Overview

• The Trump administration has canceled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and plans to claw back $3.6 million already awarded to local storm mitigation projects.
• FEMA officials dismissed BRIC grants as non-mission critical and criticized their flood mitigation focus as overly climate-oriented.
• Over 80 bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the program’s reinstatement to avoid up to $18 in future response and recovery expenses for every dollar invested.
• Senator Bill Cassidy said withdrawing and reclaiming BRIC funds perverts the will of Congress and undermines approved flood mitigation efforts.
• Local leaders and residents in Louisiana and North Carolina said halting their grants has stalled vital drainage and elevation projects that would have strengthened defenses against future storms.