National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025
Senate Passes Bill to Expand Earthquake Early Warning Systems and Protect 150 Million At-Risk Americans
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill continues a national program that helps the country prepare for earthquakes. It recognizes that nearly half of all Americans live in areas where a damaging earthquake could happen in the next 50 years. The plan provides money to agencies like FEMA and the U.S. Geological Survey to keep people safe and reduce property damage.
- A major part of the plan is expanding the earthquake early warning system. This technology sends alerts to phones and computers seconds before the shaking starts, giving people time to drop, cover, and hold on. The bill also requires these alerts to be sent in the most common languages spoken in the affected areas to ensure everyone is reached.
- The policy changes how we think about building safety. Instead of just making sure buildings don't collapse, the goal is now "functional recovery." This means designing buildings so they can be fixed and used again quickly after a quake, which helps communities get back to normal faster and prevents long-term economic loss.
- It expands research into other dangers caused by earthquakes, such as tsunamis, landslides, and fires. It also provides technical help to state, local, and Tribal governments so they can identify high-risk buildings and create better evacuation plans for these related disasters.
- The bill authorizes over $160 million in yearly funding through 2028. This includes about $92 million for the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor seismic activity and $54 million for the National Science Foundation to study how earthquakes affect the ground and structures.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
The bill authorizes over $160 million per year across four federal agencies — USGS, FEMA, NSF, and NIST — specifically for earthquake hazard reduction activities through fiscal year 2028. This provides stable, continued funding for the federal employees who carry out earthquake monitoring, research, technical assistance, and early warning system operations.
Disabilities
State Impacts
Milestones
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
The House has received the Senate-passed bill and will decide whether to take it up.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
The Senate voted to approve this bill. If the House already passed it, it goes to the President.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
The Senate voted to approve this bill. If the House already passed it, it goes to the President.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articlesHouse committee advances Valadao bill to help reduce earthquakes
The House Natural Resources Committee advanced H.R. 3168, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program through 2030. The legislation aims to improve coordination and early warning systems like ShakeAlert to protect families near active fault lines.
Senate Passes Murkowski, Padilla Bill to Reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
The Senate passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize NEHRP through FY2028. The bill includes provisions for inventorying high-risk buildings, expanding alerts to include earthquake-caused tsunamis, and providing technical assistance to Tribal governments.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.