Senator Schiff Demands Trump Administration Reinstate $33 Million in Federal Earthquake Retrofitting Funding

In a letter sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, US Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) demanded that $33 million in recently cancelled Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds for earthquake retrofitting be reinstated.

Currently, FEMA is in the midst of restructuring, with President Donald Trump recently bringing forward cuts to the agency in the hopes of either eliminating it altogether or making it into a support agency for states. In either case, President Trump’s plan is to make states more responsible for their own disasters rather than the federal government be the lead during emergencies.

A small part of the announced cuts was $33 million earmarked for earthquake retrofitting in California, something that the state itself spends hundreds of millions on in a year. State funding ranges from $15 million annually being spent on multifamily homes to Caltrans having spent $12.2 billion over the last few decades retrofitting bridges and other infrastructure. Despite the state already spending so much on retrofitting, the recently $12 billion budget deficit has left many lawmakers spooked and wanting to secure as much federal and other outside funding as possible. This led to Schiff’s letter on Thursday.

“California is projected to lose an average of $9.6 billion per year from earthquake damage, and California accounts for roughly 65% of the country’s annual earthquake cost,” said Schiff in his letter. “If the yearly earthquake loss projections remain consistent, California is expected to lose $288 billion from earthquake damage over the next three decades. And historically, when major earthquakes have hit California, it has taken years and in some cases decades for cities to recover.

“California is proactively and responsibly making an investment in earthquake damage mitigation, which saves $3 for every $1 spent. But California relies on federal support to assist with the cost of retrofitting multi-family soft story homes that are most vulnerable to damage from earthquakes. By eliminating this critical source of federal funding, we are leaving those who can least afford it at the greatest risk of displacement, which could cost lives.”

Retrofitting

However, along with Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Schiff went on to say that the Trump Administration is blatantly favoring red states when it comes to disaster funding, especially when it comes to flooding disaster relief, making the ask for funds directly political.

“Natural disasters don’t discriminate based on whether a state is red or blue, and the administration and Congress shouldn’t either when it comes to protecting communities from natural disasters,” added Schiff. “This puts us on a very dangerous path, a path where anything can be on the chopping block for a partisan reason. Today, it’s funding for these projects. Tomorrow, it could be another form of funding meant to save lives. There will be a domino effect of threats aimed at blue states. When you’re elected to be president of the United States. You’re not a half president. You’re not president for only half of the country, not if you do the job right. These baseless attacks threaten millions of people from both parties whose lives are endangered by floods.”

Despite this, the Trump administration has said that funding is based on need. This can be seen in two recent disasters. FEMA flooding relief for the Hurricane Helene disaster area in the Southeast, primarily in the state of North Carolina, totaled to just over $900 million in federal funding. In comparison, over $2 billion in federal funding was spent on California following the Los Angeles wildfires in January, with that figure likely even larger now.

As of Thursday evening, the Trump administration has not approved the reinstatement of the $33 million in retrofitting funding. Cities with current retrofitting projects have only been delayed as a result, like with current projects in San Jose, with no retrofitting project being cancelled as a result of the cuts.