Today, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and White House Infrastructure Coordinator and Senior Advisor to the President Mitch Landrieu announced that as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, FEMA is making $1.8 billion available for two grant programs designed to help communities increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change, including increasingly frequent and extreme weather events.
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) annual grant program is making $1 billion available for projects that protect people and infrastructure from natural hazards and the effects of climate change. The Flood Mitigation Assistance program is making $800 million available for projects that mitigate flood risks facing homes and communities across the nation. The funding for these two programs has been greatly increased thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and this year, the landmark legislation will contribute over $1 billion to these critical climate infrastructure and resilience programs.
Since taking office, President Biden has continued to provide additional funding to FEMA’s annual resilience grant programs, increasing them from $700 million when he took office to $1.8 billion for FY 23. This increased funding allows FEMA to expand its geographic scope in funding selections and protect more of our nation’s communities that are most in harm’s way from the effects of climate change and extreme weather. Overall, the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides FEMA nearly $7 billion to help communities proactively reduce their vulnerability to flood, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, extreme heat and other climate-fueled hazards.
“Across this country, communities are getting hit by more frequent and extreme severe weather events – from drought, wildfires, floods and extreme heat,” said Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. “That’s exactly why under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we’re delivering the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history. Today’s announcement is part of the President’s commitment to keep every American safe and ensure that we are building back better than ever before.”
“As climate change impacts the health, safety and security of more and more Americans, the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in communities to strengthen their resilience against this growing threat,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs provide vital lifelines to communities — including those that are most vulnerable and marginalized — funding projects that mitigate the risks associated with climate-driven extreme weather events and building a sustainable foundation for growth and prosperity. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is empowering communities to take the necessary steps to keep more Americans safe.”
“The BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs are some of the most important resilience grant opportunities in the federal government. This funding helps communities nationwide design and implement transformational projects to become more resilient to the intensifying and increasingly frequent impacts of climate change,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the funding provided to FEMA by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we were able to infuse even more money to ensure state, local, tribal and territorial partners can continue to receive meaningful resources to achieve their resilience goals, especially for those communities most in need of support.”
This resilience funding opportunity follows recent historic steps the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to advance climate resilience for communities across the country. This past year, FEMA announced nearly $3 billion in FY22 selections for 748 resilience projects across 55 states and territories, as well as the District of Columbia, through grants provided by BRIC and FMA. And on Sept. 28, 2023, President Biden hosted the first-ever White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities, which brought together representatives from over 25 states, territories and Tribal Nations to uplift the work of climate resilience practitioners and lay out a bold vision for a climate resilient Nation, including through the release of the National Climate Resilience Framework. This funding opportunity is an immediate step the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to deliver on that vision.
In addition, this summer saw record breaking heat across much of the United States. As part of its inaugural #SummerReady campaign promoting preparedness and resilience against extreme heat, FEMA held two webinars attended by nearly 600 stakeholders each session discussing how FEMA grants can be used to help to promote resilience against extreme heat events. Communities may consider projects that include cooling stations, cool roofs, cool pavements, using green infrastructure and nature-based solutions and green walls to address extreme heat effects.
Read the rest of the press release here.
