Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2025

This bill establishes Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding sources for unmet needs caused by major disasters, expands FEMA’s assistance for housing and home repair, and requires certain considerations in FEMA’s recommendations on presidential emergency/disaster declarations.

The bill establishes the National Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund for FEMA to provide grants to states and Indian tribal governments for unmet need. The bill defines unmet need as any necessary expense for activities related to a declared major disaster, including disaster relief or resilience activities. In addition, the bill authorizes FEMA to set aside funding from the Disaster Relief Fund to provide grants to states and Indian tribal governments for unmet needs resulting from a declared disaster, including home repair, economic recovery measures, and other services assisting disaster victims.

Also, the bill makes the following changes regarding housing assistance:

authorizes FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) to provide home repair assistance directly to homeowners when there is a lack of available housing resources,

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.