Sponsors (6)
Official title: To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to allow certain grantees to use Community Development Block Grant amounts for natural disaster mitigation activities, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 30, 2026 by Sam T. Liccardo · Last progress June 30, 2026
The bill expands CDBG to finance disaster mitigation—providing targeted protection and reduced future losses for at-risk and low-income communities—while risking diversion of funds from other CDBG priorities and raising concerns about accountability and equitable eligibility.
Local governments, homeowners, and renters can use CDBG funds for disaster mitigation projects (including new construction and rehabilitation), letting communities reduce future damage and better protect residents' health and welfare.
Low-income households in high-risk areas can receive federally funded mitigation upgrades, lowering the risk of future displacement and reducing recovery costs after disasters.
Local governments (grantees) will get HUD-required technical assistance and a one-year rulemaking deadline, which should speed program implementation and help jurisdictions meet new regulatory requirements.
Low-income individuals and local governments may see fewer CDBG dollars for traditional priorities—like affordable housing and neighborhood services—because expanding allowable uses to mitigation diverts limited funds.
Homeowners, renters, and local governments could face weaker measurable accountability because treating assisted housing units as a single structure and exempting them from aggregate public‑benefit standards may reduce the amount of demonstrable direct public benefit per dollar.
Rural communities, low-income individuals, and some local governments may be disadvantaged if eligibility relies on FEMA's National Risk Index or state risk indices, which can miss local hazard nuances and create uneven access to mitigation funds.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows CDBG funds to be used for natural disaster mitigation in certified high‑risk areas and directs HUD to issue implementing rules within one year.
Authorizes Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to be used expressly for natural disaster mitigation in areas at high risk from weather-related hazards. It defines mitigation activities, allows construction and rehabilitation for mitigation when a grantee documents high risk and the Secretary certifies it using FEMA's National Risk Index or a State risk index, and requires HUD to issue implementing rules within one year and provide technical assistance. The bill also allows certain aggregation and public-benefit treatment for assisted housing units in mitigation projects, exempts those units from some aggregate public-benefit standards, and directs HUD to classify mitigation as eligible urgent community development activity and treat documented weather hazards as a serious and immediate threat to health or welfare in HUD rules.