On April 4, 2025, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) press release indicated that FEMA would be ending a pre-disaster mitigation grant program known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), generating substantial interest from policymakers and the public. This Insight provides an overview of the BRIC program and a brief summary of developments related to BRIC.

Overview of BRIC

Pre-disaster mitigation funding is authorized in Section 203 of the Stafford Act. Funding for pre-disaster mitigation changed significantly in the first Trump Administration with the passage of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA); for each major disaster declaration, the President may set aside from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) an amount equal to 6% of the estimated aggregate amount of funding awarded under seven sections of the Stafford Act. The large amount of assistance associated with the COVID-19 major disaster declarations resulted in significant funding to this set-aside. In 2020, FEMA introduced a new program, BRIC, to award the funding set aside under DRRA. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriated an additional $1 billion for BRIC, adding $200 million for each of FY2022 through FY2026, in addition to the 6% set-aside.

Any state, territory, or tribe (STT) that had a major disaster declaration in the seven years prior to the application start date was eligible to apply for BRIC funding, with all STTs eligible at least through FY2026 due to the COVID-19 major disaster declarations.

Since its creation, BRIC represented the largest competitively awarded pre-disaster mitigation funding source in the country, making over $4.6 billion available (see Table 1) to reduce future damage before a natural disaster occurs. BRIC funding has only been awarded in FY2020-FY2023.

BRIC Developments in 2025

On January 6, 2025, FEMA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for BRIC FY2024 with $750 million available. The NOFO was retracted in mid-February. On April 4, 2025, FEMA issued a press release indicating it was ending the BRIC program, stating that "approximately $882 million of funding appropriated by Congress in the IIJA will be returned to the Treasury or reapportioned by Congress in the next fiscal year. If grant funds have not been distributed to states, territories, or tribes, funds will immediately be returned to the DRF or Treasury."

FEMA issued an advisory update on April 16 saying that the BRIC FY2024 NOFO was cancelled and that FEMA will cancel all of the BRIC projects across FY2020-FY2023 if funds have not been distributed to SLTs, with these guidelines for obligated projects:

• "Recipients will be able to complete fully obligated projects that have started construction and will be able to expend all associated funds. FEMA will also obligate management costs associated with partially or fully obligated projects.
• Fully obligated projects that have not started construction will not be approved and will end.
• For phased projects, FEMA will work with applicants on already obligated projects to determine the best path forward, which may include ending the project after the completion of Phase 1 or at another appropriate stopping point."

FEMA's testimony in a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee on May 7, 2025 stated that FEMA had made available within the DRF funds that were previously set aside for BRIC.

In mid-July 2025, 20 states filed a lawsuit against FEMA. The July 25 declaration of David Richardson (then the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator of FEMA) stated that "FEMA has not ended the BRIC program, contrary to publicity otherwise." On the same day, the Justice Department's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion stated that "despite Plaintiffs' allegations to the contrary, Defendants have not terminated BRIC, … [or] terminated any grant awards, … [nor] repurposed funds for BRIC or PDM programs."

On August 5, 2025, the judge granted the motion for a preliminary injunction, "enjoin[ing] [the government] from spending the funds allocated to BRIC for non-BRIC purposes until the court is able to render a final judgment on the merits." On September 3, 2025, the litigants filed an amended complaint. On December 11, 2025, the judge issued a final ruling that the administration had unlawfully terminated BRIC and issued a permanent injunction enjoining the termination of the BRIC program. The ruling does not, however, compel FEMA to award any specific grants, nor does it enjoin FEMA from replacing the BRIC program in future with a different mitigation program. FEMA has 60 days to appeal the ruling.

The June 2025 DRF monthly report showed a $4,071 million reversal (a portion of the BRIC set-aside), as well as a remaining BRIC set-aside and IIJA balance of $788 million. That balance decreased to $786 million in the July report and $784 million in the August report. The reversal was removed in the September 2025 and subsequent reports, which show a set-aside balance of $4,071 million.

Responses to Developments

Many Members of Congress and stakeholders have requested that FEMA reinstate BRIC and provide mitigation funding. The Save BRIC Act, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities for All Act, and the Building Resilience and Stronger Communities Act would all require the President to provide assistance for pre-disaster mitigation. The FEMA Act of 2025, introduced July 23, 2025, does not mention BRIC specifically; however, Title III, Mitigation Reforms, would change pre-disaster mitigation funding from a competitive grant to a formula-based allocation.