What Happened?

More than 700 communities are waiting on disaster-prevention money that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not yet handed out, according to the federal watchdog that audits government programs.

As of March 2025, FEMA had not made award decisions on 700 subapplications tied to roughly $2.2 billion of the $4.8 billion available under its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program, which funds activities that enhance community resilience and lower future disaster costs.

From April 2025 through the following March, FEMA awarded no subgrants and obligated no funds, an 11-month gap that followed the agency's announcement that it was ending BRIC and preceded its reversal of that decision.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

If your town applied for BRIC money to reinforce a levee, upgrade a storm drain, or harden a bridge, that project may be stalled, and the longer it waits, the more it could cost. Communities told the GAO that FEMA's median review-and-award time of seven to nine months could extend project timelines and increase costs.

Of the roughly $2.5 billion FEMA allocated across the program's first four grant cycles, only $62 million had been reimbursed and just 37 projects had finished work as of March 2025.

Both Sides, Now

The GAO conducted its review in response to a congressional request and oversight language tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided appropriations for BRIC. Supporters of the program point to independent research cited in the GAO report finding that investing in disaster resilience reduces future disaster costs.

Critics, including state officials who spoke with GAO investigators, say FEMA headquarters failed to provide actionable guidance during the program's uncertain period, leaving local governments unable to plan or proceed.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed with all seven recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which cover subapplication review efficiency, internal and external communication, performance goal-setting, and the use of performance information in agency decisions.

What Happens Next?

The Department of Homeland Security concurred with all seven recommendations and identified actions it plans to take, but none have been confirmed by the GAO as satisfying any recommendation. With BRIC restarted, a practical question the recommendations do not fully resolve is how FEMA will handle the backlog of applications left pending from earlier grant cycles as it begins a new round of funding.

Congress can press FEMA through oversight hearings or spending bills, but no vote or hearing on the program is currently scheduled.

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