The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced its support of three congressional bills that would prioritize disaster mitigation, resilience and recovery.
The three bills include the Ounce of Prevention Act (H.R. 9557), the Community Disaster Protection Act (H.R. 10686) and the Rebuild & Save Act (H.R. 1375).
The Ounce of Prevention Act would distribute grants to strengthen resilience upgrades before disaster strikes. The Community Disaster Protection Act aims to expand risk protection through a FEMA pilot grant program. The Rebuild & Save Act would increase access and thresholds to disaster loans for small businesses.
The AIA emphasized the importance of these bipartisan resilient design efforts to the field of architecture.
“Resilience starts long before a disaster occurs. Architects see firsthand how decisions about where and how we design, build, renovate, and rebuild can protect lives, reduce losses, and strengthen communities,” said Illya Azaroff, FAIA, 2026 AIA National President. “AIA is proud to support policies that move our country from reacting to disasters toward proactively reducing risk and creating safer, more resilient communities.”
