Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief
Updated July 25, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R47676

Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

Introduction
The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is one of the most-tracked single accounts funded by Congress
each year. It is the primary source of funding for the federal government’s domestic general
disaster relief programs.
The DRF receives appropriations in excess of the annually requested level through annual and
supplemental appropriations on a frequent basis. Even so, FEMA has projected that the
unobligated balance available to pay the costs associated with major disaster declarations would
be inadequate from the beginning of the fiscal year. This occurred both in FY2023 and in
FY2024.
On August 29, 2023, FEMA announced the implementation of immediate needs funding
restrictions, slowing obligations for long-term recovery and mitigation projects in favor of
retaining resources for response and recovery activities. After the DRF received interim budget
authority for FY2024, and a supplemental appropriation of $16 billion,1 that restriction was lifted
on October 2, 2023.
Three weeks later, the Biden Administration requested $9 billion in supplemental appropriations
for the DRF, to cover the anticipated shortfall and restore a $2 billion reserve to pay the
immediate response costs from an otherwise unanticipated large incident.2 This request has not
been acted upon as of the date of publication.
Even after annual appropriations for FY2024 were finalized in March 2024, FEMA reported a
projected shortfall of nearly $7.4 billion for the DRF major disasters subaccount in FY2024, with
the subaccount being depleted in August 2024, unless steps were taken.3
This report summarizes
• what the DRF is used for, and how its structure reflects that;
• how it is funded;
• its recent funding history; and
• why it remains reliant on supplemental appropriations even when its budget
request is met or exceeded, as was the case in FY2023.
More detailed history and policy discussion of the DRF is included in CRS Report R45484, The
Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues.
What Is the DRF Used For?
The DRF funds disaster activity pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, as amended (Stafford Act; 42 U.S.C. §5121 et seq.). It pays for several key
disaster response, recovery, and mitigation programs that provide assistance to communities
impacted by presidentially declared emergencies and disasters.4

1 P.L. 118-15, Division A, Sections 128 and 129.
2 Office of Management and Budget, “Technical Materials Regarding Critical Funding Needs for FY2024,” posted on
OMB website, October 25, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Funding-Request-to-Meet-
Critical-Needs.pdf, p. 4.
3 FEMA, Disaster Relief Fund: Monthly Report as of March 31, 2024, April 9, 2024, p. 4, footnote 3.
4 For more details on disaster declarations, see CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on Responding to and
Recovering from Major Disasters and Emergencies, by Elizabeth M. Webster and Bruce R. Lindsay.
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

The DRF does not fund all federal disaster assistance. Many federal agencies other than FEMA
have specific authorities and resources to support certain disaster response and recovery efforts.
However, the DRF does provide most of the federal government’s support for immediate disaster
response, through FEMA’s own capabilities, and through the mission assignment process,
whereby FEMA coordinates a government-wide response and reimburses agencies it calls into
action that do not have independent authority nor funding for disaster recovery operations.5
DRF Structure
Major Disasters Category
Since 2012, the DRF has been split into two categories. The larger of the two—the “major
disasters” category—is for costs pursuant to specifically declared major disasters. In recent years,
this category has represented more than 95% of DRF obligations.
The DRF “major disasters” category funds several different Stafford Act programs identified as
“Direct Disaster Programs”:
• Individual Assistance (IA);6
• Public Assistance (PA);7 and
• Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).8
Under the Disaster Recovery Reform Act,9 an automatic set-aside was created within the “major
disasters” category for pre-disaster mitigation grants through the Building Resilient Infrastructure
and Communities (BRIC) grant program.10
Most public discussion about depletion of the DRF is technically a discussion about depletion of
the unobligated balance of the major disasters category of funding, not including the BRIC set-
aside.
DRF Base Category
The smaller category, known as the DRF “base,” covers most other Stafford Act-related costs
including
• Pre-disaster surge activities;
• Activity pursuant to emergency declarations;
• Fire Management Assistance Grants; and

5 For details on how this process, known as “mission assignments,” works, see https://www.fema.gov/partnerships/
mission-assignments.
6 For more detail, see CRS In Focus IF11298, A Brief Overview of FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program, by
Elizabeth M. Webster.
7 For more detail, see CRS In Focus IF11529, A Brief Overview of FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, by Erica A.
Lee.
8 For more detail, see CRS Insight IN11187, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation
Assistance, by Diane P. Horn.
9 P.L. 115-254, Division D.
10 While the funding is “set aside” for BRIC, it remains available for broader use for other activities within the “major
disasters” category in the event the DRF runs low on budget authority. For more information on the BRIC program, see
CRS Insight IN11515, FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation: The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
Program, by Diane P. Horn.
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

