The Resilient AMERICA Act, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, more than doubles

the allowable funding calculation under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program from the current 6% to 15%, which allows for additional projects and activities to be funded. With these additional resources, the legislation also recognizes the significant return on investment provided to communities by adopting, implementing,

and enforcing up-to-date hazard-resistant, consensus-based codes and standards. Resilient

AMERICA requires that each annual BRIC grant cycle invests at least ten percent in code-focused grant awards. The Code Council, which has supported this legislation since its introduction, recently joined over 25 emergency management, non-profit, and industry members in a letter to House leadership urging its swift consideration and passage more than a month ago. The Resilient AMERICA Act follows the passing of the Disaster Recovery and Reform Act (DRRA) in 2018 which, for the first time ever,

provided a dedicated stream of annual funding for FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation efforts and permitted these resources to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments in adopting and implementing hazard-resistant building codes. After running two BRIC grant cycles, the pent-up demand at SLTT levels of government for federal assistance for disaster mitigation was apparent, creating an urgent need for the additional resources provided through the Resilient AMERICA Act. Read more here.