National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025
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The bill would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program through fiscal year 2028 and expand what the four participating federal agencies must do, including addressing secondary hazards like tsunamis and fires and helping communities inventory high-risk infrastructure.
It would also formally include Tribal governments in the program's coordination, technical assistance, and outreach activities, and would authorize roughly $160 million a year across the agencies for earthquake research, monitoring, and early warning systems.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would reauthorize the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 through fiscal year 2028 and broaden the required activities of the four National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program agencies — the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Science Foundation. It would add new duties addressing secondary earthquake hazards such as tsunamis, landslides, and structural fires, require work on "functional recovery" of buildings and lifeline infrastructure after quakes, and direct agencies to help state, local, and Tribal governments inventory and evaluate infrastructure with high seismic risk. It also adds coordination with the Federal Communications Commission on earthquake early-warning alerts.
The bill amends findings, definitions, and agency responsibilities throughout the 1977 Act and a related housing-standards provision, but it does not create a new program or agency — it restructures and extends the existing one. It sets authorized funding levels for FY2024-FY2028 for each agency and adds new deficit-reduction and funding-control provisions.
Key provisions
- 1Would reauthorize appropriations for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program for fiscal years 2024 through 2028 across all four participating agencies
- 2Would require agencies to improve understanding of secondary earthquake hazards such as tsunamis, landslides, liquefaction, and structural fires
- 3Would require work to improve post-earthquake 'functional recovery' of buildings and lifeline infrastructure like water, power, and transportation systems
- 4Would direct agencies to help state, local, and Tribal governments create inventories and conduct seismic performance evaluations of high-risk infrastructure
- 5Would add Tribal governments as recipients of program coordination, technical assistance, and public awareness activities throughout the Act
- 6Would require coordination with the Federal Communications Commission on timely broadcasting of earthquake early-warning alerts
- 7Would require any cancelled program appropriations to be transferred to the Treasury for deficit reduction rather than reused
Who would be affected
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Science Foundation, which run the earthquake program; state, local, and now Tribal governments seeking technical assistance and grants; and communities in earthquake-prone regions, including building owners, architects, engineers, and residents relying on earthquake early-warning systems.
Why it matters
Continued funding and an expanded mandate would let agencies address risks — like earthquake-triggered fires and tsunamis, and slow post-quake recovery of buildings and utilities — that current law does not fully cover. Tribal governments would gain formal access to technical assistance and inventories that could help prioritize retrofits of high-risk infrastructure before or after a major earthquake.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) (Sec. 2-9)
Revises findings, purposes, definitions, agency duties, seismic standards, and appropriations to expand scope to secondary hazards, functional recovery, and Tribal governments
Reauthorizes Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Sec. 9)
Extends and sets new authorized appropriation levels for NIST, USGS, FEMA, and NSF for fiscal years 2024 through 2028
Amends Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 7704a) (Sec. 6)
Changes references from 'safety' to 'performance' and ties seismic property standards to improving post-earthquake functional recovery time
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for each program agency's first biennial report on implementing functional-recovery recommendations
Funding and costs
- $8,500,000
General National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program authorization, per year
- $92,427,000
U.S. Geological Survey program activities, including at least $36,000,000 for the Advanced National Seismic System, per year
- $54,000,000
National Science Foundation earthquake hazards research, per year
- $5,900,000
National Institute of Standards and Technology earthquake hazards activities, per year
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates S. 320 would cost $596 million over the 2025–2030 period (and $29 million after 2030) in discretionary spending subject to appropriation, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that S. 320 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the federal deficit. All costs stem from discretionary spending — funding that requires future congressional appropriations — totaling $596 million over the 2025–2030 period and an additional $29 million after 2030. The bill authorizes $161 million per year for fiscal years 2025–2028 for four agencies (the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, FEMA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology) to run the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program; the largest share goes to the USGS ($359 million in estimated outlays over 2025–2030). CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
The four program agencies would carry out their expanded duties under existing structures, coordinated by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction, which reports to Congress biennially. Agencies would develop best practices and provide technical assistance to state, local, and Tribal governments on request for inventorying and evaluating high-risk infrastructure, subject to available funding. USGS would coordinate with NOAA and FEMA on tsunami response and with the FCC on early-warning broadcasts. Each agency must report to the Interagency Committee on progress implementing functional-recovery recommendations starting September 30, 2025, and every two years after, feeding into the Committee's own biennial report to Congress. Funding would flow only through amounts specifically appropriated, and any cancelled appropriations would go to deficit reduction rather than be reallocated.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Held at the desk.
Official CRS summary
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This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and expands the activities federal agencies must conduct under the program, including activities relating to secondary effects of earthquakes and post-earthquake infrastructure performance.
NEHRP is a coordinated earthquake hazards reduction program of four federal agencies: the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Science Foundation. Under NEHRP, these agencies are required to conduct various activities relating to earthquakes, including advancing warning systems, hazard reduction measures, and research to improve understanding of earthquakes and their effects.
The bill expands the scope of the activities under NEHRP, including requiring the agencies to
- improve understanding of and develop resilience measures for secondary effects and multiple hazards associated with earthquakes, such as tsunamis and fires;
- improve post-earthquake functional recovery, which means maintaining or restoring the pre-earthquake functionality of buildings and lifeline infrastructure systems (e.g., infrastructure for water, electricity, and transportation); and
- assist public entities with developing an inventory, and conducting seismic performance evaluation, of infrastructure with high seismic risk.
Additionally, the bill specifically includes tribal governments in the activities conducted under NEHRP.
Legislative subjects
Building construction; Emergency Management; Emergency communications systems; Emergency planning and evacuation; Environmental assessment, monitoring, research; Government studies and investigations; Natural disasters; Research administration and funding
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-74