Article Out Loud – How States Can Prepare for an Expanded Role in Disaster Aid

This is an article by Caitlyn Wan Smith, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, February 4, 2026.All levels of government play a role in post-disaster support, but federal leaders are now weighing major shifts in how those responsibilities are divided. Some argue that more responsibility would spur greater investment in resilience, even as states face stagnant revenues and competing budget pressures. Learn whether states’ disaster-budgeting strategies can meet today’s emergency-response demands.Now to the featured article.