LegiStorm

Summary:

Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), as federal law and a program activity, began in 1997. Congress established a pilot program, within the Appropriations Act, which FEMA named Project Impact, to test the concept of investing prior to disasters to reduce the vulnerability of communities to future disasters. Several years later, P.L. 106-390, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, authorized the PDM program in law as Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. However, unlike the rest of the Stafford Act which has a freestanding authorization, the PDM program had a sunset provision and has required reauthorization in the ensuing years. For most of its history, the PDM program had grown in appropriated resources as well as the scope of participation nationwide. But that growth ceased in 2011 when funding was cut in half. The Administration has recommended no PDM funding for the past three budgets (including FY2015). However, Congress has chosen to maintain funding, albeit at a reduced amount. For FY2014 the appropriated level was $25 million. All of this has contributed uncertainty to the program at all levels and to the concept of disaster mitigation outside of Presidential declarations or the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). An interesting interregnum in the PDM program's history is its involvement in the debate over congressionally directed funding. Many projects, and a large portion of the program's funding, were earmarked for several years. These actions created questions of eligibility for some projects named but also meant that the lower level of remaining funds in the program could not justify the regimen of a competitive grant process. The FY2015 budget has offered a mixed message for pre-disaster mitigation efforts. Despite again zeroing out the PDM budget, the Administration also has sought to establish the "Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative" (OGSI) and pledged that $400 million derived from the OGSI would be placed in the PDM account for a renewed, competitive grant program. The PDM program's authorization (P.L. 111-351) expired at the end of FY2013. Legislation has been introduced, H.R. 3282, to reauthorize the program through 2018. In addition to the waning of funding and congressional retractions of earmarks, the current Administration has consistently suggested elimination of the program. Taken together these actions leave the program with a clouded future that may be confusing to current recipients as well as discouraging to potential applicants. In its rationale for eliminating PDM funding the Administration has pointed to remaining mitigation programs such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act) and the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program within the NFIP. While both of those are mitigation programs, the former is only available after major disaster declarations and the latter can only be used to address flood hazards on NFIP insured structures. In considering the PDM program's future, the recent decision by the Administration to place a new Disaster Resilience Competition Grant within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) further complicates the program's future. The new program was arguably placed at HUD since the funds are coming from the last $1 billion in the Hurricane Sandy Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) appropriation. But given FEMA's previous role in establishing mitigation plans at the state and local level, as well as its other mitigation programs, placing a new competitive program tied to climate change at a different department may cause some to question FEMA's role in future mitigation efforts. Combined, the actions noted at HUD and the new OGSI initiative, may hold out the promise of the highest funding levels in the history of pre-disaster mitigation. In light of these initiatives, Congress may wish to examine where the program's future course lies. This report will be updated as warranted by events.