Federal grants for home disaster retrofits—but only through 2030

What it does

This bill amends federal disaster relief law to encourage building code compliance and residential resilience. It creates a pilot program allowing FEMA to direct up to 10% of annual predisaster mitigation funds toward grants for homeowners to retrofit existing homes against natural disasters (flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes), prioritizing applicants with financial need. The program runs through 2030 and requires a report on outcomes.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a time-limited federal grant program for homeowner disaster mitigation, funded from existing predisaster mitigation appropriations. It is a targeted public-safety and resilience measure, not a broad entitlement or industry carve-out.

What the text implies

• The 10% cap on predisaster mitigation funds diverts resources from other FEMA mitigation projects; the bill does not specify how existing mitigation priorities will be rebalanced or whether this reduces funding for non-residential or infrastructure-focused resilience work.
• Pilot program termination on September 30, 2030 creates uncertainty for homeowners mid-retrofit and may require reauthorization; no permanent funding mechanism is established.
• The requirement that retrofits be 'consistent with the 2 most recently published editions' of building codes may exclude older homes in jurisdictions with slower code adoption, potentially creating a disparate impact on lower-income or rural areas with outdated local codes.
• The bill requires FEMA to report on 'avoidance in disaster impacts and Federal disaster payments' but does not mandate that findings trigger policy changes; the pilot may end regardless of demonstrated success.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary homeowners gain access to federal grants for disaster-resistant retrofits, reducing personal vulnerability to catastrophic loss and lowering long-term federal disaster-recovery costs. The program targets financial need and is time-limited, with mandatory evaluation.

Who stands to gain

• homeowners receiving retrofit grants
• construction and retrofit contractors performing mitigation work
• building materials suppliers

Named in the bill

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, State and local governments, Tribal and territorial governments

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Jan 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 16, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
• Feb 26, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Feb 26, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 16 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,185,175 in lobbying spend. A filing names 52 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

Charles (Chuck) Edwards, the sponsor, reported $362,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Home Builders — $2,150,000 on 2 filings
• Reinsurance Assn of America — $1,100,000 on 3 filings
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies — $1,005,758 on 2 filings
• Liberty Mutual Group — $740,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.