“The President keeps breaking the law, and we keep holding him accountable in court,” Bonta said in a statement. “Shuttering this program would do nothing to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse or improve government efficiency.”
In California, this program is helping to fund projects to reduce risks from landslides, flooding, fires and earthquakes.
“I’m pleased the District Court has ensured this funding will not be redirected and misspent while our litigation continues,” Bonta said.
While FEMA officials said in public statements and advisories last April that they were concluding the program, they later said in court documents that they have not formally terminated the program, that they have the discretion to reallocate funds from the BRIC account and that the states lacked standing to sue because they hadn’t yet suffered harm.
The judge rejected these arguments and ruled in favor of the states, saying the threat of harm hung overhead like the “Sword of Damocles” and that states didn’t have to wait until the sword dropped before seeking relief.
The judge wrote: “The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives. The potential hardship to the Government, in contrast, is minimal.”
