Washington, D.C.— Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Greg Stanton (D-AZ) 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.

"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."

“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.”

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.

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