Local communities around the country will get roughly $3 billion from the Biden administration to “improve resilience to climate change and severe weather events,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Since Biden’s presidency began, the federal government has tripled the yearly budget of programs that help communities become more disaster-resistant.
According to a news statement issued by FEMA on Monday, the money will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted by Congress last year under the Biden administration. The news outlet described the program as “a fundamental pillar of Bidenomics” since it is a cornerstone of President Biden’s Investing in America plan.
Two competitive grant programs have made their decisions, and they will aid communities around the country in becoming more resilient in the face of climate change and severe weather. FEMA claimed that the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law gives roughly $7 billion to assist communities in taking preventative measures to lessen their risk of flooding, storms, drought, wildfires, and excessive heat.
To prevent urban floods during high rainfall events and enhance air quality, one of the initiatives financed by the $3 billion program is planting 10,500 trees in Portland, Oregon, during the next three years.
Also, 84 buildings in Louisiana’s East Baton Rouge Parish and 19 houses in the Florida Keys will be raised thanks to these donations.
“Our local and neighborhood partners are the first responders when severe weather events occur,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “They are on the front lines developing our nation’s resilience to the consequences of climate change.”
President Biden’s Investing in America strategy would make Americans and their communities safer and more resilient “by investing now in upgrading our key infrastructure, especially for the most marginalized and vulnerable neighborhoods,” Mayorkas said.
According to FEMA head Deanne Criswell, climate change is causing “more frequent and intense severe weather occurrences” in the United States. Criswell stressed the need to prepare for “resilience before calamity strikes.”
Criswell told CNN, “We save $6 in response and recovery expenditures for every dollar put toward climate resilience.”
Due to an upsurge in expensive catastrophes this year, FEMA has warned CNN that the agency’s annual disaster relief budget is dangerously low. According to Criswell, FEMA’s disaster relief funds would be exhausted “toward the middle of September” unless Congress appropriates more money.
