The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure advanced 10 bills Wednesday to the full House for consideration.
“As climate change continues to drive more frequent and severe extreme weather events, communities are increasingly in need of additional tools to help them rebuild and recover quickly,” Peter DeFazio (D-OR), committee chairman, said. “They can’t go it alone; the federal government must step up. That’s why our committee approved two important pieces of bipartisan legislation, the Resilient AMERICA Act and the SPEED Recovery Act, that will help communities of all sizes rebuild and strengthen (the Federal Emergency Management Agency)’s disaster mitigation and resiliency programs.”
The Resilient AMERICA Act significantly enhances mitigation and resilience activities authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The enhancement will help build capacity and fund risk-reducing, cost-effective mitigation projects for eligible state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and certain private nonprofit organizations.
The Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act updates the threshold for what qualifies as a “small project” under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
On Thursday, the committee also considered 11 resolutions that address safety repairs and construction in buildings that house federal agencies and federal courts.