I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4296 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program to 
assist primarily low-income individuals in making their homes and prop-
erty more resilient to the impacts of climate change, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2023 
Mr. MULLIN (for himself, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. CROCK-
ETT, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. PANETTA, 
Mr. PETERS, Ms. PORTER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SWALWELL, and Ms. TLAIB) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant 
program to assist primarily low-income individuals in 
making their homes and property more resilient to the 
impacts of climate change, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weatherization Resil-
ience and Adaptation Program Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Human accelerated climate change is caus-
ing significant shifts in global surface and atmos-
pheric temperatures, accelerating the frequency of 
extreme weather events around the globe. 
(2) Extreme weather events create environ-
mental hazards such as excessive flooding, fire, heat, 
wind, and drought that have catastrophic impacts on 
frontline communities, who experience the worst and 
most immediate impacts of our climate crisis and 
often bear the brunt of such events seasonally, cre-
ating a cyclical pattern of disruption and destruc-
tion. 
(3) Individuals can take steps to prevent and 
mitigate the worst impacts of extreme weather 
events on their home and property by implementing 
resilience and adaptation best practices, but the cost 
of these solutions puts them out of reach for many 
households. 
(4) Low-income homeowners and individuals 
who reside in affordable housing disproportionately 
live in areas that face the greatest threat from ex-
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treme weather events, yet can least afford the 
changes to their property to make them more resil-
ient to disasters and adapted to the changing cli-
mate. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) CLIMATE
CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 
change’’ means long-term shifts in temperatures and 
weather patterns. 
(2) CLIMATE-DRIVEN
HAZARDS.—The term 
‘‘climate-driven hazards’’ means hazards, such as 
floods, wildfires, landslides, extreme heat, extreme 
wind, and atmospheric rivers that have a human, 
economic, and ecological impact with increased fre-
quency. 
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of National Institute of Standards and 
Technology. 
(4) ELIGIBLE
PROGRAM
PARTICIPANT.—The 
term ‘‘eligible program participant’’ means— 
(A) a State; 
(B) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; 
and 
(C) a Native Hawaiian organization. 
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(5) ELIGIBLE PROPERTY OWNERS.—The term 
‘‘eligible property owner’’ means— 
(A) a low-income property owner; 
(B) an owner of a property of which the 
deed, ground lease, or a loan for the improve-
ment thereof has a restriction or covenant re-
lated to housing affordability which will not ex-
pire for at least 5 years following the receipt of 
funds awarded under this Act; 
(C) an owner of a multifamily dwelling 
building where more than 50 percent of dwell-
ing units are occupied by residents whose rent 
is subsidized under a covered housing program 
listed in section 41411(a)(3) of the Violence 
Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
12491(a)(3)); and 
(D) an owner of a property used as a com-
munity of manufactured homes. 
(6) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’ 
means income in relation to family size that is at or 
below 300 percent of the poverty level determined in 
accordance with criteria established by the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget, except 
that the Secretary may allow an eligible program 
participant to use a higher level if, after receiving a 
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justification from such eligible program participant, 
the Secretary determines that such a higher level is 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this part and 
is consistent with the eligibility criteria established 
in this Act. 
(7) MANUFACTURED HOME.—The term ‘‘manu-
factured home’’ has the meaning given that term 
under section 603(6) of the Manufactured Housing 
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 
U.S.C. 5402(6)). 
(8) NATURAL SOLUTIONS.—The term ‘‘natural 
solutions’’ means ways of adapting or making prop-
erty more resilient to climate-driven hazards by 
making changes that imitate naturally occurring eco-
logical functions that mitigate such hazards. 
(9) RESILIENCE
AND
ADAPTATION
STAND-
ARDS.—The term ‘‘resilience and adaptation stand-
ards’’ means a set of building, landscaping, and con-
struction guidelines for how property owners may 
preemptively mitigate the impacts of extreme pre-
cipitation, flooding, wildfires, heat, and other haz-
ards attributable to global climate change in their 
dwellings and surrounding non-dwelling property. 
(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ re-
fers to the Secretary of the Interior. 
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(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) a State; 
(B) the District of Columbia; and 
(C) any territory or possession of the 
United States. 
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es-
tablish a grant program to award grants to eligible pro-
gram participants to assist eligible property owners with 
dwelling and property adaptations to increase their ability 
to withstand climate-driven hazards. 
(b) APPLICATION.—Eligible program participants ap-
plying for a grant under this section shall— 
(1) submit to the Secretary an application— 
(A) at such time and in such manner as 
the Secretary determines appropriate; and 
(B) containing a description of— 
(i) the eligible activities to be under-
taken with the grant funds; 
(ii) how eligible program participants 
will prioritize eligible property owners in 
awarding funding based on factors that 
take into account varying levels of disaster 
risk and means; 
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