Judge blocks Trump admin from axing disaster prevention funds

A Massachusetts judge said it would be an unlawful executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to appropriate funds if the funds were cancelled.(CN) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot cancel congressionally authorized funding for local projects across the nation aimed at preventing future damage from natural disasters, a federal judge in Massachusetts said in a ruling issued Thursday.On April 2, Cameron Hamilton, the then-senior official performing the duties of the administrator of FEMA, announced the agency would cancel all future funding for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program and would immediately return any funds that had not yet been distributed to the Disaster Relief Fund or to the U.S. Treasury.But in his Thursday ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns permanently blocked FEMA from terminating the BRIC program as it is currently structured.“There is an inherent public interest in ensuring that the government follows the law, and the potential hardship accruing to the States in the absence of an injunction is great,” Stearns wrote. “The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives. It need not be gainsaid that the imminence of disasters is not deterred by bureaucratic obstruction.”In contrast, the Bill Clinton appointee wrote, any harm to the government from the injunction would be “minimal.”“In sum, this is not a case about judicial encroachment on the discretionary authority of the executive branch,” the judge wrote. “This is a case about unlawful executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to appropriate funds for a specific and compelling purpose, and no more than that.”The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program — described as FEMA’s largest pre-disaster mitigation program funded by direct appropriations from Congress — was created 30 years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to provide grants to communities to fortify infrastructure to protect lives and property in advance of natural disasters.The government had argued the states lacked standing for their suit and any injury they face is only speculative, as the government has yet to formally terminate any grants that have been already awarded, but Stearns said the language in Hamilton’s memo about the program indicated that “the decision to end the program has, for all practical purposes, been made.”“A definitive decision from this court will allow the states to make a responsible determination whether to proceed with their selected but not yet awarded projects and will provide guidance whether to expect federal mitigation funding opportunities in the future,” Stearns said.In a statement, FEMA representatives said “DHS has not terminated BRIC. Any suggestion to the contrary is a lie. The Biden administration abandoned true mitigation and used BRIC as a green new deal slush fund. It’s unfortunate that an activist judge either didn’t understand that or didn’t care.”A coalition of more that 20 states led by Washington state Attorney General Nicholas Brown and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed the July 16 complaint that challenged the program’s shutdown.Brown praised the decision in a statement issued Thursday.“Today’s court decision affirms the coalition’s position that FEMA’s decision to abruptly terminate the BRIC program is in direct violation of Congress’s decision to fund it, and that the executive branch has no lawful authority to unilaterally refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress,” he said.The multi-state coalition that filed the complaint also includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the governors of Kentucky and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing
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