WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Fetterman (D-PA) today introduced the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act, which would improve the resilience of homes at risk of being impacted by natural disasters by allowing more states and local communities to be eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program:

“Natural disasters can wreak havoc on homes and cause devastating and costly hardships for Texans in their aftermath,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would help homeowners update at-risk homes in a cost-efficient way and help more families in Texas and across the country prepare for future storms.”

“Too many American families have seen their homes damaged or destroyed by extreme weather and other disasters,” said Sen. Fetterman. “We can’t afford to keep rebuilding the same way and expecting different results. Just look at the devastation from Hurricane Debby—thousands of Pennsylvania families lost everything last summer and are still struggling to recover. This bill is a practical solution that will help make it easier for people to secure their homes before disaster strikes. I’m proud to team up with Senator Cornyn to get this done.”

Background:

This legislation would improve resilience of homes by allowing more states and local communities to be eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program.  It would ensure state and local governments retain control over the building code adoption process while advancing housing resilience through a practical, targeted approach. A key component of this legislation is the Residential Retrofit and Resilience Pilot Program, which provides a cost-effective way to strengthen older and at-risk homes against natural disasters without imposing unnecessary mandates on new construction and limits funding to 10% of Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program’s annual budget. 

The Promoting Resilient Buildings Act would:

• Strengthen at-risk homes by providing funding for elevations, flood-proofing, tornado-safe rooms, seismic retrofits, wildfire mitigation, and wind-resistant construction;
• Preserve local authority and prevents unfunded mandates by restoring the definition of “latest published editions” of building codes for FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program to include the two most recent editions, allowing states to adopt the most appropriate codes for their communities;
• Improve access to FEMA mitigation funding and prioritize financial need;
• And establish a pilot program under Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to provide grants for residential resilience retrofits in a fiscally responsible way and prioritize the homes most vulnerable to disasters.

This legislation is endorsed by the National Association of Homebuilders.