FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC): Recent Developments

This Insight provides a brief summary of developments related to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program in 2025 and 2026. BRIC funding was awarded FY2020-FY2023 and represented the largest U.S. competitively awarded pre-disaster mitigation funding source, making over $4.6 billion available to reduce future damage before a natural disaster occurs (see Table 1).

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). FEMA introduced a new program, BRIC, in FY2020 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.

FEMA's most recent Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) monthly report shows $5.083 billion available for BRIC. The DRF monthly reports indicate that no additional funding has been set aside for BRIC since March 2025.

BRIC Developments in 2025-2026

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 The NOFO was retracted in mid-February.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 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 indicated that they would comply with the order, but provided no timetable to restore BRIC. On February 17, 2026, the same states filed a motion asking the court to enforce its order prohibiting FEMA from terminating BRIC. The motion asked the court to require FEMA to make pre-disaster mitigation funds available as required by statute, communicate the status and next steps for current BRIC projects, notify relevant stakeholders that the BRIC termination has been reversed, and file status reports with the court detailing actions taken or planned to comply with the order.

On March 6, 2026, the judge issued an order to enforce the court's December 11, 2025, order. Within 14 days of the order, FEMA was to

• communicate to each plaintiff state the status of all BRIC projects in that state;
• identify for the court (1) all BRIC projects that have been awarded; (2) all BRIC projects moved to phase 2; (3) all period of performance extensions; and (4) all BRIC projects for which the defendants have sent requests for information since the December 11, 2025, order; and
• file a status report on steps remaining and timeline to reverse the termination of BRIC, including when FEMA expects to issue BRIC NOFOs for FY2025 and FY2026.

FEMA was also required to issue the FY2024 BRIC NOFO within 21 days of the order.

FEMA provided the information required and issued a single NOFO for FY2024 and FY2025, with a total of $1 billion available for the two fiscal years. This includes funds appropriated by the IIJA for FY2025 and FY2026, as well as funds from the DRF set-aside.