S. 3403 – Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act

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Updated January 7, 2026 at 4:32 PM UTC

The Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to boost federal support for pre‑disaster hazard mitigation. It raises the federal cost‑share for small projects and critical facilities, makes certain mitigation assistance mandatory, and expands eligibility to Indian tribes.

Key Provisions

For mitigation projects costing less than $1 million, the President must cover at least 90% of the total cost.
For "critical facilities" such as emergency operation centers, hospitals, police or fire stations, schools, and power stations, the President may contribute more than 90% of the cost for projects under $1 million.
Language in the Stafford Act is changed from "may" to "shall," requiring the President to provide mitigation assistance to states, local governments, and now Indian tribes.
The national public‑infrastructure pre‑disaster mitigation assistance range is set to be not less than 3% of the project cost (upper limit adjusted but not specified).
Indian tribes are added as eligible recipients, with provisions for direct selection, state recommendation, or a tribal set‑aside of funds, and a definition of how technical and financial assistance can be used to improve tribal resilience.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S8579)

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

December 9, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

December 9, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S8579)

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

December 9, 2025

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 3403 on the floor

1 Democrat

Sen. Jack ReedD-RI · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act, along with Senator Murkowski of Alaska. Our bipartisan bill would reinstate the Building Resilient…

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act, along with Senator Murkowski of Alaska. Our bipartisan bill would reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, BRIC Program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and protect it against elimination in the future. It would also make it easier for smaller communities to access funding by increasing the Federal cost-share for small projects and for projects that protect critical facilities, and it would ensure that Tribes will be able to access funding under the program.

Established by Congress in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act and signed into law by President Trump in 2018, BRIC serves as FEMA's primary predisaster mitigation program. Since 2020, FEMA has awarded more than $4.5 billion in BRIC funding to help communities across the country strengthen their resilience efforts. Through BRIC, local governments have been able to carry out essential projects such as elevating at-risk infrastructure, reinforcing bridges, or improving drainage systems. These projects not only protect vital infrastructure and in turn, homes and businesses but also create jobs and ensure that communities can continue to function in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Rather than waiting for costly recovery efforts after a disaster, the BRIC Program helps communities prepare in advance--reducing disaster impacts, promoting long-term safety, and saving taxpayer dollars through proactive investment. Indeed, various studies have found that for every $1 spent on resilience and preparedness, communities save between $13 and $18 in damages, cleanup costs, and economic impact.

Despite the BRIC Program's demonstrated benefits under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the Trump administration abruptly canceled the program in April 2025, claiming it was ``wasteful and ineffective.'' Regrettably, FEMA did not take steps to improve the program or reinstate funding. Our bill addresses these issues by reestablishing the program, opening it to a broader array of mitigation projects in smaller and Tribal communities, and making it easier to access funds to protect critical facilities--including healthcare facilities, police and fire stations, schools, and power stations. These are commonsense reforms that will help improve BRIC and save taxpayers billions of dollars in disaster recovery payments in the future.

I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bipartisan legislation.

Sen. Jack ReedD-RI · Dec 9, 2025

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act, along with Senator Murkowski of Alaska. Our bipartisan bill would reinstate the Building Resilient…

Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act, along with Senator Murkowski of Alaska. Our bipartisan bill would reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, BRIC Program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and protect it against elimination in the future. It would also make it easier for smaller communities to access funding by increasing the Federal cost-share for small projects and for projects that protect critical facilities, and it would ensure that Tribes will be able to access funding under the program.

Established by Congress in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act and signed into law by President Trump in 2018, BRIC serves as FEMA's primary predisaster mitigation program. Since 2020, FEMA has awarded more than $4.5 billion in BRIC funding to help communities across the country strengthen their resilience efforts. Through BRIC, local governments have been able to carry out essential projects such as elevating at-risk infrastructure, reinforcing bridges, or improving drainage systems. These projects not only protect vital infrastructure and in turn, homes and businesses but also create jobs and ensure that communities can continue to function in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Rather than waiting for costly recovery efforts after a disaster, the BRIC Program helps communities prepare in advance--reducing disaster impacts, promoting long-term safety, and saving taxpayer dollars through proactive investment. Indeed, various studies have found that for every $1 spent on resilience and preparedness, communities save between $13 and $18 in damages, cleanup costs, and economic impact.

Despite the BRIC Program's demonstrated benefits under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the Trump administration abruptly canceled the program in April 2025, claiming it was ``wasteful and ineffective.'' Regrettably, FEMA did not take steps to improve the program or reinstate funding. Our bill addresses these issues by reestablishing the program, opening it to a broader array of mitigation projects in smaller and Tribal communities, and making it easier to access funds to protect critical facilities--including healthcare facilities, police and fire stations, schools, and power stations. These are commonsense reforms that will help improve BRIC and save taxpayers billions of dollars in disaster recovery payments in the future.

I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bipartisan legislation.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued December 9, 2025

II

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3403

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

December 9, 2025

Mr. Reed (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the President to provide assistance for predisaster hazard mitigation measures and adjust the Federal cost share for certain building resilient infrastructure and communities projects, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act.

2.

Federal share adjustment

Section 203(h) of the Robert. T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(3)

Small projects

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the President shall contribute not less than 90 percent of the total cost of a mitigation activity, the cost of which is less than $1,000,000.

(4)

Critical facilities

(A)

Definition

In this paragraph, the term critical facility—

(i)

means a building that is essential for the delivery of a vital service or the protection of a community; and

(ii)

includes an emergency operation center, a healthcare facility, a police or fire stations, a school, and a power station.

(B)

Cost share adjustment

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the President may contribute more than 90 percent of the total cost of a mitigation activity involving a critical facility, the cost of which is less than $1,000,000.

.

3.

Mandatory mitigation

Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b) by striking may and inserting shall; and

(2)

in subsection (c) by striking may and inserting shall.

4.

National public infrastructure predisaster mitigation assistance

Section 203(i)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(i)(1)) is amended—

(1)

by striking may and inserting shall; and

(2)

by striking equal to and inserting that is not less than 3 percent and not more than.

5.

Tribal provisions

Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b)—

(A)

by inserting and Indian Tribes after States and local governments; and

(B)

by inserting or Indian Tribes after States or local governments;

(2)

in subsection (c), by inserting or Indian Tribe after State or local government each place it appears;

(3)

in subsection (d)—

(A)

by inserting or Indian Tribes after local governments each place it appears; and

(B)

in paragraph (2)—

(i)

by inserting or an Indian Tribe after a local government; and

(ii)

by adding at the end the following:

(C)

Indian tribes

An Indian Tribe shall have access to assistance under this section either through the President selecting the Indian Tribe directly, by a Governor or a State submitting a recommendation for the Indian Tribe, or through a Tribal-set aside of funds set by the President or based on the Governor or State recommendation.

;

(4)

in subsection (e)—

(A)

in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting and Indian Tribes after States and local governments;

(B)

in paragraph (2), by inserting or Indian Tribe after State or local government each place it appears; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(3)

Uses by indian tribes

Technical and financial assistance provided under this section to an Indian Tribe shall be used for Direct Technical Assistance to help the Indian Tribe improve resilience to natural hazards, build strong mitigation programs, develop high-quality applications, and carry out innovative mitigation projects.

; and

(5)

by adding at the end the following:

(m)

Indian Tribe defined

In this section, the term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

.