BlueCrew - Community<p>BREAKING: Twenty states slam Donald Trump with a massive lawsuit over his disastrous decision to shut down a crucial multi-billion program designed to strengthen infrastructure before natural disasters hit.</p><p>And it gets even better...</p><p>"Communities across the country are being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding,” the lawsuit, filed in federal court, reads.</p><p>"Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened. And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters," it adds.</p><p>The suit argues that the MAGA-controlled Federal Emergency Management Agency illegally terminated its Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) program without necessary Congressional approval.</p><p>The suit points out that not only did Congress not authorize the cuts to FEMA’s mitigation “functions and capabilities," they "specifically barred it."</p><p>"Therefore, the BRIC termination violates these statutes and the Separation of Powers," the suit reads.</p><p>Not only that, but the suit points out that Cameron Hamilton, the acting director of FEMA when the program was slashed, as well as his successor David Richardson, were not properly appointed and thus lacked the authority to implement such spending reductions.</p><p>These cuts are emblematic of Trump's entire approach to governing. There is no defensible reason to slash this kind of funding. Doing so only puts American lives in danger, weakening the country so that Republicans can funnel even more wealth to the rich through unnecessary tax cuts.</p><p>The states described the funding shutdown as "devastating." The BRIC program was launched in 2018 as a way to focus on mitigating damage from disasters instead of simply reacting after they occur. It has been an unalloyed success and has helped avoid over $150 billion in costs alongside other federal mitigation grants.</p><p>"Not only are States unable to move forward with many of their planned projects, they also risk wasting the substantial time, effort, and money they have already invested in these projects, and undermining the trust they have built with local communities and industry partners, which will make it harder to undertake projects like this in the future,” the suit adds.</p><p>When he shuttered the program in April, Trump's administration smeared it as "wasteful" and "politicized." By Republican logic, any measure that helps average Americans is "wasteful." Taken in light of the recent deadly flash floods in Texas, these efforts by Trump take on an even more sinister light.</p><p>The states involved in the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.<br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BlueCrew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BlueCrew</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BlueCircleFamily" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BlueCircleFamily</span></a>🌈🦋 <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BluePetPatrol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BluePetPatrol</span></a>💙🐾 <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ProudBlue" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProudBlue</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Thisiswhywefight" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Thisiswhywefight</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Resist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Resist</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/TruthWarriors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TruthWarriors</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/StrongerTogether" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StrongerTogether</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/NoKings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoKings</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/DemocracyMatters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DemocracyMatters</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/DefendDemocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DefendDemocracy</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/StayWoke" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>StayWoke</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/NoMoreAuthoritarians" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoMoreAuthoritarians</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ProtectOurRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectOurRights</span></a></p>