Pew Recommends Improvements to FEMA Policy to Help States Reduce Disaster Risk

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released an interim Public Assistance Cost-Share Incentive Policy for public comment late last year. The policy aims to implement a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which instructed FEMA to offer states and Tribes a higher share of disaster recovery funding if they invested in pre-disaster mitigation. Specifically, the legislation made these entities eligible for an increase in the federal government’s share of disaster recovery funds from FEMA’s public assistance program—from the typical 75% up to 85%—in exchange for taking action to reduce the risk of harm from disasters before they occur. These types of pre-disaster investments can save the public an average of up to $13 for every $1 invested.

The Pew Charitable Trusts responded to FEMA’s call for public comments by providing recommendations to better align the policy with Congress’ goal of encouraging nationwide mitigation efforts. Pew’s comments highlighted several ways in which FEMA’s interim policy differs from Congress’ intent. Specifically, Pew recommended that FEMA switch from offering incentives on a project-by-project basis, as outlined in the policy, to the statewide approach described in Congress’ legislation. Pew also noted that the policy, as released by FEMA, would only reward post-disaster mitigation, not pre-disaster mitigation. Additionally, the interim policy lists an overly narrow range of mitigation activities instead of the broad swath of actions that evidence shows can reduce the risk of disaster over the long term.

The comments also provided suggestions for implementing a sliding scale of federal incentives to reward states at different levels depending on what they do to mitigate risk—and how to consider investments made by local governments in determining eligibility for the additional funding.

Pew’s recommendations can guide how FEMA realigns its policy to achieve the original goal of promoting pre-disaster mitigation and risk reduction for states and Tribes. By recognizing ongoing investments and encouraging states and Tribes to invest in additional efforts to mitigate their risk to the rising frequency and severity of disasters, FEMA can maximize investments in areas of need and federal mitigation efforts.

Andrea Snyder is a senior associate and Colin Foard is a project director with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ managing fiscal risks project.