Judge Declines to Require FEMA Release Funds to Upgrade US Emergency Alert System

The plaintiff did not show it will suffer irreparable injury absent a restraining order, the judge said.

A sign for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington. Al Drago/The New York Times via AP/Pool

A federal judge has declined to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse dozens of public broadcasting stations for upgrades to the nation’s emergency alert system.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on March 17 denied the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have forced FEMA to release funds that the corporation says it is owed for work on the Next Generation Warning System.

The corporation, or CPB, has not demonstrated that the alert system will stop working if the grant funding doesn’t start flowing right away, Kelly concluded during a hearing.

One of the thresholds for a temporary restraining order is whether a plaintiff will suffer irreparable injury if an order is not entered.

“This circuit has set a high standard for irreparable injury,” Kelly said. “I don’t think CPB has satisfied that high standard on the record here.”

CPB did not return a request for comment.

The national emergency alert system helps government officials issue alerts about disasters, including flash floods, blizzards, tornados, and hurricanes.

Congress created the CPB in 1967. The private corporation says it distributes more than 70 percent of its funding to more than 1,500 public radio and television stations.

In court filings, CPB said that FEMA has placed on hold funds it is owed under a 2022 grant designated for modernizing the system. The hold has prevented CPB from submitting reimbursement requests, resulting in nearly $2 million in incurred expenses that have not been reimbursed.

FEMA has not shared a reason for the hold, the corporation said in its motion for a restraining order.

“Given that numerous federal courts, including this Court, have already issued preliminary injunctions directing the government to inform its agencies to transmit any disbursements on awarded grants, executed contracts, or other executed financial obligations, it appears that FEMA is now independently acting to frustrate the submission of incurred grant expenses for reimbursement and the payment of those expenses using appropriated funds,” it said, urging the court to act.

Government lawyers said in response that the agency has not been withholding funding.

“Rather, the Agency has modified its process for the review of payment requests—a process that is consistent with its authority to protect the public fisc [sic] and ensure grant programs are free from waste, fraud, and abuse,” the lawyers wrote.

The new process is said to feature a manual review of requests for payment.

A FEMA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency is taking action to make sure its grant programs align with directions from President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that taxpayer dollars “are being used wisely and for mission critical efforts.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.