CLEAR Act of 2025

Bill Number

H.R. 6785

Origin Chamber

House

Congress

119th Congress, Session 1

Policy Area

Housing and Community Development

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2025-12-17: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Last Updated

2026-01-22T15:41:01Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose

The Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience Act of 2025 (CLEAR Act of 2025) aims to help states, territories, and Indian tribes build resilience against extreme weather, natural disasters, and other challenges. It does this by authorizing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants for creating or supporting local offices dedicated to resilience planning and action. Resilience here means a community's ability to recover, adapt, or thrive during disruptions while maintaining quality of life, economic strength, and resource conservation for future generations.

Key Provisions

• Grant Authority and Eligibility: HUD, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior, can award grants to states (including the District of Columbia), territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa), and Indian tribes. To qualify, recipients must establish or plan to establish a dedicated resiliency office with duties including:
• Creating and updating a resiliency framework every five years, in consultation with affected communities, to identify risks in areas like environmental hazards, economy and jobs, infrastructure, health and social services, and housing, along with recommendations to address them.
• Implementing programs such as technical assistance for local governments, helping state or tribal agencies adopt resilience policies, adding resilience requirements to grant funding, and supporting pre- and post-disaster mitigation and recovery.
• Enhancing coordination between state/tribal agencies, local jurisdictions, and stakeholders for better community and economic recovery.
• Use of Funds: Grants can cover costs for setting up or running resiliency offices, developing planning tools, building community capacity, providing technical assistance, and matching non-federal funds for related federal programs. Subgrants to local governments are allowed.
• Application and Award Process: Applications follow HUD's guidelines for a formula-based system (a method that distributes funds based on set criteria like population or need). Grants must fund at least 24 months of activities. Priorities include areas with the greatest need, focus on disadvantaged communities (defined by HUD using metrics like income or environmental risks), broad resilience approaches, and subgrants requiring prevailing wage standards (fair pay rates set by the Department of Labor).
• Technical Assistance and Reporting: HUD provides guidance on frameworks and strategies, consulting other agencies. Grantees must submit annual reports to HUD detailing activities, costs, effectiveness, and improvement suggestions.
• Funding and Administration: Authorizes $100 million annually from fiscal years 2025 to 2030. Up to 1% of funds can cover HUD's administrative costs and technical assistance. 10% is reserved for Indian tribes, awarded competitively based on regulations developed with public input.
• Definitions: Key terms include "disadvantaged community" (areas with high vulnerability, to be defined by HUD), "grantee" (eligible states, territories, or tribes), and "Indian tribe" (as defined in federal housing law for Native American communities).

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This bill introduces a new grant program under HUD, which does not appear to amend or alter specific existing laws directly. Instead, it creates fresh authority for federal funding to support state and local resilience efforts, building on broader federal disaster and housing policies without specifying modifications to them. It integrates resilience into grant criteria and requires coordination across agencies, potentially expanding how federal resources address climate and disaster risks.

Potential Impacts

• Government Agencies: HUD gains new responsibilities for administering grants, technical assistance, and reporting, requiring coordination with FEMA, Commerce, and Interior. States, territories, and tribes could see strengthened internal offices, leading to more efficient disaster response and planning at local levels.
• Citizens: Residents in vulnerable areas, especially disadvantaged communities, may benefit from better risk identification, pre-disaster preparation, and faster recovery, reducing economic losses, health risks, and housing disruptions from events like floods or storms. This could promote equity by prioritizing underserved groups.
• International Relations: No direct impacts, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. territories and tribal lands.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Primary Recipients: States, territories, and Indian tribes, who must create or maintain resiliency offices to access funds.
• Local and Community Levels: Local governments, disadvantaged and impacted communities (e.g., low-income or high-risk areas), and vulnerable populations benefiting from planning and recovery support.
• Federal Agencies: HUD (lead administrator), FEMA, Commerce, and Interior (for consultation and technical aid).
• Other Groups: Workers on funded projects (via prevailing wage requirements), regional stakeholders involved in coordination, and the broader public through enhanced disaster resilience.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

• Legal: Establishes a formula-based grant program with clear eligibility and reporting rules, enforceable through HUD regulations. The 10% set-aside for Indian tribes aligns with federal trust responsibilities to Native nations, requiring competitive selection via public rulemaking to ensure fairness.
• Constitutional: Supports federalism by providing voluntary grants to states and tribes without mandating actions, respecting local control while advancing national interests in disaster preparedness under Congress's spending power.
• Political: Sponsored bipartisansly (Democrats and Republicans), it emphasizes proactive resilience amid growing climate threats, potentially influencing future disaster policy without partisan mandates. The focus on equity and disadvantaged communities could spark debates on resource allocation, but the bill remains neutral on enforcement mechanisms.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]

Cosponsors (4)

Rep. Kim, Young [R-CA-40], Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2], Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1], Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]

Recent Actions

• 2025-12-17: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
• 2025-12-17: Introduced in House
• 2025-12-17: Introduced in House

Bill Versions

• Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience Act of 2025 — issued 2025-12-17 — PDF (8 pages)