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The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency offered no guarantees about the agency’s survival during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson didn’t directly respond when asked if FEMA would continue to exist in the future. “What I can commit to is that the president wants a better emergency management system for the American people, and that's a noble goal,” Richardson told a House subcommittee. Richardson said the FEMA Review Council is expected to deliver reform recommendations to President Donald Trump by late fall. He said FEMA should return to a model that is locally led and state-managed, “with federal support available when needed.”“States already lead disaster response,” said Rep. Rick Larson, D-Washington, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Dismantling FEMA does not empower states. It just slashes the federal safety net that serves as a backstop for critical phases of emergency management.” Larson said lawmakers plan to introduce a bipartisan bill this week outlining various proposals to improve FEMA.The debate over FEMA’s future comes as the agency faces criticism over its response to deadly flash floods in Texas earlier this month. Richardson defended the response and even described it as a “model” for future disasters. "I can't see anything that we did wrong,” Richardson said. Richardson was pressed about a New York Times report that found that two days after the catastrophic flooding, FEMA didn't answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line. "That is fake news. The majority of calls were answered,” Richardson said. Republican Rep. Scott Perry, who chairs the subcommittee focused on emergency management, noted call center response rates were an issue under the Biden administration too. He asked Richardson to provide performance data to Congress, noting both sides of the aisle want to better understand how well FEMA serves the public. “I think we can legally share that,” Richardson said. “I don’t know for sure, but if we can, we will.” Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also asked if funding to help communities strengthen infrastructure before disasters strike will be restored.The recent cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, deemed wasteful by the Trump administration, has derailed projects across several congressional districts, including levees to protect against floods. “Now they’re in limbo, and there is just no way for them to move forward without federal assistance,” said Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon. “Please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.”Richardson could not definitively say what would happen to the funding moving forward, citing ongoing litigation. “What I can tell you is that resilience is a priority for me and it's a priority for FEMA,” Richardson said. Under the Biden administration, FEMA often emphasized the importance of investing in resilient infrastructure to help communities prepare for the worsening effects of climate change. Richardson sidestepped questions on whether fossil fuels are contributing to climate change and whether the frequency and severity of disasters in the U.S. are increasing. “What I believe is, regardless of whether they’re increasing or not, that FEMA is there to assist the American public,” Richardson said.