Washington, D.C. – Today, during National Preparedness Month, U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), secured passage of her Investing in Community Resilience Act of 2024 (S. 4900). This legislation is designed to incentivize investments in community resilience projects to alleviate damage from natural disasters. The bill passed out of committee overwhelmingly by a vote of 14-1.
During today’s HSGAC markup, Senator Butler thanked Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee of Government Operations and Border Management which holds jurisdiction over this issue, for his co-sponsorship and collaboration in advancing this legislation.
“We are putting this forward because 4 in 10 Americans are now living in communities that have been impacted by climate disasters or natural disasters,” said Senator Butler. “This bill encourages FEMA to ensure that all communities are doing the work to support community-led preparedness initiatives, including by supporting Community Emergency Response Teams across the country.”
The Investing in Community Resilience Act aims to reduce the financial burden of disasters on local communities, enhance individual and community preparedness, and promote participation in federally-supported resilience programs.
S. 4900 would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by expanding the types of pre-disaster resilience measures that FEMA may incentivize state or Tribal governments to adopt. FEMA may recognize such resilience investments through an increased federal cost-share from the standard 75% federal cost-share up to 85% for post-disaster public assistance restoration and repair projects and associated expenses.
The Investing in Community Resilience Act has been endorsed by 73 organizations. See the full list of endorsing organizations HERE.
Read the one-pager HERE.
Read the full text of the bill HERE.
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