WASHINGTON — A broadly bipartisan bill to overhaul and elevate the Federal Emergency Management Agency is heading toward the U.S. House floor after a key committee approved the legislation. “This bill gives FEMA independence and tools it needs to respond to disaster.”Republican Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eric Burlison of Missouri and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania voted against reporting the bill to the House floor. The 207-page measure, formally called the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025, would remove FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and make it a Cabinet-level agency. The legislation would create one application for federal natural disaster assistance from FEMA, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency building in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Nov. 25, 2024.