House of Representatives Passes Disaster Recovery Funds Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (H.R. 3702), requiring that new construction and rehabilitation funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery program (CDBG-DR) adhere to the latest building codes. The International Code Council worked closely with House leadership on the bill.
The CDBG-DR program provides flexible funding to states and local governments to address unmet recovery needs related to housing, infrastructure and economic revitalization, focusing assistance toward low- and moderate-income communities. CDBG-DR is the largest post-disaster recovery program not operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Congress provided $35.4 billion for the program in response to the damage caused by Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey.