Cruz and Cornyn Push Competing FEMA Reform Bills After East Texas Tornado Response Failures
Following widespread criticism of FEMA's slow response to the February 2026 East Texas tornadoes, both Texas senators have filed reform bills with sharply different approaches.
The February 2026 tornado outbreak that struck Harrison, Marion, and Cass counties killed 11 people and caused an estimated $400 million in damage. In the weeks since, FEMA's response has drawn sharp criticism from local officials who say temporary housing assistance took over six weeks to reach affected families and that debris removal contracts were delayed by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Both of Texas's U.S. senators have now filed legislation in response, but their approaches differ significantly. Senator Ted Cruz introduced the Disaster Response Accountability Act (S. 1847), which would impose strict 14-day deadlines on FEMA initial assistance disbursements and allow states to take over disaster response operations and bill the federal government if FEMA fails to meet benchmarks. Senator John Cornyn's approach, the FEMA Modernization Act (S. 1902), focuses on structural reforms within the agency, including regionalizing response teams and pre-positioning supplies in disaster-prone areas.
U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran (TX-1), whose congressional district includes the hardest-hit areas, has backed Cruz's bill and has been vocal about the failures he witnessed firsthand during recovery efforts. Moran held a town hall in Marshall on March 28 where residents described waiting weeks for FEMA inspectors and receiving denial letters with no clear explanation. At the state level, Rep. Gary VanDeaver (HD-1), whose district includes Cass and Marion counties, has called on the state to create its own rapid-response disaster fund so that Texas is not dependent on federal timelines.
The competing bills highlight a broader tension within the Texas Republican delegation between Cruz's confrontational approach to federal agencies and Cornyn's preference for working within existing institutional frameworks. Both bills have been referred to the Senate Homeland Security Committee.