• Disaster Readiness and Support Activities.
The reason for the bifurcation of the DRF was the implementation of special budgetary treatment
for the costs of major disasters in 2012. Under the Budget Control Act of 2011,11 a special
accommodation was made that allowed for congressionally designated appropriations for costs
incurred pursuant to Stafford Act major disaster declarations to not count against discretionary
spending limits.12 Therefore, that spending had to be specifically identified, and the distinction
between “major disasters” and the DRF “base” emerged.
Base funding for the DRF cannot be used for the costs of major disasters. Under appropriations
law, providing a specific amount for an activity in statute means other resources not specifically
designated for that activity cannot be applied to it without specific statutory direction.13
DRF Appropriations
Annual and Supplemental
The DRF receives an annual appropriation under FEMA within the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act. When that annual appropriation proves inadequate to meet Stafford
Act assistance needs, Congress has generally provided supplemental appropriations to ensure
adequate resources are available. Once the budgetary treatment of major disaster costs was
implemented in the annual appropriations process, beginning in the FY2013 cycle, DRF annual
appropriations covered a much larger proportion of actual DRF spending than before.14

11 P.L. 112-25.
12 For more detail, see CRS Report R45778, Exceptions to the Budget Control Act’s Discretionary Spending Limits, by
Megan S. Lynch; and CRS In Focus IF10720, Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment, by
William L. Painter.
13 See “Augmentation of Appropriations,” in Government Accountability Office, Principles of Appropriations Law
(aka. “the Red Book), Third Edition, Volume II, pp. 6-162 et seq., available at https://www.gao.gov/legal/
appropriations-law/red-book.
14 For the underlying analysis, see CRS Report R45484, The Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues, by William L.
Painter.
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Figure 1. DRF Appropriations History, FY1964-FY2024

Source: CRS analysis of appropriations legislation.
Notes: Totals for FY2005, FY2006, FY2013, FY2018, and FY2020-FY2024, referenced by the arrows, are beyond the scale of the main graph and are shown on the inset.
FY2013 numbers do not reflect the impact of sequestration. Supplemental data include contingent appropriations and all appropriations under the heading of “Disaster
Relief” or “Disaster Relief Fund” including the language “for an additional amount.” Reductions reflected in the Net Total data include transfers and rescissions specifically
enumerated in appropriations acts. For information on trends in the declarations that helped drive the demand for these appropriations, see CRS Report R42702,
Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2016: Trends, Analyses, and Implications for Congress, by Bruce R. Lindsay.
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As Figure 1 indicates, the DRF has relied significantly on supplemental appropriations to ensure
it has the resources to fund Stafford Act programs. Prior to the implementation of budget controls,
funding for disasters was provided as needed. With the implementation of deficit reduction efforts
in the 1980s, disaster assistance had to “compete” for a limited pool of discretionary budget
authority in the appropriations process. The use of “emergency” exceptions in supplemental
appropriations allowed Congress to fund more disaster relief outside the annual appropriations
process, “making room” for other priorities. These “emergency” designations were rarely used in
annual appropriations measures. The creation of the limited disaster relief adjustment to
discretionary budget limits in the Budget Control Act created a mechanism that allowed more of
those Stafford Act disaster-related costs to be funded in annual appropriations measures. While a
handful of other disaster-related appropriations have periodically used the disaster-related
flexibility, the DRF has exercised 95% of the available disaster relief adjustment.15
Even with this flexibility with regard to limits on discretionary spending, the annual
appropriations request for the DRF notes, and has noted for many years, that in the event of a
catastrophic incident (a disaster resulting in more than $500 million in spending from the DRF), a
supplemental appropriation would be required.16
Continuing Resolutions
If annual appropriations for the coming fiscal year are not enacted prior to the end of the current
fiscal year, Congress often passes a continuing resolution (CR) to provide temporary budget
authority so that federal government agencies can continue to operate until annual appropriations
are finalized. This temporary funding is provided at a rate for operations, which is usually based
on the prior year annual appropriation (with some adjustments or exceptions), and is usually
provided for a limited period of time. Under a CR, in most cases budget authority is gradually
apportioned to agencies (as the final level of appropriations has not been set) because spending
too large a proportion of an as-yet determined annual budget early in the fiscal year may create
challenges later on.
The DRF appropriation is atypical in that its appropriations do not expire at the end of a given
fiscal year, but are available for obligation until expended. This means that Stafford Act programs
are often somewhat protected from the effects of a lapse in appropriations because the DRF
usually has carryover balances available to continue to fund its operations. However, this is not
always the case, and several times in recent years the unobligated balance in the DRF has fallen
to levels that risked impacting disaster response operations.
Since FY2018, every continuing resolution that has funded DHS has included a provision that
allows the temporary budget authority for the DRF to “be apportioned at a rate for operations
necessary to carry out response and recovery activities under the Stafford Act.”17 This anomaly
ensures that budget authority, rather than being slowly apportioned to FEMA like a typical
continuing appropriation, would be available as needed in the event the DRF’s existing carryover
balances are spent down while the CR is in effect. The anomaly essentially allows the temporary
budget authority of the CR to act as a temporary supplemental appropriation.

