Many states, including Texas, have not used billions of dollars from FEMA intended to reduce damage from flooding and other disasters.

The claim that many states, including Texas, have not used billions of dollars from FEMA intended to reduce damage from flooding and other disasters is supported by multiple investigative reports. The core factual assertion is that substantial FEMA grant funds allocated for disaster protection and mitigation remain unspent. According to detailed reporting by E&E News and Scientific American, nearly $21 billion in FEMA grant money designated for disaster protection has not been spent by states, including Texas.scientificamerican.comscientificamerican.comTexas Failed to Spend Federal Aid for Flood Disaster Protectionsubscriber.politicopro.comsubscriber.politicopro.comE&E News: Texas failed to spend federal aid for disaster protectioneenews.neteenews.netTexas failed to spend federal aid for disaster protection

These grants are separate from funds used for disaster cleanup and rebuilding and are specifically aimed at reducing future damage from flooding and other disasters. This unspent money means that vulnerable populations remain at risk due to lack of investment in protective infrastructure or mitigation projects. While some official sources like DHS and FEMA emphasize their active response to disasters and deny failures in assistance delivery,fema.govfema.govTexas Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Floodingdhs.govdhs.govFEMA Activates in Texas Following President Trump’s Major Disaster Declaration... these statements do not contradict the fact that mitigation grant funds remain largely unused.

The distinction between immediate disaster response funding and long-term mitigation grants is important context. The claim does not specify exact amounts per state beyond Texas but the evidence shows a nationwide pattern of underutilization of these funds.

Therefore, the claim is largely accurate but could benefit from clarifying that the unspent funds refer specifically to mitigation grants rather than all FEMA disaster-related funding. This nuance prevents the claim from being fully true without qualification.