Maryland Joins Coalition to Sue Trump Administration Over Cuts to FEMA's Disaster Preparedness Program

Strategic Insights -

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of 20 states in suing the Trump administration over its decision to terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The BRIC program has provided communities with resources to proactively fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters for the past 30 years. The program focuses on preparation, protecting property, saving money, reducing injuries, and saving lives. The coalition argues that the termination of the BRIC program violates clear Congressional direction and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Key Takeaways:

  • The BRIC program has provided communities with resources to fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters for 30 years, focusing on preparation, protection, and saving lives.
  • The program has protected property, saved money, reduced injuries, and saved lives, with a recent study finding that every dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of six dollars in post-disaster costs.
  • The BRIC program supports essential projects such as constructing evacuation shelters, flood walls, safeguarding utility grids, protecting wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, and fortifying bridges, roadways, and culverts.
  • The impact of the BRIC program's termination has been devastating, with communities being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects.
  • FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects to receive roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide, with Maryland being awarded over $80 million in BRIC funds from 2020-2023.
  • The coalition argues that FEMA's decision to terminate the BRIC program violates clear Congressional direction and the Administrative Procedure Act, and that the program termination was unlawfully executed by an unqualified FEMA administrator.

Statistics:

  • The BRIC program has provided resources to fortify infrastructure against natural disasters for the past 30 years.
  • Every dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of six dollars in post-disaster costs (Source: Recent study).
  • FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects to receive roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide.
  • Maryland was awarded over $80 million in BRIC funds from 2020-2023.

Sources:

  • Maryland Attorney General's office press release
  • Congressional law stating FEMA must protect communities through four interrelated functions (mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery)
  • Study concluding that every dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of six dollars in post-disaster costs