15 See CRS In Focus IF10720, Calculation and Use of the Disaster Relief Allowable Adjustment, by William L. Painter.
16 See, for example, FEMA, “Disaster Relief Fund: Fiscal Year 2019 Funding Requirements,” Fiscal Year 2018 Report
to Congress, p. 4, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/disaster-relief-funding-requirements_fy-2019.pdf.
17 Most recently, P.L. 118-15, Division A, Section 128.
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

Historical DRF Funding and Obligation Levels
Over the last 10 years, the amount of budget authority appropriated to the DRF has risen
substantially, as has the amount obligated from each year.
Figure 2 shows the total appropriations for the DRF, broken down by annual and supplemental
appropriations, as well as the major disasters portion and the DRF base.
Figure 2. DRF Annual and Supplemental Appropriations, FY2015-FY2024
($thousands of nominal budget authority)

Source: CRS analysis of FEMA monthly DRF reports. Data available in the Appendix.
Notes: Information shown reflects data as shown in FEMA’s monthly reports, and do not reflect
reprogrammings, transfers, or rescissions.
Figure 3 shows the year-ending unobligated balance in the major disasters portion of the DRF,
compared to the DRF overall, as well as a similar comparison for obligations. FY2024 data
represents FEMA’s latest projection for the end of the fiscal year as of the end of June 2024, if
obligations continue as currently expected. Note the declining unobligated balances from year to
year after FY2020, while overall rates of obligation have remained high, and the anticipated
shortfall for FY2024.

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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

Figure 3. DRF Unobligated Balances and Obligations, FY2015-FY2024
(nominal $billions of budget authority, as recorded at the end of the fiscal year)

Source: CRS analysis of FEMA monthly DRF reports. Data available in the Appendix.
Notes: As “obligated” is not an end-state for budget authority, obligated funding levels rise and fall for a variety
of reasons. These figures represent snapshots in time of how things stood after closeout of the financial records
for that fiscal year, as reflected in Appendix A of the monthly reports.
When the DRF Runs Low
At times, the balance in the DRF has dropped to a point that raises concern about the availability
of adequate resources in the DRF to address current and/or impending incidents. When this
occurs, FEMA implements “Immediate Needs Funding” (INF) restrictions, which allow FEMA to
prioritize, to an extent, obligation of funds from the DRF, limiting them to “life-safety and life
sustaining efforts.”
FY2023 Case Study
On August 29, 2023, FEMA announced the implementation of INF restrictions, noting that while
FEMA “had intended to provide ten full days [sic] notice, the current disaster environment with a
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

major fire and multiple hurricanes make it necessary to implement INF immediately.”18 The
unobligated balance in the DRF was $3.4 billion that morning.
FEMA indicated that it would pause new Public Assistance (PA) and Hazard Mitigation
obligations that are not essential for lifesaving and life-sustaining activities. It further indicated
that it would continue
• Individual Assistance payments directly to survivors for critical needs and
housing;
• Public Assistance for states, tribes and territories essential for lifesaving and life-
sustaining activities;
• State management costs;
• Mission assignments of federal partners for critical response activities;
• Fire Management Assistance grants; and
• Essential ongoing disaster operations, including salaries of FEMA field staff
(Stafford Act employees).19
On October 2, 2023, after enactment of a continuing resolution20 that provided up to $19.95
billion in temporary budget authority for the DRF through November 17, 2023, and a $16 billion
supplemental appropriation ($15.50 billion for the costs of major disasters, and $500 million for
the DRF base), FEMA announced the suspension of the INF restriction.21
Other Recent Cases
Prior to 2023, the most recent example of the implementation of INF restrictions was in August
2017, when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, and Hurricane Irma was anticipated to strike U.S.
interests. FEMA initiated INF restrictions on August 28, 2017, as the unobligated balance in the
DRF fell below $2.8 billion in the middle of responses to multiple major disasters. FEMA lifted
the INF restrictions on October 2, 2017, when the DRF was replenished by a $7.4 billion
supplemental enacted on September 8, 2017,22 and by the release of additional budget authority
pursuant to a continuing resolution.23
Prior to that implementation, INF restrictions were put into place seven times: each year from
2003 through 2006, as well as each year from 2009 through 2011.24 After FY2011, when the DRF
came very close to depletion, FEMA changed the internal processes of obligation from the DRF,
to maintain unobligated balances longer over the course of regular operations.25

