Sponsors (7)
The bill shifts FEMA toward prioritizing and funding predisaster mitigation—directing more resources and technical support to disadvantaged and high‑hazard communities and integrating climate/risk data—while raising federal costs, increasing administrative and equity risks, and reducing money available for immediate post‑disaster assistance.
Low-income, small, and environmental‑justice communities (including tribal and rural areas) will be prioritized and can receive higher federal cost shares for mitigation projects, improving access to funding and reducing local out‑of‑pocket burdens.
Federal funding available for predisaster mitigation is substantially increased (raising set‑asides and higher grant cost‑shares), enabling more and faster resilience projects for communities and infrastructure.
FEMA will better incorporate climate projections, updated codes/standards, and improved risk‑analysis tools (e.g., National Risk Index, cost‑benefit methods), which should focus mitigation investments where future hazard exposure is greatest.
Redirecting a larger share of Disaster Relief Fund dollars to predisaster mitigation and planning reduces the pool available for immediate post‑disaster repairs and individual assistance following major disasters.
Expanding higher federal cost‑shares, outreach, and new data systems will increase federal spending and administrative costs, which could raise taxpayer burdens or crowd out other priorities.
Smaller and lower‑capacity local governments may face substantial new administrative, reporting, and compliance burdens (and need greater technical capacity) to meet data, design, and grant requirements, risking uneven access to funds.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Prioritizes and increases federal support for mitigation in high-hazard and environmental justice communities, adds climate-informed planning, outreach, and a central database of disaster/mitigation spending.
Introduced January 14, 2025 by Eric Swalwell · Last progress January 14, 2025
Directs FEMA to prioritize and fund disaster mitigation for communities at greatest risk and greatest need, with new definitions, climate-informed planning requirements, higher federal cost shares for disadvantaged areas, expanded predisaster mitigation funding, targeted outreach, and a centralized federal database on disaster and mitigation spending. It updates statutory definitions to identify “high hazard risk,” “environmental justice community,” and “small impoverished community,” and requires FEMA guidance and tools to use climate projections and vulnerability data when planning and awarding mitigation funds. The bill increases federal support for mitigation in underserved communities (allowing up to 90% federal cost-share for specified communities), raises the Disaster Relief Fund set-aside for predisaster public infrastructure mitigation from 6% to 15%, authorizes a per-disaster planning set-aside, mandates outreach to boost grant applications from vulnerable communities, and requires FEMA to build a consolidated, user-friendly database of mitigation and recovery spending within three years.