Senate Unanimously Passes Padilla, Murkowski Bipartisan Legislation to Reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
NEHRP coordinates federal research, early warning systems, building codes, and preparedness efforts to reduce deaths, damage, and economic losses from earthquakes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced that the Senate unanimously passed their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) through 2028. The bill would authorize lifesaving funding to support research, development, and implementation activities related to earthquake safety and risk reduction.
The legislation now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate unanimously passed a version of this bill late last year, but it was not taken up in the House.
The NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2025 would reauthorize annual funding from FY 2024-2028 across the four federal agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction under NEHRP: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
“As earthquakes remain a constant threat to lives, infrastructure, and communities, Californians know the importance of staying prepared,” said Senator Padilla. “The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program supports crucial tools like the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System, works to advance scientific understanding of earthquakes, and strengthens earthquake resilience nationwide. The Senate took a crucial step to keep our communities safe, and I encourage my colleagues in the House to reauthorize this critical program as soon as possible.”
“Earthquakes are active threats that have taken lives and damaged property across Alaska in recent years,” said Senator Murkowski. “Our passage of these bills puts us on track to ensure that federal agencies have the resources they need to help keep communities safe both back home and around the country. I thank my colleagues for working cooperatively to pass these measures and urge the House to take them up and send them to the President as soon as possible.”
This NEHRP reauthorization:
- Directs state and local entities to inventory high-risk buildings and structures;
- Expands seismic events to include earthquake-caused tsunamis;
- Provides more technical assistance to tribal governments; and
- Improves mitigation of earthquake-connected hazards.
California faces substantial earthquake risks. According to the California Department of Conservation, over 70 percent of Californians live within 30 miles of a fault that could cause high ground shaking within the next 50 years. The state averages two to three earthquakes per year at magnitude 5.5 or higher, risking moderate structural damage. Because of these major earthquake risks, California has become a leader in earthquake research, including through the California Institute of Technology Seismological Laboratory.
The NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2025 is endorsed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), International Code Council, National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), and Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC).
Senator Padilla has long been a leader in mitigating earthquake risks. As a California State Senator, Padilla authored Senate Bill 135, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2013, which required the state to establish the nation’s first statewide early warning system. In 2021, he led five of his U.S. Senate colleagues in requesting details from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on future plans and funding needs for the West Coast Early Earthquake Warning system.
