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Updated March 24, 2021
Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment
The Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25, hereinafter the BCA)
carryover that was available in FY2015 and FY2016
established limits on federal spending, as well as
expired unused.
mechanisms to adjust those limits to accommodate
spending that has special priority. One of these
Figure 1. Calculating the Allowable Adjustment
mechanisms—a limited “allowable adjustment” to
(in bil ions of nominal dol ars of budget authority)
discretionary spending limits to pay for the congressionally
designated costs of major disasters under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(P.L. 100-707; hereinafter “the Stafford Act”)—represented
a new approach to paying for disaster relief. In the past,
while some funding for disaster costs had been included in
annual appropriations measures as part of the regular
funding process, many of these costs had been designated
as emergency requirements and were included in
supplemental appropriations measures on an ad hoc basis.
This disaster relief designation allowed a limited amount of
additional appropriations for disaster costs into the annual
appropriations process, instead of relying on emergency
designations and supplemental appropriations bills. The
formula to calculate the size of the adjustment was revised
in 2018, but under current law, the adjustment will expire at
the end of FY2021.
Calculating the Maximum Allowable
Adjustment for Disaster Relief
The maximum size of the allowable adjustment, as defined
in 2 U.S.C. §901(b)(2)(D), was based on a modified 10-
year rolling average of disaster relief appropriations
annually reviewed and calculated by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). To establish amounts for
the calculation prior to FY2012, OMB identified
appropriations associated with major disaster declarations.
For FY2012 and later years, OMB relied on explicit
congressional designations of appropriations as disaster
relief pursuant to the BCA. The top of Figure 1 shows the
appropriations amounts used for FY2001-FY2020 and the
allowable adjustments calculated for FY2012-FY2021.
The calculated average disregarded the high and low
funding years in the 10-year data set. If Congress did not
fully exercise the allowable adjustment, the unused portion
could be rolled forward into the next fiscal year—however,
in calculations for FY2012-FY2017, this “carryover”
expired if unused in the next fiscal year. The second part of
Figure 1 shows the calculation of the adjustment for
FY2017. Annual disaster relief budget authority totals used
for the FY2017 allowable adjustment are darkened.
The Effect of One-Year Carryover
A more detailed look at FY2012-FY2018 in the third part of
Figure 1 shows the impact of this one-year carryover.
While carryover allowed for slightly greater use of the
allowable adjustment than the rolling average alone in
Source: CRS analysis of data from OMB sequestration reports.
FY2013 and FY2017, the roughly $12 billion of additional
Notes: DRBA=Disaster Relief Budget Authority. Red arrows
indicate the value is beyond the scale: For the total DRBA and
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Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment
emergency-designated disaster relief in FY2018=$96.2 bil ion;
FY2020=$57.5 bil ion; and FY2021=$69.3 bil ion.
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Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment
Changes to the Calculation
Department of Commerce, the Federal Highway
Section 102 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Division
Administration’s Emergency Relief Program at the
O, modified the calculation of the maximum size of the
Department of Transportation; and the Community
disaster relief allowable adjustment in two ways: unused
Development Fund at the Department of Housing and
adjustment from prior fiscal years would no longer expire,
Urban Development.
and 5% of the amount of disaster relief funding that did not
carry a disaster relief designation would be added to the
Figure 2. Appropriations with Disaster Relief
allowable adjustment calculation, starting with a revision of
Designations by Departments, FY2012-FY2021
the existing FY2018 calculation.
(bil ions of nominal dol ars of discretionary budget authority)
Originally, OMB’s allowable adjustment calculations did
not include the funding for major disasters pursuant to the
Stafford Act after FY2012 that was designated as an
emergency requirement. The red markers in the first part of
Figure 1 show the total disaster relief funding level had the
emergency-designated relief been included. For example,
Division B of P.L. 115-56 (the FY2017 supplemental
appropriation after Hurricane Harvey) included $15.25
billion in emergency-designated funding, $14.8 billion of
which was specifically for the costs of major disasters
under the Stafford Act. Yet the $14.8 billion of funding
would not have contributed to the calculation of future
allowable adjustments because it carried an emergency
designation, rather than the disaster relief designation.
This was not an isolated occurrence: in 6 of the 10 fiscal
Source: CRS analysis of data from appropriations legislation.
years covered by the Budget Control Act, more than $173
Congressional Considerations
billion in emergency-designated spending pursuant to major
disasters under the Stafford Act was appropriated above the
allowable adjustment for disaster relief. Section 102
Did the Allowable Adjustment Work?
allowed 5% of emergency-designated disaster relief
Making such a judgement depends on the intent of the
provided after FY2011 to be added to the allowable
adjustment. If the intent was to reduce the level of spending
adjustment.
on disasters, it can be argued that it was not successful—
disaster spending is largely linked to the relief statutes in
Due to these changes, FY2018’s allowable adjustment was
place and the level of disaster activity. There is little
revised upward by $1.855 billion (5% of the $37.101 billion
evidence that in the post-WWII era any type of budget
in emergency-designated disaster relief after FY2011 thus
controls have significantly constrained U.S. disaster relief
far). This new factor, coupled with high levels of disaster
spending. If the intent was to bring disaster spending into
relief associated with catastrophic disasters and COVID-19,
the annual appropriations process for greater inclusion in
reversed a declining trend in the allowable adjustment.
the debate and to reduce the demand for supplemental
OMB calculated the final FY2021 allowable adjustment to
appropriations, it can be argued that it was a success.
be $17.385 billion (summing $8.691 billion from the 10-
year average with $8.594 billion from emergency-
What Happens After the Adjustment Ends?
designated disaster relief).
The allowable adjustment mechanism ends with the
expiration of the BCA discretionary budget caps in
How Has the Adjustment Been Used?
FY2021. Congress may consider extending this mechanism,
Of the more than $104 billion in discretionary spending
but such an action would require legislative action.
covered by the disaster relief allowable adjustment, 93%
has gone to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) as part of
Should the Calculation Use Different Data?
the appropriations process.
Accounting for federal spending on disasters with precision
is difficult due to a lack of data. If Congress seeks to link a
As Figure 2 shows, aside from the DRF (funded through
future adjustment more closely to the actual costs of major
DHS), the disaster relief designation has been applied to
disasters, it may require more authoritative agency
appropriations for five other federal government
reporting on disaster-related spending.
departments with roles in disaster response and recovery.
For More Information
Three appropriations to the Department of Agriculture have
received funding with the disaster relief designation: the
For more information on the DRF and the history of U.S.
Emergency Conservation Program; the Emergency Forest
disaster relief, see CRS Report R45484, The Disaster Relief
Restoration Program; and the Emergency Watershed
Fund: Overview and Issues, by William L. Painter.
Protection Program. The Department of Defense funding
listed includes three separate accounts in the U.S. Army
William L. Painter, Specialist in Homeland Security and
Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program. Other recipients
Appropriations
include Economic Development Assistance programs at the
IF10720
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Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
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