The BUILD Act of 2025 creates two new grant programs aimed at infrastructure for small public safety agencies serving communities with fewer than 50,000 residents. For law enforcement, the Department of Justice (Attorney General) would award grants to state/local agencies to modify, upgrade, or build facilities tied to emergency services, officer training, recruitment/retention, community engagement, or overall community safety. For fire departments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would award grants to career, combination, and volunteer departments in similarly small jurisdictions to fund facility improvements or construction, equipment readiness, training, recruitment/retention, and community safety. Each program caps individual grants at $4 million and is supported by substantial federal funding in 2026–2028, along with government-wide needs assessments and periodic reporting to Congress. The act also requires guidance, equitable geographic distribution, and ongoing studies on capital infrastructure needs.
Key Points
- 1Grant programs added to bolster infrastructure for small law enforcement and small fire departments serving jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000 residents. Law enforcement grants go through the Attorney General; fire department grants go through FEMA (the Administrator).
- 2Eligible uses are facility modification, upgrade, or construction with a substantial nexus to emergency services, training, recruitment/retention, community engagement, or community safety; portions not tied to these goals may not use the funds.
- 3Grant caps and funding: each grant cannot exceed $4,000,000. The bill authorizes $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026–2028 for both programs ( DOJ and FEMA ).
- 4Applications and guidance: States/local agencies must apply with project costs and demonstrated financial need; the Attorney General and FEMA must issue guidance and information to eligible entities, and ensure equitable geographic distribution to the extent practicable.
- 5Reporting and oversight: Long-term reporting requirements include regular program updates to Congress and public availability, plus mandated studies by the Attorney General and the Comptroller General (GAO) on current and future capital infrastructure needs, including projections over 1–5, 5–10, and more than 10 years.