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The bill increases clarity about which code editions FEMA will accept and funds a pilot to retrofit vulnerable homes—improving predictability and targeted resilience investments—but it diverts a portion of mitigation funds to a time‑limited program, may delay adoption of the very newest safety standards, and creates administrative and eligibility hurdles that could leave some at‑risk households or local implementers disadvantaged.
Low-income and other qualifying homeowners can receive grants to retrofit homes against floods, wind, wildfire, seismic events, and tornadoes, promoting safer homes and potentially reducing future disaster damages while producing program data to guide larger mitigation investments.
The bill ties eligible consensus standards to the two most recent published editions, giving state and local governments clearer, narrower rules that reduce ambiguity, lower the risk of arbitrary switching, and can speed FEMA approvals and reduce administrative disputes.
Project planners, contractors, and utilities benefit from a predictable set of acceptable code editions (the two newest), simplifying compliance for disaster‑recovery rebuilding and helping speed reconstruction.
Using up to 10% of Section 203 funds for the pilot diverts money from other hazard-mitigation applicants and programs, reducing funding availability for broader mitigation efforts each year.
Limiting eligible standards to only the two most recent published editions could exclude more recent safety or resilience improvements adopted after those editions, delaying adoption of better practices and leaving homeowners or communities less protected.
Requiring demonstration of financial need and other eligibility criteria may leave vulnerable homeowners who lack documentation or narrowly miss thresholds without assistance.
Defines the phrase “latest published editions” (for certain Stafford Act cross-references) to mean the two most recent editions of relevant consensus codes and standards, clarifying which versions apply when those provisions are used. Establishes a FEMA residential resilience pilot within the existing disaster mitigation program to fund grants to States and local governments that then provide means‑tested grants to individuals for retrofit projects that reduce disaster damage. The pilot may use up to 10% of available annual program assistance, must be set up within one year, and terminates September 30, 2028; FEMA must report results to Congress within four years. One statutory amendment intended to change existing Stafford Act text is present but the new wording is not supplied in the available text, so its precise effect is unclear.
Introduced January 16, 2025 by Chuck Edwards · Last progress January 16, 2025