WASHINGTON, D.C. – The BuildStrong Coalition today submitted a letter to the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives requesting consideration of the Resilient AMERICA Act as soon as possible. The legislation builds on the resilience initiatives contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provides much-needed resources for families, businesses, and communities to reduce climate risks ahead of the next crisis. The bill cleared the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee with overwhelmingly bipartisan support late last year but has stalled since.
“As we have seen with recent severe climate events across the country, the longer we wait to address our gaps in mitigation and resilience measures, the more our communities will continue to bear the consequences,” said BuildStrong Chairman Jimi Grande. “The resources provided in the Resilient AMERICA Act would be transformational for communities seeking to better protect themselves ahead of natural catastrophes. It’s time for Congress to act before the next disaster strikes.”
The letter to House leadership was signed by over 25 organizations and companies, all members of the Coalition, representing a diverse array of emergency management, non-profit, and industry stakeholders seeking to better serve their communities. The Coalition highlights in the letter that the bill would create a significant number of new resources for communities to better protect themselves ahead of natural catastrophes, including those that would increase funding for FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program.
Congress and the White House have made significant progress on improving the nation’s disaster risk profile in recent years, including the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act in 2018 and, more recently, President Biden’s allocation of $1 billion in funding for the FEMA pre-disaster mitigation initiatives authorized by the law. But this progress came after years of inaction, and the Resilient AMERICA Act is necessary to strengthen and address gaps in these newly established programs.
