Sponsors (2)
The bill substantially expands Federal support and speeds delivery for nonstructural flood‑risk reduction — benefiting homeowners, disadvantaged communities, and environmental outcomes — but does so at appreciable cost to taxpayers and with added administrative, implementation, and community‑cohesion risks.
Homeowners (especially repetitive‑loss owners) and low‑income households gain much larger Federal financial support — including up to 75–100% for repetitive‑loss properties and up to 90% in disadvantaged communities — to fund buyouts, elevations, and other nonstructural measures, reducing local out‑of‑pocket costs.
Homeowners, renters, and communities will see lower future flood/storm exposure because the bill expands and funds nonstructural risk‑reduction tools (elevation, floodproofing, basement filling, demolition/relocation) and raises design safety where ASCE 24 applies.
Local governments, state governments, and the Corps benefit from faster, more consistent project delivery through expanded application to ongoing projects, authorization of advance Federal shares, improved planning, and a proposed nonstructural center of expertise and interagency coordination.
Federal taxpayers and the Federal budget face material increases in spending because the bill raises Federal cost‑shares and makes more relocation and elevation‑related expenses eligible for cost sharing (temporary housing, moving, utilities, abatement, supplemental payments).
Local governments and other non‑Federal partners will face added administrative burdens, potential new matching or phased‑agreement requirements, faster deadlines, and budgeting uncertainty while they adapt to changed cost‑share rules.
Restrictions on pausing or narrowing Corps studies reduce Corps flexibility to reallocate resources to higher‑priority emergencies or statutory/legal needs, which could hamper timely responses elsewhere.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Directs the Army Corps to prioritize and implement nonstructural flood-risk measures (elevation, floodproofing, buyouts, relocations) and to treat relocation/elevation expenses as eligible project costs.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress March 26, 2026
Directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to give nonstructural flood-risk measures—like elevating or floodproofing buildings, buying out properties, and relocating or demolishing at-risk structures—equal consideration with structural projects and to treat certain relocation and elevation costs as eligible project expenses. It requires the Corps to continue or resume eligible studies and projects (subject to narrow exceptions), to provide regular written status and schedule updates to local partners, and to adopt standards and cost-sharing rules for property elevation and voluntary acquisition/relocation programs. The law defines which actions count as nonstructural features, requires the Corps to include relocation advisory services, temporary housing, moving expenses, and certain elevation-related costs in project budgets, and sets timelines and procedural rules to speed implementation and give non‑Federal interests and affected owners more flexibility to carry out work and receive federal shares in advance. It takes effect on enactment and applies to ongoing, recently paused, and some previously authorized studies or projects when requested by local partners.