Webster's Resilient America Bill Passes House

Washington, DC - This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5689, the Resilient AMERICA Act. This legislation was introduced by Florida Congressman Daniel Webster, R-Clermont, along with Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and returns unspent funds from the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to the Disaster Relief Fund which ensures that expiring and unspent funds are distributed to communities preparing for and responding to disasters.

“Florida is no stranger to natural disasters. We’ve seen how investing in mitigation has reduced damage costs and saved lives,” said Rep. Webster, who also serves as the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Ranking Member. “By investing in common sense mitigation activities, the Resilient AMERICA Act will save taxpayer money, protect our communities by proactively mitigating risk, and saving lives. The status quo is not working, and its past time to flip the equation in favor of protection and savings. This bill is a big step in the right direction to achieve that goal."

The Resilient Assistance for Mitigation for Environmentally Resilient Infrastructure and Construction by Americans Act, or Resilient AMERICA Act, will: 

• Double the funding stream dedicated to FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation program.
• Extend eligibility for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) to include private non-profits (PNPs), which ultimately will reduce the impact and damage from a disaster.
• Expand the reach of the post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to prevent utility outages in the face of extreme wildfire, wind, tsunami, and ice events.
• Fund residential resilience retrofit block grants to states, tribes, and territories to strengthen homes for maximum protection and safety.

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