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In a news release Friday, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency said it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure
and Communities program, calling the move part of efforts to
eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”
“The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and
ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political
agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters,"
the agency said in a statement.
In addition to ending the program going forward, FEMA said it
was also cancelling all applications to the program from 2020 to
2023 and that money that was awarded as part of grants but not
already distributed would be immediately returned to the federal
government.
The program was started under the first Trump administration and
then expanded under the Biden administration.
About $1 billion had been allocated to the program as part of
the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act in 2021. According to FEMA, about $133 million has already
been handed out to about 450 applicants across the country.
Communities across the country have used program funds to help
their cities and towns mitigate disasters, such as raising roads
to keep them out of floodwaters or building underground storage
units to prepare for droughts.
The announcement didn't detail what exactly the agency found to
be “wasteful,” but the Trump administration has targeted
programs or funding across the federal government that goes to
address climate change or that promotes diversity, equity and
inclusion goals.
Under the Biden administration, the BRIC program was a key part
of the government's efforts to address climate change and while
grants were awarded to a wide range of communities across the
country, there was a special emphasis on helping historically
underserved communities.
The cuts come as the future of FEMA itself is in question.
President Donald Trump has questioned whether to disband it
entirely and give money directly to states to handle disasters.
Trump has created a council to study what to do with FEMA and
whether to get rid of it.
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