H.R. 1917 would make additional projects eligible for funding under programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that assist state and local governments and owners of residential and commercial property with averting damage from future disasters. In fiscal year 2020, FEMA awarded about $1.3 billion in such grants through three programs:
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program ($595 million),
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program ($500 million), and
The Flood Mitigation Assistance program ($200 million).
Under the bill, FEMA could approve future applications to acquire property or relocate structures if the project’s planning or construction begins before the grant is awarded and the project is exempt from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. (Under current law, grant money cannot cover costs incurred before an application is awarded.)
Over the 2016-2020 period, FEMA awarded an average of 1,700 grants each year under the three programs. Fewer than 2 percent of those grants (about 25 projects each year) were awarded for acquisition or relocation projects that were exempt from environmental review. Using information from FEMA, CBO estimated that an average of three applications were denied each year because work began before the application was approved.
