Federal disaster funds now must meet modern building codes

What it does

This bill amends the federal disaster-relief law to require that when the government funds building improvements to reduce disaster risk, those improvements must meet the two most recently published versions of relevant building codes and standards. It clarifies that 'small impoverished community' is a defined term and limits the rule to the predisaster hazard mitigation program only.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward amendment requiring federally-funded disaster-mitigation projects to comply with the two most recent published building codes and standards. It is a technical fix to ensure public money produces resilient infrastructure.

What the text implies

• May increase upfront costs of federally-funded predisaster mitigation projects if older, cheaper code versions were previously acceptable; however, this cost is offset by reduced future disaster losses and better long-term resilience.
• Ties federal disaster-mitigation funding to private consensus-based code-development organizations (NFPA, ICC, ASHRAE, etc.), making those organizations' code-update cycles a de facto federal standard-setting mechanism.
• Does not mandate adoption of codes by state/local governments for non-federally-funded projects, so private development and local building may continue under older standards unless states independently update their codes.

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

Who it affects

The bill requires federally-funded disaster-mitigation projects to meet current building codes, ensuring that public money spent on resilience actually produces safer, more durable structures. Communities receiving federal disaster-mitigation funds will get buildings that meet modern standards rather than outdated ones, reducing future disaster losses and protecting lives.

Who stands to gain

• construction and engineering firms (increased demand for code-compliant materials and methods)
• building-code development organizations (NFPA, ICC, ASHRAE — increased relevance and adoption)

Named in the bill

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 203 (predisaster hazard mitigation program), FEMA, consensus-based codes and standards organizations

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Feb 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Feb 4, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
• Aug 6, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the…”

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

Money around this bill

5 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $6,419,417 in lobbying spend. A filing names 40 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 78% of bills with at least one filing.

John Cornyn, the sponsor, reported $2,042,484 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Home Builders — $1,240,000 on 1 filing
• Liberty Mutual Group — $740,000 on 1 filing
• American Society of Civil Engineers — $489,417 on 2 filings
• Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America — $410,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.