Randall Sends Letter to DHS Sec. Noem Urging Immediate Release of BRIC Funding for Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Congresswoman Emily Randall (D, WA-06) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to follow up on the Trump administration's unlawful decision to terminate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The Aberdeen-Hoquiam Flood Protection Project was allocated $87 million in BRIC grants when FEMA abruptly cancelled the program in April 2025, putting the funds on hold.

"The cancellation of this $87 million grant has had widespread economic repercussions, wrote Rep. Randall in the letter. "In the cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, more than 5,100 properties and over 1,000 existing businesses are trapped in the floodplain-all of which would've been protected by the BRIC-funded levee project. As a result, residents and employers collectively pay over $2 million each year in flood insurance premiums, which means thousands of dollars a year in added costs for homeowners."

Rep. Randall continued: "To be clear: the cancellation of BRIC is not promoting government efficiency by any measure or definition. By halting preventative infrastructure, FEMA is increasing long-term disaster response costs while simultaneously reducing the tax base needed to fund them."

The full text of Rep. Randall's letter is available HERE.

As a result of the Trump Administration's decision to terminate the BRIC program, multiple counties in Washington's 6th District stand to lose funding. Local officials in Hoquiam and Aberdeen, who have been working on a crucial levee project for almost a decade, are at risk of losing $87 million in funding for a project that would reduce the risks from a 500-year flood at approximately 5,100 properties, and over 1,000 businesses, and critical infrastructure (including schools, the city hall, the police department, fire station, and Social Security office) in west Hoquiam. 

In December 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration had unlawfully cancelled the BRIC grant program. Since then, the Trump administration has begun unfreezing BRIC grants for other projects across the U.S.