April 6, 2022 3:00 a.m.

On Tuesday, Congressman Peter DeFazio led passage of his disaster aid legislation in the House.

The Resilient Assistance for Mitigation for Environmentally Resilient Infrastructure and Construction by Americans Act, also known as the Resilient AMERICA Act, passed by a vote of 383 to 41.

DeFazio said, “Climate change is making extreme weather events more intense and more severe”. He said it is time that the government enhance its approach to helping communities prepare for these disasters. DeFazio said, “My bipartisan legislation will help make sure communities across Oregon, and the nation, have the resources required to mitigate the impact of future disasters”.

A release said the legislation would:

*More than double the funding stream dedicated to FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation program

*Extend eligibility for Pre-Disaster Mitigation to include private non-profits

*Expand the reach of the post disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to enhance the resilience of utilities in the face of risk posed by extreme wildfire, wind, tsunami and ice events

*Create a pilot program to fund residential resilience retrofit projects

*Require that only American steel and iron be used in projects that are funded by FEMA on a nonemergency basis

The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.