SWALWELL & GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN INTRODUCE BILL TO HELP COMMUNITIES BETTER PREPARE FOR NATURAL DISASTERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) introduced a bipartisan bill to help communities better prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters.

The bill's release comes on the heels of a new report by the World Meteorological Organization which found that there have been over 12,000 extreme weather, climate and water-related events over the last 50 years, resulting in the deaths of more than two million people and $4.3 trillion in economic damages.

The Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act would make several changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s pre-disaster mitigation grant program by increasing funding, ensuring that communities who need it most-those with high hazard risk and environmental justice communities-receive access to this funding, and improving data collection to better track and manage resources before and after natural disasters.

"From coastal floods to catastrophic wildfires, the East Bay has seen an increasing number of natural disasters due to climate change," said Rep. Swalwell. "These crises are not going to stop and it's essential that we take the necessary steps to prepare. The Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act would provide funding to communities that are most vulnerable to natural disasters to help them better prepare for these increasing threats.

""The impact of Hurricane Fiona last year shows us that natural disaster situations are not a matter of if, but of when, and putting in place mitigation measures before it happens again is essential to protect lives and property in our communities," said Rep. González-Colón. "I am glad to again join my colleague Rep. Swalwell in introducing the Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act, to help ensure that FEMA has available necessary resources to implement more efficiently programs like their pre-disaster mitigation grant. I always support those initiatives that seek FEMA to improve its data collection and track funding and resources before, during and after a disaster to be better prepared to assist those affected. Puerto Rico's history with natural disasters has shown the need to provide faster and more transparent access to resources for local entities, accelerate the reconstruction process and be better prepared for future risks, which is the goal of this legislation."

The bill is endorsed by The Union of Concerned Scientists, Habitat for Humanity, The League of Conservation Voters, The Natural Resources Defense Council, and The National Wildlife Federation.

The Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act would:

1. Increase FEMA's set aside for pre-disaster mitigation assistance from 6% to 15%.
2. Provide for a 2% set-aside for capacity-building assistance.
3. Require FEMA to prioritize applicants with the highest hazard risk in coordination with FEMA's National Risk Index, environmental justice communities, and low-income communities.
4. Create a new community outreach assistance program to increase the number of successful grant applicants from communities with high-hazard risk, environmental justice communities, and low-income communities.
5. Encourage FEMA to incorporate climate change into the National Risk Index and its cost-benefit analysis as well as to ensure that grant funding is used to support projects that are designed to withstand future flooding.
6. Require FEMA within three years to establish a central federal database, in coordination with HUD, EPA, SBA, and USACE, to consolidate data collected by all local, state, and federal agencies involved in disaster response.
7. Require FEMA to collect and post demographic data on the impact of natural disasters and federal recovery efforts to better allocate and track resources and to analyze disaster spending to see what could have been saved by improved pre-disaster mitigation.

###