A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the acting leader of FEMA David Richardson Tuesday calling for FEMA’s disaster preparedness program to be restored.

What You Need To Know

  • Lawmakers sent a letter urging FEMA to reinstate disaster preparedness program

  • The BRIC program was canceled in April

  • Cancellation of program was estimated to cost $184 million in North Carolina

In April, FEMA got rid of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, canceling all applications from fiscal years 2020-23. The program awarded millions of dollars to communities around the country to prepare them for natural disasters.

North Carolina Emergency Management told Spectrum News in April the elimination of the program could cost communities $184 million to prepare for natural disasters like hurricanes, floods and fires.

Previous examples of BRIC projects in the state include a $5.4 million BRIC grant to protect the city of Hickory’s wastewater treatment facility from increased flood risk due to climate change, nearly $6 million to the city of Gastonia to mitigate flood risks at Duharts Creek and more than $1 million to the town of Pollocksville to build elevations to restore the town’s commercial corridor. Fair Bluff was also awarded more than $2.4 million for flood solutions.

The BRIC program started under the Trump administration and was expanded under the Biden administration. But in April FEMA said the program was “more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.”

The letter, led by Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina, said the grant process should be improved, to create fairness and transparency, but “halting BRIC is entirely is not the answer… Our communities depend on this funding to weather future storms.”

North Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic U.S. Reps. Alma Adams and Don Davis also signed the letter.