Baldwin Leads Bill to Ensure America’s Infrastructure is Built to Last Against Extreme Weather

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Built to Last Act to help local communities and private firms build stronger and more climate resilient infrastructure by equipping the organizations that issue building codes and other standards with the best available information on weather-related risks, including floods, hurricanes, and wildfires. The bill comes as extreme weather events are more common and more costly to taxpayers. While the cost of the most recent storms across Wisconsin is still being calculated, last year's storms in Southeastern Wisconsin caused more than $27 million in damage to public infrastructure, which the Trump Administration denied covering and the counties were left to pay.

"In recent years, Wisconsin communities have been hit hard by severe weather events and flooding that has closed local businesses and damaged roads, highways and bridges," said Senator Baldwin. "As we see extreme weather more frequently and the bill for taxpayers only gets bigger, it's important we equip communities with the tools they need to build stronger and more resilient infrastructure."

Extreme weather costs the federal government billions of dollars each year and poses a significant risk to infrastructure, including in Wisconsin. This includes transportation systems, water and wastewater systems, government buildings and power lines that provide essential services to families and communities. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the estimated annual economic losses from damage caused by hurricanes and storm-related flooding is $54 billion to households, businesses and government. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2024, there were 27 confirmed weather or climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each. From 1980-2024, the annual average of these billion dollar extreme weather events was 9.

Standards-developing organizations are the primary source of the standards and codes that public and private planners follow. These organizations often face institutional and technical challenges to using the best available forward-looking information to create design standards.

The Built to Last Act helps ensure federal, state, local and private buildings, roads, and other infrastructure are more resilient to extreme weather events by equipping standards-developing organizations that issue building codes and other standards with the best available information on weather-related risks, including floods, hurricanes and wildfires.

Specifically, the Built to Last Act will:

• Require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to identify a consistent, federal set of best available forward-looking metrological information; and
• Require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to make that information available to standards-developing organizations, with advice and technical assistance to help ensure organizations are able to incorporate this information into standards, building codes and voluntary certifications.

The bill is supported by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, R Street Institute, and Enterprise Community Partners.

"The engineering standards are only as reliable as the data upon which they are built," said Marsha Anderson Bomar, President of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). "Accurate, up-to-date information, particularly related to extreme weather, is key for the development of effective building codes and standards for the professionals designing and planning infrastructure projects. As a standards-setting organization, ASCE is committed to developing standards that offer technical guidelines for promoting safety, reliability, productivity, and efficiency in civil engineering. We thank Sen. Baldwin for introducing the Built to Last Act, which is meant to make sure organizations responsible for issuing building codes and standards have access to the best available information on weather-related risks. ASCE looks forward to working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to advance this sensible legislation."

"Safe, durable, and resilient homes are the foundation of strong communities and a stable economy," said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH). "The Built to Last Act recognizes that investing in smarter construction and long-term performance isn't just good policy-it protects families, strengthens housing markets, and reduces disaster-related losses. We applaud Senator Baldwin's leadership in advancing solutions that help ensure the homes we build today are ready for the risks of tomorrow."

"The Built to Last Act represents a critical step toward modernizing building standards and ensuring our national infrastructure is resilient enough to save taxpayers significant resources over time," said Anthony Lamorena, Senior Manager of Federal Government Affairs at R Street Institute. "The R Street Institute has long championed mitigation as a pillar of fiscal responsibility, as our research shows that for every $1 spent on disaster mitigation saves approximately $6 in future recovery costs. By requiring federal agencies to use the best available data to build resilient infrastructure, the Built to Last Act reduces the likelihood of expensive, taxpayer-funded "re-builds" after predictable weather events. We are proud to once again endorse this effort and applaud Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) for her continued leadership on this issue. We strongly encourage more Senators to join her in support of this proactive, market-minded approach to national resilience."

More information about the Built to Last Act is available here. Full text of the bill is available here.

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