Madison,
02
May
2022
|
15:34 PM
America/Chicago

Resilient AMERICA Act will help protect communities

American Family applauds bipartisan House action, encourages Senate passage

Summary

American Family Insurance is encouraged that the U.S. House of Representatives showed bipartisan support through its recent passage of the Resilient AMERICA Act and urges the Senate to act on the legislation. 

American Family Insurance is encouraged that the U.S. House of Representatives showed bipartisan support of resiliency in communities, especially underrepresented communities, through its recent passage of H.R. 5689, the Resilient AMERICA Act. 

As the bill moves to the Senate, we urge lawmakers from both parties to quickly pass this legislation designed to shield homes, communities, and infrastructure from the harmful effects of climate change.

American Family has a strong commitment to sustainability and the mitigation of climate risk and partners to invest in economic empowerment, education equity, healthy youth development and climate resilience in communities. 

We support the Resilient AMERICA Act because it includes numerous provisions geared toward providing communities with additional resources and tools to bolster mitigation and resilience before the next disaster. This includes new funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which will:

  • Boost funding for FEMA’s BRIC Program to harden residences and lifeline infrastructure like electric grids.
  • Ensure a certain percentage of BRIC funds are used towards the adoption and enforcement of strong and updated building codes.
  • Create a new retrofitting pilot program at FEMA to upgrade older homes and structures.

The Resilient AMERICA Act builds on previous landmark legislation like 2018’s Disaster Recovery Reform Act and resilience initiatives contained in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in fall 2021, which American Family also supported.

This Resilient AMERICA Act was introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and passed by the House on April 5 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. American Family has been working with trade organizations including the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the American Property and Casualty Insurance Association and the BuildStrong Coalition to advocate for action on H.R. 5689 in both the House and Senate.

We applaud the representatives from both parties who worked together to move this legislation forward and urge members of the Senate to support resiliency in communities through the passage of this bill.

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About the American Family Insurance group
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance has been serving customers since 1927. We inspire, protect and restore dreams through our insurance products, exceptional service from our agency owners and employees, community investment and creative partnerships to address societal challenges. We act on our belief in diversity and inclusion by constantly evolving to meet customer needs and preferences. American Family Insurance group is the nation’s 13th-largest property/casualty insurance group, ranking No. 232 on the Fortune 500 list. The group sells American Family-brand products, primarily through exclusive agency owners in 19 states. The American Family Insurance group also includes CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, The GeneralHomesite and Main Street America Insurance. Across these companies the group has more than 13,500 employees nationwide.