Latest news with #BRICprogram
CBS News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
20 states sue DHS, FEMA for cuts to disaster mitigation program
A group of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday seeking to block what they say was an illegal termination of a program that provided federal funding for natural disaster mitigation projects. "By unilaterally shutting down FEMA's flagship pre-disaster mitigation program, Defendants have acted unlawfully and violated core separation of power principles," the lawsuit alleges, arguing that the executive branch doesn't have the authority to shut down the program funded by Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, targets Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Richardson for their role in shutting down FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, also known as BRIC, program earlier this year. The lawsuit argues the power to make such a decision falls to Congress. Before it was halted in April, the BRIC program helped fund local infrastructure projects like stormwater control systems and relocating or elevating buildings in flood-prone areas. "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," the lawsuit states. "And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters." A CBS News investigation last month revealed that the recent BRIC funding cuts have disproportionately affected counties that supported Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. Two-thirds of the counties losing funding voted for Mr. Trump. The elimination of the BRIC program will especially deprive vulnerable communities across the Southeast, the CBS News data analysis found. The lawsuit calls the impact of the BRIC program's shutdown "devastating" and says it will force communities across the country to delay, scale back or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects because of their inability to access their already-approved federal dollars. Alongside the lawsuit, the states also filed a request for a preliminary injunction asking the court to temporarily block the federal government from reallocating FEMA funds designated for disaster preparedness, arguing states will suffer irreversible damage if the funds are spent before the court rules. In an April press release announcing the cuts, which has since been removed from the FEMA website, the disaster response agency said the BRIC program was "wasteful" and had become more concerned with "political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters." The multibillion-dollar BRIC program was established in 2018 under the first Trump administration. FEMA and DHS did not immediately return a request for comment about the lawsuit. The states suing are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Most have Democratic state leadership and have filed other lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions. North Carolina was ravaged by mudslides and flash flooding last fall after Hurricane Helene made landfall in late September. The lawsuit comes as FEMA in recent weeks has faced scrutiny about its response to floods in Texas that killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. It also comes just days after heavy rains and flooding inundated communities in states ranging from New York and New Jersey to New Mexico.
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters
Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit Wednesday against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, challenging the elimination of a long-running grant program that helps communities guard against damage from natural disasters. The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump's administration acted illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. FEMA canceled some projects already in the works and refused to approve new ones despite funding from Congress. 'In the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other states, it's clear just how critical federal resources are in helping states prepare for and respond to natural disasters,' said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, where the federal lawsuit was filed. 'By abruptly and unlawfully shutting down the BRIC program, this administration is abandoning states and local communities that rely on federal funding to protect their residents and, in the event of disaster, save lives.' FEMA did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. It said in April that the program was 'wasteful and ineffective' and 'more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.' The program, established by a 2000 law, provides grants for a variety of disaster mitigation efforts, including levees to protect against floods, safe rooms to provide shelter from tornadoes, vegetation management to reduce damage from fires and seismic retrofitting to fortify buildings for earthquakes. During his first term, Trump signed a law shoring up funding for disaster risk reduction efforts. The program then got a $1 billion boost from an infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden. That law requires FEMA to make available at least $200 million annually for disaster mitigation grants for the 2022-2026 fiscal years, the lawsuit says. The suit contends the Trump administration violated the constitutional separation of powers because Congress had not authorized the program's demise. It also alleges the program's termination was illegal because the decision was made while FEMA was under the leadership of an acting administrator who had not met the requirements to be in charge of the agency. The lawsuit says communities in every state have benefited from federal disaster mitigation grants, which saved lives and spared homes, businesses, hospitals and schools from costly damage. Some communities have already been affected by the decision to end the program. Hillsborough, North Carolina, had been awarded nearly $7 million to relocate a wastewater pumping station out of a flood plain and make other water and sewer system improvements. But that hadn't happened yet when the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal damaged the pumping station and forced it offline last week. In rural Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, town officials had hoped to use more than $4 million from the BRIC program to improve stormwater drainage and safeguard a vulnerable electric system, thus protecting investments in a historic theater and other businesses. While the community largely supports Trump, assistant town manager Erin Burris said people were blindsided by the lost funding they had spent years pursuing. 'I've had downtown property owners saying, 'What do we do?'' Burris said. 'I've got engineering plans ready to go and I don't have the money to do it.' ___ Associated Press reporters Jack Brook, Michael Casey and Gary D. Robertson contributed to this report. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
