Community
volunteers
transport
water
during
relief
efforts
at
the
American
Legion
Bingo
Hall
after
tragic
flooding
in
Kerrville,
Texas,
on
July
8,
2025.
Brandon
Bell
/
Getty
Images
Why
you
can
trust
us
Founded
in
2005
as
an
Ohio-based
environmental
newspaper,
EcoWatch
is
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and
solutions.
A
group
of
20
states
sued
the
Trump
administration
on
Wednesday
over
the
shutting
down
of
a
multibillion-dollar
grant
program
with
the
purpose
of
strengthening
natural
disaster
preparation
and
mitigation.
The
lawsuit
filed
in
a
Boston
federal
court
contends
that
the
United
States
Federal
Emergency
Management
Agency
(FEMA)
unlawfully
eliminated
its
Building
Resilient
Infrastructures
and
Communities
(BRIC)
program,
overriding
Congress.
The
states
said
in
the
complaint
that
the
shutdown’s
impacts
have
been
“devastating,”
reported
The
Hill.
[embedded content]
“Communities
across
the
country
are
being
forced
to
delay,
scale
back,
or
cancel
hundreds
of
mitigation
projects
depending
on
this
funding,”
the
complaint
said.
“Projects
that
have
been
in
development
for
years,
and
in
which
communities
have
invested
millions
of
dollars
for
planning,
permitting,
and
environmental
review
are
now
threatened.
And
in
the
meantime,
Americans
across
the
country
face
a
higher
risk
of
harm
from
natural
disasters.”
Created
in
2018,
the
BRIC
program
has
helped
avert
over
$150
billion
in
costs,
along
with
other
federal
mitigation
grants,
according
to
the
complaint.
Congress
and
FEMA
began
using
mitigation
as
a
strategy
to
deal
with
natural
disasters
decades
ago,
rather
than
responding
to
crises
after
the
fact.
A
FEMA
search
and
rescue
team
from
Virginia
Beach,
Virginia
trains
at
Camp
Pendleton
on
the
Southern
California
coast
in
Sand
Diego
County
on
March
24,
2015.
Cotton
Puryear
/
Virginia
Guard
Public
Affairs
Over
the
past
four
years,
almost
2,000
projects
were
chosen
by
FEMA
all
over
the
country
to
receive
roughly
$4.5
billion
in
funding.
“For
the
past
30
years,
the
BRIC
program
has
provided
communities
across
the
nation
with
resources
to
proactively
fortify
their
infrastructure
against
natural
disasters.
By
focusing
on
preparation,
the
program
has
protected
property,
saved
money
that
would
have
otherwise
been
spent
on
post-disaster
costs,
reduced
injuries,
and
saved
lives,”
a
press
release
from
Rhode
Island
Attorney
General
Peter
F.
Neronha
said.
The
Trump
administration
shut
down
the
program
in
April,
referring
to
it
as
“wasteful”
and
“politicized,”
The
Hill
reported.
President
Donald
Trump
indicated
early
in
his
second
term
that
there
would
be
a
major
overhaul
of
FEMA,
possibly
resulting
in
the
disaster
relief
program
being
eliminated.
But
in
the
wake
of
the
recent
deadly
Texas
floods,
the
administration
has
said
FEMA
would
be
reformed
rather
than
gotten
rid
of
entirely.
A
FEMA
Urban
Search
and
Rescue
team
from
Los
Angeles,
California
responds
to
the
Houston,
Texas
area
following
Hurricane
Harvey,
on
Aug.
31,
2017.
LAFD
Photo
“This
illegal
cut
endangers
the
communities
most
vulnerable
to
natural
disasters,”
Washington
State
Attorney
General
Nick
Brown
said
in
a
press
release.
“Communities
and
states
face
devastating
consequences
when
the
federal
government
doesn’t
meet
its
obligations
to
the
public,
and
I
will
hold
the
Trump
administration
accountable
for
abandoning
their
safety.”
The
lawsuit
noted
that
neither
the
termination
of
BRIC
nor
a
substantial
reduction
in
the
“functions
and
capabilities”
of
FEMA
were
authorized
by
Congress,
reported
The
Hill.
“In
fact,
Congress
has
specifically
barred
it,”
the
complaint
said.
“Therefore,
the
BRIC
termination
violates
these
statutes
and
the
Separation
of
Powers.”
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