Washington, D.C.— Today, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Greg Stanton (D-AZ) and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it is eliminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program and clawing back grants that were promised to states. These actions are leaving the American people more vulnerable to increasingly intense and frequent natural disasters.
“Donald Trump is robbing Arizona communities of more than $60 million to protect families from wildfires, flash flooding, extreme heat and prolonged drought,” Ranking Member Stanton said. “The Trump Administration wants to claim FEMA is more concerned with climate change than responding to natural disasters? Emergency managers know the two are inseparable. BRIC grants are a small up-front investment in resilience to save lives and taxpayer dollars long-term. I can’t imagine a more self-defeating move.”
“Investing in disaster resilience saves lives and taxpayer money,” Ranking Member Larsen said. “Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, and by eliminating funding to build resiliency the Trump Administration has just made it much more difficult for communities to properly prepare. FEMA must reverse its reckless decision because we know mitigation works.”
Background:
The BRIC program supports states, local and territorial governments and Tribal Nations to improve their capacity and capability to prepare for natural disasters, reducing hazard risk.
The following chart illustrates how much disaster resilience funding each state is losing thanks to the Trump Administration’s elimination of the BRIC program.
Alabama, $25,189,655
Alaska, $87,214,225
Arizona, $61,020,830
Arkansas, $2,096,990
California, $1,186,740,992
Colorado, $16,247,223
Connecticut, $94,041,411
Delaware, $3,120,199
Florida, $293,208,096
Georgia, $37,993,370
Hawaii, $11,122,540
Idaho, $13,010,843
Illinois, $88,116,636
Indiana, $8,295,938
Iowa, $46,987,504
Kansas, $1,587,490
Kentucky, $28,371,848
Louisiana, $438,557,589
Maine, $3,849,169
Maryland, $82,636,878
Massachusetts, $104,667,028
Michigan, $12,491,982
Minnesota, $4,033,138
Mississippi, $3,896,751
Missouri, $7,836,037
Montana, $15,693,854
Nebraska, $36,489,128
Nevada, $12,753,013
New Hampshire, $1,218,145
New Jersey, $169,967,815
New Mexico, $1,861,191
New York, $417,970,680
North Carolina, $195,499,300
North Dakota, $82,037,182
Ohio, $63,175,473
Oklahoma, $33,172,088
Oregon, $157,361,866
Pennsylvania, $143,535,222
Rhode Island, $2,425,785
South Carolina, $32,208,624
South Dakota, $14,860,179
Tennessee, $956,007
Texas, $510,667,172
Utah, $3,144,849
Vermont, $2,779,271
Virginia, $74,984,364
Washington, $152,342,472
West Virginia, $10,229,434
Wisconsin, $42,766,669
Wyoming, $822,466