The United States Capitol. (Photo: Architect of the Capitol)
April 15, 2025 by David Silverberg
While over 80 senators and congressmen from both parties are urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to unfreeze funds already approved by Congress to help communities prepare for natural disasters, Southwest Florida’s congressmen are absent from the effort.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.), who is running for governor, Rep. Greg Stuebe (R-17-Fla.), and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.), all of whom represent hurricane-vulnerable districts in Southwest Florida, did not sign the letter, sent on the eve of the 2025 hurricane season.
“We are writing to urge the Administration to reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant (BRIC) program within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),” states the letter. “BRIC funds are spurring communities across the country to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather, and forgoing these critical investments will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm.”
The letter was dated May 12 and was addressed to Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and David Richardson, the acting administrator of FEMA.
The letter explains: “The BRIC program was established by Congress in the 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act and signed into law by President Trump with bipartisan support. In the years since, this program has catalyzed community investments in resilient infrastructure, saving federal funds by investing in community preparedness before a disaster strikes.”
Even if reforms need to be made to the program, the signers wrote, the funds should still be reinstated.
Also absent from the letter were Florida’s two senators, Rick Scott and Ashley Moody.
FEMA canceled approximately $882 million in BRIC funding approved in fiscal years 2020 to 2023, calling it “wasteful and ineffective.”
The letter points out that BRIC funding has helped communities harden their infrastructure and prepare and protect themselves from natural disasters like floods and wildfires.
Florida is facing what is expected to be a very active hurricane season this year.
The full text of the letter and signatures can be read by clicking here.
To see all The Paradise Progressive’s past coverage of Rep. Byron Donalds, click here.
Liberty lives in light
© 2025 by David Silverberg