18 FEMA, “FEMA Advisory: FEMA Announces Implementation of Immediate Needs Funding,” Office of External
Affairs email, August 29, 2003.
19 FEMA, “Immediate Needs Funding Fact Sheet,” Office of External Affairs email attachment, August 29, 2003.
20 P.L. 118-15.
21 FEMA, “Continuing Resolution Allows FEMA to Lift Restrictions on Disaster Relief Funding,” October 3, 2023,
press release (FEMA Release Number HQ-23-205), https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20231003/continuing-
resolution-allows-fema-lift-restrictions-disaster-relief-funding.
22 P.L. 115-56, Division B.
23 P.L. 115-56, Division D, §129.
24 FEMA, “Immediate Needs Funding Fact Sheet,” Office of External Affairs email attachment, August 29, 2023.
25 This reformed approach, known as Strategic Funds Management, obligates certain recovery projects costing more
than $1 million on a rolling basis. For details, see FEMA, “Recovery Standard Operating Procedure 9570.24: Strategic
Funds Management—Implementation Procedures for the Public Assistance Program,” December 21, 2012,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_9570.24_startegic-funds-mgmt_SOP_12-21-2012.pdf.
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

FEMA indicated in recent years that BRIC mitigation funding could be redirected to help cover
the immediate response and recovery needs pursuant to major disasters once the major disasters
subaccount is otherwise depleted.26 The mitigation funding set-aside has never been actually used
in this way before.27
Why Does the DRF Run Low?
FEMA uses a combination of cost estimates from past (catastrophic and non-catastrophic)
disasters where recovery is ongoing, and a 10-year rolling average of non-catastrophic disaster
obligations to develop the budget request for the “major disasters” element of the DRF. It does
not include funding for any new catastrophic incidents, although in recent years it has included a
reserve for initial response to a “significant event.”28
The amount of time from request to enactment, the fact that new catastrophic incidents are not
included, and the reliance on past performance rather than future modeling all contribute to an
increased likelihood of annual appropriations action underfunding the DRF.
For further discussion, see CRS Report R45484, The Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues,
by William L. Painter.

26 FEMA, Disaster Relief Fund: Monthly Report as of August 31, 2023, September 11, 2023, p. 4, footnote 3.
27 According to FEMA, there was roughly $4.6 billion of available mitigation funding as of the end of June 2024.
28 In the FY2024 request, there was a $2 billion reserve for catastrophic incidents, and $1 billion for BRIC mitigation
funding.
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

Appendix. Data Tables
Table A-1. DRF Annual and Supplemental Appropriations, FY2015-FY2024
($thousands of nominal budget authority)
Annual
Supplemental
Other DRF
Other DRF
Appropriations—
Appropriations—
Annual
Supplemental
Fiscal Year
Major Disasters
Major Disasters
Appropriations
Appropriations
2013
6,400
11,488
608
0
2014
5,626
0
595
0
2015
6,438
0
595
0
2016
6,713
0
661
0
2017
6,713
7,400
615
0
2018
7,366
42,170
535
0
2019
12,000
0
258
0
2020
17,352
40,000
511
5,000
2021
17,142
52,000
0
0
2022
18,799
0
0
0
2023
19,945
5,000
0
0
2024
20,261
15,500
0
500
(Provided as of
6/30/2024)
Source: CRS analysis of FEMA monthly DRF reports.
Notes: Information shown reflects data as shown in FEMA’s monthly reports, and do not reflect
reprogrammings, transfers, or rescissions.
Table A-2. DRF Unobligated Balances and Obligations, FY2015-FY2024
(nominal $billions of budget authority, as recorded at the end of the fiscal year)
Unobligated
Balance—
Total DRF
Obligations—
Major
Unobligated
Major
Total DRF
Fiscal Year
Disasters
Balance
Disasters
Obligations
2013
6,682
8,492
10,435
11,005
2014
4,968
6,978
7,754
8,540
2015
3,133
5,317
8,545
9,120
2016
85
1,819
9,954
10,479
2017
2,966
3,356
12,562
13,207
2018
27,500
28,285
25,932
26,693
2019
28,470
28,975
12,943
13,763
2020
10,347
14,835
76,598
78,041
2021
28,327
32,364
57,870
58,911
2022
9,110
12,624
41,987
42,744
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Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief

2023
2,547
3,261
37,126
37,893
2024
-6,585
-6,055
47,397
48,217
(Projected as of
6/30/2024)
Source: CRS analysis of FEMA monthly DRF reports.
Notes: As “obligated” is not an end-state for budget authority, obligated funding levels rise and fall for a variety
of reasons. These figures represent snapshots in time of how things stood after closeout of the financial records
for that fiscal year, as reflected in Appendix A of the monthly reports.

Author Information

William L. Painter

Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations

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