Representative Angie Craig Urges Biden Office of Management and Budget to Fully Fund Implementation of the STORM Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig released a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Rob Fairweather requesting full funding of the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act of 2020 (STORM Act) which was signed into law by President Trump on January 1, 2021. This bipartisan disaster mitigation bill aims to help communities across the country prepare for and rebuild from extreme weather events.
"Fully funding this program in the forthcoming President's Budget would be an important fulfillment of his promise to take aggressive action and deploy the full capacity of the Administration to combat the climate crisis and implement a Government-wide approach," wrote Representative Craig. "I believe it aligns particularly well with the Executive Order (EO) on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad issued on January 27th, 2021."
The 2019 January-May period was the wettest on record for the U.S., causing communities along the Mississippi River to incur severe costs in damages. The widespread flooding, damaged homes, temporarily displaced families and delayed farmers' planting season. In response, local mayors and community leaders expressed the need for proactive investment in flood plain mapping, levees, water treatment plants, port protection and other critical infrastructure as the severity of natural disasters increases, resulting in the development of H.R.3779, Rep. Craig's Resilience Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2019 and the companion STORM Act in the Senate. The STORM Act will provide funding for those and other programs – saving city and county governments millions of dollars over time.
A full copy of the letter is available
Dear Acting Director Fairweather,
As the Biden-Harris Administration develops its Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget, I write to encourage you to fully fund the implementation of P.L.116-284, the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act of 2020 or the STORM Act.
The STORM Act, which was the bipartisan Senate companion to my bill (H.R. 3779, the Resilience Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2019), authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to capitalize $100 million in both FY22 and FY23 for state-managed revolving loan funds. States will use this federal investment to offer low-interest loans to eligible local entities for hazard mitigation projects, with the repayment of the loans providing capital for subsequent projects.
The revolving funds will allow states and cities to provide low interest loans for projects that have the greatest risks from climate change and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding, and wildfires that are more likely to occur.
Fully funding this program in the forthcoming President's Budget would be an important fulfillment of his promise to take aggressive action and deploy the full capacity of the Administration to combat the climate crisis and implement a Government-wide approach. I believe it aligns particularly well with the Executive Order (EO) on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad issued on January 27th, 2021.
Specifically, fully funding the implementation of the STORM Act aligns with the EO's directives to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change and spur well-paying union jobs and economic growth (under the STORM Act, funds provided to states must be in compliance with the Davis Bacon Act). And, much like the directive of the EO, the STORM Act relies upon a coordinated approach from planning to implementation and engagement by stakeholders, including State, local, and Tribal governments to help us meet the moment and protect our communities from climate change.
Please do not hesitate to have the OMB Office of Legislative Affairs follow up with my office to answer any additional questions you may have. I appreciate your consideration of my request.
Sincerely,