The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has approved advancing the bipartisan Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ) Act of 2022 to the full Senate for debate and a vote.
The CDRZ Act, which has already been approved by The Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), aims to improve climate and natural hazard resilience in vulnerable communities.
In a press release, the RAA said that a bipartisan companion bill was introduced in the House on March 28 by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Vice Chair, Sharice Davids, and Subcommittee Ranking Member, Garret Graves.
Both bills have three objectives, which includes amending the Stafford Act, by adding a requirement that FEMA maintain and update the National Risk Index, and use that dataset to identify and designate CDRZ communities that are most in need.
The bills also aim to authorise the President to provide CDRZ designated communities with assistance and funding for pre-disaster mitigation planning and projects to increase, as well as helping to prioritise and attract additional public and private sector funding for resilience projects that are either in or primarily benefitting CDRZ-designated communities.
In addition, the CDRZ Act has also garnered support from a diverse coalition of 27 + national constituencies, including those that represent business, emergency managers, conservation, infrastructure, housing, local government, public safety, science, and taxpayer organisations who have a vested interest in improving the climate and natural hazard resilience in vulnerable communities.
In the letter sent to the Committee, the coalition expressed their support for the bill.
The letter reads: “It is a critical, foundational step toward prioritizing and directing a whole-of-nation focus on the most vulnerable communities facing the risk of potentially life-threatening and economically devastating climate and natural disaster events.”
Frank Nutter, President of the Reinsurance Association of America, and a long time champion of climate change advocacy to mitigate the impact of extreme weather, applauded the Senate Committee’s advancement of the CDRZ Act and bipartisan House bill introduction.
He said: “I commend Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Portman, and Committee members for advancing the CDRZ Act to the full Senate today, and I thank House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Vice Chair Davids and Ranking Member Graves for their bipartisan leadership in introducing legislation to help improve resilience in communities across our country that are the most in need and most at risk from natural disasters.”
