety Committee Co-Chair Kelly Moller raised concerns in a joint statement, emphasizing that the funding halt could severely impact Minnesota’s ability to respond to emergencies, particularly amid ongoing budget constraints.
The suspended grants include the Emergency Management Performance Grant, the Urban Area Security Initiative, and the State Homeland Security Program—all essential to emergency response and anti-terrorism efforts. Additional programs affected are the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, Operation Stonegarden, and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant, the latter of which has been cancelled entirely, leaving Minnesota agencies with unreimbursed costs.
The funding disruption extends to staffing, with FEMA grants historically covering more than half of the positions within the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, as well as critical roles at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
