The bipartisan Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience (CLEAR) Act would create a competitive grant program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to strengthen existing state resilience entities while encouraging more states to take on this critical work. Under the program, resilience offices would be charged with planning, coordination, and implementation of resilience efforts at the state and local levels. The bill authorizes $500 million for the program over five years.

WHY WE LIKE IT

States play a critical role in steering federal investment, leading watershed-scale planning, and providing much-needed technical assistance and capacity-building support to local governments. Supporting state leadership on resilience efforts is key to protecting local communities across the country from increasing threats posed by flooding and other hazards.