Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement in commemoration of the 30-year anniversary of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program. Through this program, FEMA funds mitigation projects to reduce the risk of flood damage in communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

“For thirty years, FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant Program has helped communities address the growing risk that flooding poses to communities, families, and to the NFIP as a result of the worsening effects of climate change. It is thanks to the tireless work of Congressional Democrats and the Biden-Harris Administration that communities will receive historic levels of FMA funding passed through both regular appropriations and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This week, FEMA announced that 197 subapplicants will receive $715 million in funding to mitigate homes and other community infrastructure against more frequent and severe flooding. In my home state of California, which has been plagued with record flooding, three projects have been selected to receive a total of $51.8 million to support local flood management efforts. 

“Additionally, we know that due to historic and ongoing residential segregation, the effects of climate change, including flooding, are concentrated among low-income communities and communities of color. That is why I am also pleased that FEMA has not only incorporated the Biden-Harris Administration’s ‘Justice 40’ initiative that ensures at least 40% of FMA funds are allocated to disadvantaged communities, but it has surpassed it by allocating 52% of FMA funding in disadvantaged areas. 

“Meanwhile, for the third time this Congress, House Democrats stepped in to save American families from a disastrous Republican-imposed government shutdown that would have halted all NFIP activity, destabilized the private flood insurance market, and left millions of families without coverage for their homes in the event of a disaster. Our constituents simply cannot afford to go even a day without coverage, so I’m pleased we were able to come together and keep the government and the NFIP open.”

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