Funding for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance in 2025

Funding for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance in 2025

Funding for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance in 2025

January 15, 2026 (IN12642)

Hazard Mitigation

FEMA-funded mitigation measures provide a long-term solution to a risk or resilience problem, rather than meet an immediate disaster response or recovery need. Historically, FEMA has funded mitigation measures through a number of Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs:

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM);

Building Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC);

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP);

Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program (STRLF); and

Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMA).

These programs are funded by annual appropriations (PDM); from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), either directly (HMGP) or as a set-aside (BRIC); and from National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders' premiums. In addition, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriated $3.5 billion for FMA, $1 billion for BRIC, and $500 million for STRLF for FY2022-2026.

Analysis of OpenFEMA data indicates that no new funding has been approved or obligated for any HMA programs since March 2025 (see Table 1 and Table 2) other than congressional earmarks (see section on PDM and Table 2). FEMA did obligate funding in 2025 for projects awarded in previous years.

Recent Developments

A January 2025 Executive Order instituted a process to assess the performance of FEMA, establishing a Review Council which was scheduled to issue a report in December 2025. This report has not yet been issued, but recent developments for BRIC have been widely reported. FEMA has not provided any information on the status of HMGP, FMA, or STRLF.

HMGP

The President may award HMGP funding after a major disaster declaration or Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) and is generally requested by a Governor at the same time that Public Assistance and Individual Assistance are requested after a disaster. HMGP is awarded on a sliding scale as a percentage of the estimated amount of total federal assistance for the disaster and is normally available statewide. Historically, the largest amount of mitigation funding has been awarded through HMGP. States can use HMGP funds for any eligible activity for any type of hazard and are not limited to the disaster for which the grant was awarded.

Analysis of OpenFEMA data shows that HMGP has not been approved for a new major disaster declaration since March 18, 2025 (see Table 1). A total of 31 disasters have been awarded HMGP for a major disaster declaration in FY2026, with three disasters awarded HMGP funding after January 20, 2025. One of these three disasters has had funding obligated, for management costs.

Table 1. New HMGP Funding Approved and Obligated Since January 20, 2025

Disaster Number

Incident Type

Incident Period

Date Declared

Locked-In Ceiling Amount

Amount Obligated Since January 20, 2025

DR-4860-KY

Severe storm

2/14/25 - 3/7/25

2/24/25

$65,524,782

$740,185

DR-4861-WV

Severe storm

2/15/25 – 2/18/25

2/26/25

$15,728,718

$0

DR-4862-OK

Severe storm

11/2/24 -11/5/24

3/18/25

$571,987

$0

TOTAL

$81,825,487

$740,185

Source: OpenFEMA dataset: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – Disaster Summaries v2, accessed on January 15, 2026.

Notes: The HMGP locked-in ceiling amount is the maximum amount that FEMA can obligate for eligible HMGP activities for a particular disaster declaration.

BRIC

FEMA introduced the BRIC program in FY2020 to distribute a new source of funding made available by the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA). For each major disaster declaration, the President is authorized to set aside from the DRF an amount equal to 6% of the estimated aggregate amount of funding awarded under seven sections of the Stafford Act. This funding, plus money appropriated in the IIJA, was used to operate BRIC from FY2020 to FY2023.

On April 4, 2025, FEMA issued a press release indicating it was ending the BRIC program, and issued an advisory update on April 16 with details of how funding would be canceled (see CRS IN12609 for additional information). In mid-July, 20 states filed a lawsuit against FEMA. In response to this lawsuit, FEMA and the Justice Department stated that BRIC had not been terminated, and FEMA had not repurposed any BRIC funding. In August 2025, a judge granted the motion for a preliminary injunction and on December 11, 2025, issued a ruling that the administration had unlawfully terminated BRIC and issued a permanent injunction enjoining the termination of the BRIC program. The ruling neither compels FEMA to award any specific grants, nor enjoins FEMA from replacing the BRIC program in future with a different mitigation program. FEMA has not issued a response to the ruling.

FMA

FMA grants are only available to communities which participate in the NFIP to assist in efforts to reduce or eliminate flood damage to buildings and structures insurable under the NFIP. Until FY2022, when Congress appropriated $3.5 billion for FMA in the IIJA, the FMA program was funded entirely by premiums paid by NFIP policyholders.

FEMA issued a NOFO for FMA FY2024 on January 6, 2025, with $600 million available. FEMA retracted the NOFO on February 14, 2025, and it has not been reissued. Analysis of OpenFEMA data shows that no new FMA funding was awarded or obligated in FY2024, FY2025, or FY2026.

STRLF

The Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program (STRLF) began in FY2023 and authorized FEMA to enter into agreements with eligible entities to establish low-interest revolving loan funds for hazard mitigation. The STRLF program can be used for projects that do not meet the cost-effectiveness guidelines for other HMA programs and also for the nonfederal cost share for mitigation activities under all Stafford Act programs. FEMA selected eight state applications for FY2023 funding and 12 states for FY2024 funding and published a NOFO with $178 million available in FY2025. It is unclear to what extent these funds have been obligated.

PDM

After a moratorium, beginning in the 117th Congress, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees adopted a process inviting Members to request funding for specific projects to be reviewed by the Committees. FEMA's PDM program has been used since FY2022 to fund pre-disaster mitigation projects through Congressionally Directed Spending (Senate) and Community Project Funding (House), commonly known as earmarks. PDM funding was made available FY2022-FY2024, but earmarks were not funded for FY2025.

Table 2. Funding for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Programs Other Than HMGP

FY2022 to FY2024

Program

FY24 Available

FY24 Obligated

FY23 Available

FY23 Obligated

FY22 Available

FY22 Obligated

BRIC

$750 million (NOFO revoked)

$0

$1 billion

$38.7 million

$2.295 billion

$359.4 million

FMA

$750 million (NOFO revoked)

$0

$800 million

$2.6 million

$800 million

$251.3 million

STRLF

$150 million

information not available

$50 million

information not available

n/a

n/a

PDM

$190.6 million

not yet available

$233 million

$207.9 million

$153.9 million

$134.2 million

Source: Amounts obligated for BRIC and FMA were calculated by CRS from published NOFOs, OpenFEMA dataset HMA Subapplications – v2, and the BRIC/FMA Obligations Dashboard (all accessed on January 15, 2026). PDM data was obtained from GAO-25-107274 and GAO-25-107549.

Notes: No NOFOs have been issued for FY2025 or FY2026 for BRIC or FMA. The use of PDM for earmarks began in FY2022. The STRLF program began in FY2023. FEMA issued a NOFO for STRLF for FY2025 on January 14, 2025, with a closing date for applications on September 30, 2025; no further information is available.