NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Nearly four years after floodwaters from Hurricane Ian damaged her New Smyrna Beach home, Cheryl Booth says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has finally approved the grant she needs to rebuild.
“I finally got approved. Hallelujah,” Booth said.
News 6 previously reported that Booth and her husband applied for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which helps rebuild or harden homes and buildings after a disaster.
But state officials say Booth’s case is not the norm — and that a significant backlog is leaving other Florida disaster survivors waiting for help.
“As far as the number of applications that are backlogged in Florida, I’m going to say it’s a lot,” said Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, who spoke about the delay in FEMA-related processing.
Guthrie estimates roughly 1,000 applications from disaster survivors are currently pending with FEMA.
“Hurricanes Helene, Milton, Debbie. All of those applications are in process right now, and we are processing in conjunction with FEMA as fast as we possibly can,” Guthrie told News 6.
For homeowners like Booth, the delay can carry a heavy financial toll. Booth said she has continued paying her mortgage and insurance even though she cannot live in her home.
“We’re bleeding,” Booth said.
Why does it take so long?
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., said the grant approval process involves multiple steps and layers of approval.
“You have to pass it through the Congress, then it goes through FEMA, and then it goes through the state,” Rep. Soto said when asked why the process takes so long.
Guthrie pointed to the pace of federal disaster recovery work as a long-standing problem, saying officials are still working to close out hurricane recovery efforts dating back decades.
“What we depend on FEMA for more than anything else is financial support,” Guthrie said. “It’s federally supported through financial offerings, giving us up to 75% of our money over time. We’re still trying to close out Hurricane Wilma from 2005. That’s how far back and how slow that process is.”
Reform proposals in Washington
In Washington, some lawmakers are pitching changes aimed at speeding up disaster relief.
Six Central Florida members of Congress — Reps. Daniel Webster, Mike Haridopolos, Randy Fine, Kat Cammack, Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost — are co-sponsoring what’s being called the FEMA Act of 2025, a bipartisan proposal that would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security, allow block grants intended to speed funds to states, and extend housing assistance from 18 months to 24 months.
The legislation is awaiting a debate and vote on the House floor after a 57-3 bipartisan vote approval by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Rep. Soto said the bill has a chance, though he cautioned that passage is not guaranteed.
“I think there’s a good chance of it because it is bipartisan, but this hasn’t been the most productive Congress, so I guess we’re going to have to see,” he said.
A Senate companion bill has not been filed.
2 reform plans, 2 different visions
While the FEMA Act of 2025 moves through Congress, a separate effort is also taking shape. The FEMA Review Council — appointed by President Donald Trump — has called for its own overhaul of the agency. But the two proposals represent starkly different visions for how the federal government should respond to disasters.
The FEMA Act of 2025, also known as H.R. 4669, would elevate FEMA by removing it from the Department of Homeland Security and establishing it as an independent, cabinet-level agency — strengthening the federal government’s role in disaster management.
The FEMA Review Council report takes a different approach. Rather than expanding FEMA’s authority, the council recommends restructuring disaster policy around a state-led model, in which FEMA serves primarily as a support organization and federal assistance is reserved for disasters that exceed what states, local governments, tribes and territories can handle on their own.
Both proposals agree that FEMA needs significant reform, seek to simplify disaster assistance and call for faster delivery of aid. But they diverge sharply on how much responsibility the federal government should carry.
Among the key differences: the FEMA Act largely preserves the existing federal role while improving how FEMA operates, while the Review Council report recommends tightening disaster declaration standards, replacing multiple individual assistance programs with a simplified direct-payment model for survivors, and replacing the traditional public assistance model with a new “RAPID” funding system that would deliver formula-based payments to states shortly after a disaster.
In short, the FEMA Act of 2025 represents a model of federal empowerment — the Review Council report represents a shift toward state responsibility.
News 6 asked Guthrie, who serves on the FEMA Review Council, how its recommendations would look for Floridians if approved.
“I don’t see that it’s going to look much different than what they’ve already seen,” Guthrie said. “If you have been the direct recipient and benefit of fast service, getting your power back on, getting your water back up and running, those things, that is all at the direction of the governor of the state of Florida, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and our local emergency manager partners getting that stuff done.”
Guthrie added that processing grants would be faster under the new framework, which he said would help address the backlog.
‘I believe it when I see it’
As for Booth, she said she expects work on her home to start later this year, though she remains cautious after years of waiting.
“I believe it when I see it,” Booth said.
Rep. Soto says if you need financial help to rebuild your home after a storm, consider applying for a low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration.
“It’s for rebuilding your home right away. So, you get the loan right away, you rebuild your home, then you duke it out to get the FEMA relief and the money back from your insurer,” Rep. Soto stated.
According to him, time is of the essence. You have to apply within 60 days after a storm hits to be eligible.