Dear Chairs Paul and Graves and Ranking Members Peters and Larsen:
The undersigned organizations—representing leaders from business, conservation, environment interests, as well as state and local government—urge you to prioritize resilience and preparedness as Congress and relevant committees consider your legislative agendas. We express our strong support and gratitude for the House Transportation and Infrastructure bipartisan passage of H.R. 4669, the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025, which would provide important resources and structures to enhance disaster preparedness and resilience nationwide. During a pivotal time for emergency management, we call on the House to swiftly consider and advance the FEMA Act and encourage the Senate to follow suit.
To build smart, modern, and resilient infrastructure, communities and companies alike require the resources and technologies needed to assess and address natural and manmade hazards. Recent studies[1] by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Allstate and the U.S. Chamber Foundation, conclude that for every $1 not invested in predisaster mitigation and preparedness, there are up to $33 in forgone economic benefits. This underscores both the critical importance of proactive resilience initiatives to protect lives, jobs, and local economies and that there are economic consequences to improving resilience.
We continue to monitor with great interest and encourage completion of the critical work being carried out by the FEMA Review Council appointed by the President. This effort includes implementation of executive orders to develop state and local preparedness, including a national resilience strategy, and we believe related legislation will provide additional frameworks and ensure greater durability to achieve such goals.
The following are principles and priorities for your consideration:
- Affirm a strong federal role in making investments in preparedness, disaster response, and recovery. Federal leadership can align and leverage resources across all levels of government for a more effective approach to growing risks.
- Provide meaningful funding for preparedness and predisaster mitigation efforts, such as retrofitting infrastructure, updating building codes, and restoring natural resources. The formula-based approach contained in the FEMA Act offers a solid pathway to consistent funding.
- Foster incentives like tax credits for resilience measures for households and businesses; disaster savings accounts to further empower homeowners to harden property; and parity in tax treatment for predisaster grant funding.
- Enhance technical assistance and coordination to improve access to mitigation funding and accelerate project implementation, particularly for vulnerable, at-risk communities.
Resilience is not just good public policy—it saves lives and taxpayer dollars, protects infrastructure, bolsters natural resources, and strengthens our economy. We urge you to act swiftly to advance these priorities and pass the FEMA Act as an important step in strengthening disaster resilience to ensure our communities and companies are better prepared for future challenges encountered by American businesses and consumers.
Please contact Chuck Chaitovitz with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce if you have questions or need further information.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Global Water Adaptation
American Property Casualty Insurance Association
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Landscape Architects
Association of State Floodplain Managers
Business Coalition for Sustainable Energy
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Future Proofing America
Geos Institute
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
International Code Council
National Association of Counties
National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies
National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
Reinsurance Association of America
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
[1]https://www.uschamber.com/security/the-preparedness-payoff-the-economic-benefits-of-investing-in-climate-resilience
