S. 3403

119 S3403 IS: Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-12-09
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 3403  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   December 9, 2025   Mr. Reed  (for himself and  Ms. Murkowski ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs    A BILL
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the President to provide assistance for predisaster hazard mitigation measures and adjust the Federal cost share for certain building resilient infrastructure and communities projects, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act  .
2.
Federal share adjustment
Section 203(h) of the Robert. T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133(h) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(3)
Small projects
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the President shall contribute not less than 90 percent of the total cost of a mitigation activity, the cost of which is less than $1,000,000.
(4)
Critical facilities
(A)
Definition
In this paragraph, the term  critical facility —
(i)
means a building that is essential for the delivery of a vital service or the protection of a community; and
(ii)
includes an emergency operation center, a healthcare facility, a police or fire stations, a school, and a power station.
(B)
Cost share adjustment
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the President may contribute more than 90 percent of the total cost of a mitigation activity involving a critical facility, the cost of which is less than $1,000,000.
 .
3.
Mandatory mitigation
Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b) by striking  may  and inserting  shall ; and
(2)
in subsection (c) by striking  may  and inserting  shall .
4.
National public infrastructure predisaster mitigation assistance
Section 203(i)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133(i)(1) ) is amended—
(1)
by striking  may  and inserting  shall ; and
(2)
by striking  equal to  and inserting  that is not less than 3 percent and not more than .
5.
Tribal provisions
Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
by inserting  and Indian Tribes  after  States and local governments ; and
(B)
by inserting  or Indian Tribes  after  States or local governments ;
(2)
in subsection (c), by inserting  or Indian Tribe  after  State or local government  each place it appears;
(3)
in subsection (d)—
(A)
by inserting  or Indian Tribes  after  local governments  each place it appears; and
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
by inserting  or an Indian Tribe  after  a local government ; and
(ii)
by adding at the end the following:
(C)
Indian tribes
An Indian Tribe shall have access to assistance under this section either through the President selecting the Indian Tribe directly, by a Governor or a State submitting a recommendation for the Indian Tribe, or through a Tribal-set aside of funds set by the President or based on the Governor or State recommendation.
 ;
(4)
in subsection (e)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting  and Indian Tribes  after  States and local governments ;
(B)
in paragraph (2), by inserting  or Indian Tribe  after  State or local government  each place it appears; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(3)
Uses by indian tribes
Technical and financial assistance provided under this section to an Indian Tribe shall be used for Direct Technical Assistance to help the Indian Tribe improve resilience to natural hazards, build strong mitigation programs, develop high-quality applications, and carry out innovative mitigation projects.
  ; and
(5)
by adding at the end the following:
(m)
Indian Tribe defined
In this section, the term  Indian Tribe  has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ).
 .