Van Hollen, Alsobrooks Statement on Court Decision Blocking Trump Administration from Canceling Disaster Preparedness Grants

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-Md.) released the following statement on today's decision by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns finding that the Trump Administration unlawfully canceled the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program, which supports local efforts to protect and harden our communities from natural disasters. Earlier this year, Senator Van Hollen led a bipartisan effort, joined by Senator Alsobrooks and over 80 members of the House and Senate, to restore the BRIC program.

"The Trump Administration's attempt to cancel smart investments in disaster preparedness threatened to leave countless lives and communities needlessly vulnerable to ruin by extreme weather, which is why we've been fighting to restore the BRIC program. A federal judge made the right decision in ordering the Administration to reinstate the program, calling this out for what it was - an unlawful money grab. We applaud the efforts by Attorney General Brown and others to hold the Trump Administration accountable to the law and ensure Maryland can better prepare for disaster before it strikes," said Senators Van Hollen and Alsobrooks.

Millions of dollars of federal funding have been withheld from disaster mitigation projects in Maryland due to the Trump Administration's unlawful cancellation of the BRIC program. This includes $26.7 million for the Middle Branch Resiliency Initiative in South Baltimore, an effort to rebuild wetlands that were damaged or lost due to industrialization and pollution while protecting the nearby coastal communities from rising waters and flooding; and $36 million for flood mitigation and resilience work in the City of Crisfield.