Congress expands disaster relief to cover extreme heat damage to roads and bridges.
H.R. 6701 — HEAT Act of 2025 · Filed by Greg Stanton (D-AZ) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Dec 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill adds extreme heat to the list of disasters that qualify for federal emergency relief funding under the existing highway emergency relief program (Title 23, Section 125). It requires the Department of Transportation to commission a study on heat damage to infrastructure and issue best-practice guidance on protecting roads and bridges from extreme heat. The bill aims to help states and communities repair heat-damaged transportation infrastructure without waiting for traditional disaster declarations.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to broaden the federal emergency relief program to cover a new category of infrastructure damage (extreme heat) and to fund research and guidance on heat-related infrastructure protection. This is a straightforward expansion of existing disaster relief authority.
What the text implies
- Expanding the definition of 'disaster' to include extreme heat may increase federal emergency relief spending over time as heat waves become more frequent and severe, potentially straining the program's budget.
- The bill does not establish new funding; it redirects existing Section 125 emergency relief dollars to heat-related repairs, which may reduce funds available for other disaster categories unless Congress appropriates additional money.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
state departments of transportation; public transit systems; freight rail operators