The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today called on Congress to allow Native American tribes to receive direct Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding, highlighting significant gaps in disaster assistance distribution over the past decade. The GAO FEMA funding direct to tribes report reveals that 17 states, from fiscal 2014 through 2023, did not distribute any FEMA awards to tribal governments under existing emergency grant programs.
According to the GAO, tribes face barriers in accessing funding that could help them prepare for and respond to disasters such as tornadoes. The states identified in the report are Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia.
“By statute, only states and territories can receive emergency management performance grants directly from FEMA; tribes are not eligible to apply on their own,” the report states, noting that states are responsible for distributing grants to local governments and tribal nations.
The GAO highlighted that from fiscal 2019 through 2024, the U.S. President approved 94 major disaster declarations involving tornadoes. As of December 2024, FEMA had obligated $2.8 billion to support public assistance and recovery programs. In April 2023, FEMA proposed legislative solutions to Congress to allow tribes easier access to disaster funding, but Congress has not yet acted on these recommendations.
The GAO FEMA funding direct to tribes report recommends creating a new emergency management program or amending existing programs to allow tribal governments to receive grants directly. The report also included a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, noting that roughly 1,200 tornadoes impact communities across the U.S. annually, with nearly 70 deaths reported in just the first half of 2025.
Investigations included in-person and virtual site visits with two tribes and five states— Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Oklahoma—revealing deficiencies in safe rooms, costly warning sirens, and weak building codes in vulnerable communities.
“Tribal nations without dedicated emergency management staff face heightened vulnerability to disasters, as coordinated systems to prepare, respond, and recover are often absent,” the GAO stated. “The lack of trained personnel can slow response efforts and increase the loss of life, property, and cultural heritage.”
