Sponsors (3)
The bill directs targeted retrofit grants and clarifies building-code eligibility—giving homeowners, especially low-income households, and local governments more predictable tools to reduce future disaster losses—while relying on limited, temporary funding and imposing administrative burdens that will leave many properties unaddressed unless Congress provides additional or sustained resources.
Homeowners (especially those in flood- or hazard-prone areas) gain access to targeted resilience retrofit grants and clearer building-code guidance that together reduce future home damage risk and ease reconstruction compliance.
State and local governments retain existing predisaster authorities and gain a clearer, consistent rule for eligible building codes (the two most recent consensus editions), improving predictability for permitting, recovery, and mitigation programs.
Low-income households are prioritized for retrofit grant awards, improving equity by directing limited resilience resources to financially vulnerable families.
Homeowners and renters may receive only limited help because retrofit grants are capped at a small portion of funds (up to 10% of annual Section 203 funds), depend on future appropriations, and the pilot sunsets in 2030—leaving many homes unaddressed unless Congress increases or extends funding.
State and local governments (and FEMA) face added administrative complexity and implementation costs to run the new pilot, determine applicable code editions, and administer eligibility—potentially delaying assistance and diverting local resources.
Some jurisdictions and property owners could incur out-of-pocket costs if their current codes differ from the two specified editions and they must upgrade to meet reconstruction or grant requirements.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes a FEMA residential resilience pilot giving state/local subgrants for individual home retrofits, defines code editions, and adjusts Stafford Act language.
Introduced January 16, 2025 by Chuck Edwards · Last progress January 16, 2025
Creates a FEMA residential resilience pilot that awards grants to States and local governments so they can give funds directly to homeowners and other eligible individuals for home retrofits that reduce flood, wind, fire, tornado, and earthquake risk. It also defines “latest published editions” of consensus codes to mean the two most recent editions, makes a technical renumbering change to existing Stafford Act language, limits FEMA to using up to 10% of annual predisaster mitigation assistance for the pilot, requires FEMA to stand up the program within one year and report to Congress within six years, and ends the pilot on September 30, 2030. The act does not change Stafford Act programs other than the predisaster hazard mitigation and the hazard mitigation revolving loan fund programs.