Housing Bill Authorizes CDBG-DR ProgramSection 504 of the bipartisan housing bill recently passed by Congress authorizes HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program for three years and reforms the program to better address the needs of low- to moderate-income households following major disasters. Formal authorization of CDBG-DR has been a priority disaster response advocates for years. On June 22, 2026, the Senate passed the bill 85-5 and the following day the House passed the bill 358-32. Final enactment of the bill, however, is in doubt as President Trump has declined to sign the bill without Congressional action on unrelated legislation. This article in E&E News provides more information including explaining the benefits for disadvantaged communities: "The measure is expected to increase the amount of funding that goes to lower-income areas and households through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a move that analysts say would rebalance federal disaster aid by steering some money away from wealthier communities." Senators Introduce FFRMS Authorization BillIn June 11, Senators Van Hollen, Schatz, and Booker introduced S. 4757 to codify the Federal flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The FFRMS was developed in 2015 to make sure federally funded buildings and projects are safe from future floods and climate changes. It was repealed in the first Trump administration, reinstated by President Biden, and repealed again by the current Trump administration. Rep. Kevin Mullin introduced the bill in the House; HR 9291. Here is a press release; the CFRP Policy Agenda supports the FFRMS. House WRDA 2026 Bill ReleasedThe House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released the text of the 2026 Water Resources Development Act including several key provisions (e.g., section 133 addressing comprehensive coastal flood risk management studies). Click here for legislative text and here for a summary of WRDA 2026. FEMA Review Council Report ReactionsThe final release of the FEMA Review Council Report continues to generate debate. This blog post by Shana Udvardy of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and CFRP Co-facilitator, offers a strong critique: "UCS opposes FEMA Review Council report's ten recommendations which, if implemented, would continue the Trump administration's harmful plan to place the extraordinary burden of responding to disasters onto the shoulders of SLTTs while leaving the most vulnerable more exposed to harms from disasters with fewer resources. FEMA was established to coordinate and support SLTTs, not to recreate 56 different response and training entities."
FEMA Director Nominee HearingThe New York Times reported on the hearing on the nomination of Cameron Hamilton to be director of FEMA. Hamilton served briefly as FEMA director before being fired last year after questioning staff cuts to the agency. "Mr. Hamilton pledged Wednesday to speed the flow of disaster aid while keeping a closer eye on how states and cities spend it. He said he planned to overhaul information technology systems to improve financial oversight and that he believed state and local governments have incentives to spend more federal disaster money than necessary, including on projects that aren't directly related to catastrophes."
Questioned by Democrats about concerns that the Trump administration is using disaster assistance to punish states run by Democrats, Hamilton stated: "I certainly appreciate your concern...If confirmed, my focus will be to ensure that FEMA is objective, is fair and reasonable, follows the law, and is consistent in the approach to how we adjudicate and process claims of requests for disasters." FEMA Cuts Limit Disaster ResponseThis report from the Center for American Progress describes how staff and funding cuts to FEMA and the National Weather Service are undermining federal support for state and community response to disasters, concluding: "Federal agency infrastructure, budgets, and staff help communities through every step of weathering a storm—from accurate and timely forecasting, to effective warning systems, to rescuers on the ground within hours, to supporting the rebuilding of the ruins often left behind. There is no other entity, public or private, that possesses the technology, capacity, or resources to help limit the harms that extreme weather disasters inflict on communities. Cuts to these agencies and programs have left families fending for themselves and rid American communities of a fighting chance against these fossil-fueled climate disasters and the health, economic, and environmental harms they bring."
ASFPM Suggests Future Direction of Flood ManagementThe Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) recently published an article describing the changing landscape around "flood risk governance" including a shift of attention from federal to state and local disaster response. "This potential transition is not simply about doing less at the federal level—it is about doing things differently across all levels of government. States may need to stand up or expand programs that were previously federally driven, from flood hazard mapping and data management to regulatory enforcement and resilience planning. Communities, in turn, may face new expectations around land-use decisions, mitigation investments, and risk communication."
Flood Insurance Poses Two Moral HazardsThis article in The Conversation by Texas A&M Professor Ivis Garcia describes two "moral hazards" resulting from the National Flood Insurance Program—subsidizing wealthy people to live in risky places and failing to support poorer people who can't afford flood insurance. "I believe fixing federal flood insurance will require an approach that prices risk accurately for those who can afford it while providing genuine assistance for low-income homeowners, for example, through affordable insurance, aid for projects that reduce homes' vulnerability or equitable buyouts." Former NOAA Staff Rebuild Deleted NOAA Data Websites The New York Times reported on the work of former NOAA staff to restore websites providing critical data and information, including information about sea level rise, after the sites were terminated by the Trump Administration: "The new website includes status reports on key climate indicators, blog posts from scientists, maps, data and resources for educators. The site also includes access to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a key government report focused on the risks posed by climate change." Center for American Progress Proposes "Near Coastal Strategy"The Center for American Progress has published a new report calling for expanding the 30x30 strategy of protecting 30 percent of oceans by 2030 to include areas closer to shore or on shore. "This report proposes strategies for going beyond 30×30. It highlights case studies of how state and local policies have effectively protected six key habitats: kelp forests, coastal wetlands, oyster beds, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and beaches and dunes. These success stories demonstrate the importance of state- and community-led efforts to protect nearshore habitats and provide a blueprint for ocean progress."
Among the strategies that apply generally to these key habitats is "Build resilience by incorporating future threats from sea level rise and climate change into planning." "Watch Duty" App Expands to Cover FloodsThe app Watch Duty, originally designed to provide warning of fire risks, has been expanded to include flood risks. The Washington Post reports: "The app pulls weather modeling and other data from the National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geologic Survey. Users can view NWS flood warnings and watches, river gauge levels, and notices of possible dam or levee failures. Users can also better understand their risk ahead of time. They can see whether they're in a FEMA-designated flood area, or what levels on a river gauge would indicate danger, and customize notifications to be alerted if a gauge reached a certain height."
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