HSA@20 Episode Companion: Emergency Management Post-PKEMRA

HSA@20 Episode Companion: Emergency Management Post-PKEMRA

INSIGHTi

HSA@20 Episode Companion: Emergency
Management Post-PKEMRA
Updated November 13, 2023
This Insight accompanies the “Emergency Management Post-PKEMRA” episode of The Homeland
Security Act at 20 podcast series and includes background information on the issues discussed during the
podcast.
For additional introductory background, see:
• CRS Report WMR10001, CRS Guide to Federal Emergency Management, by Lauren R.
Stienstra et al.
• CRS Video WVB00571, Introduction to Federal Emergency Management, by Diane P.
Horn et al.
• CRS In Focus IF11298, A Brief Overview of FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program, by
Elizabeth M. Webster.
• CRS In Focus IF11529, A Brief Overview of FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, by
Erica A. Lee.
• CRS Report R47646, Stafford Act Cost Shares: History, Trends, Analysis, by Erica A.
Lee.
• CRS Insight IN12233, HSA@20 Episode Companion: Evolution of Emergency
Management.
Key Legislation
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act
P.L. 109-295, Title VI
Podcast-referenced changes to Stafford Act authorities:
• Defined FEMA’s primary mission and specific activities to be accomplished in support of
its primary mission (Sec. 611; 6 U.S.C. §313(b));
• Established FEMA as a distinct element within DHS (6 U.S.C. §316);
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• Designated the FEMA Administrator as the principal presidential advisor on domestic
emergency management (6 U.S.C. §313(c)(4));
• Established a Disability Coordinator within FEMA to “ensure that the needs of
individuals with disabilities are being properly addressed in emergency preparedness and
disaster relief” (Sec. 611; 6 U.S.C. §321b);
• Required the development of a national preparedness goal and national preparedness
system (Sec. 642; 6 U.S.C. §742); and
• Prohibited discrimination in the provision of disaster assistance based on disability or
English proficiency (Sec. 689a; 42 U.S.C. §5151).
Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (SRIA)
P.L. 113-2, Division B.
Podcast-referenced changes to Stafford Act authorities:
• Authorized federally recognized tribes to request and receive their own declarations of
emergency or major disaster under the Stafford Act—separate from a state’s declaration
(Sec. 1110; 42 U.S.C. §5170(b));
• Created a new set of “Alternative Procedures” to conduct project work under FEMA’s
Public Assistance (PA) program (Sec. 1102; 42 U.S.C. §5189f);
• Added new forms of assistance to the Individuals and Households Program (IHP)—a
form of Individual Assistance (IA), including:
• allowing FEMA to lease and repair rental units for use as temporary housing for
disaster survivors (Sec. 1103; 42 U.S.C. §5174(c)); and
• allowing FEMA to provide financial assistance for child care to disaster survivors
(Sec. 1108; 42 U.S.C. §5174(e)(1)).
Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA)
P.L. 115-254, Division D.
Podcast-referenced changes to Stafford Act authorities:
• Increased support for mitigation efforts, including by
• authorizing a new source of funding for pre-disaster mitigation (Sec. 1234; 42 U.S.C.
§5133) – FEMA would establish a new program to award the funding, known as
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC);
• providing funding for building code adoption and enforcement (Sec. 1206(b); 42
U.S.C. §5172(a)(2));
• authorizing Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding for Fire Management
Assistance Grant (FMAG) declarations (Sec. 1204; 42 U.S.C. §5187(d)); and
• authorizing the use of Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation and HMGP assistance for
activities that reduce earthquake risk and build early warning capability (Sec. 1233;
42 U.S.C. §5170c(g)).
• Amended FEMA’s PA program, allowing FEMA to provide PA to repair, reconstruct, or
replace eligible facilities in accordance with “the latest published editions of relevant
consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards that incorporate the latest hazard-
resistant designs” (Sec. 1235(b); 42 U.S.C. §5172(b)(3)(A)); and

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• Created separate caps for the maximum amount of financial assistance eligible
individuals and households may receive for housing assistance and for other needs (Sec.
1212; 42 U.S.C. §5174(h)).
• The maximum amount of financial assistance an individual may receive for a single
disaster is capped at $42,500 for housing assistance and $42,500 for other needs
assistance for disasters declared in FY2023 (DHS/FEMA, “Notice of Maximum
Amount of Assistance Under the Individuals and Households Program,” 88 Federal
Register 72520, October 20, 2023).
• The average IA payout since DRRA’s implementation is approximately $3,200.
• Awards vary for a variety of reasons, including type and severity of damage, local
costs, and availability of other assistance, including insurance.
Note: The purpose of FEMA disaster assistance is not to make victims “whole” after a disaster, but just to
meet some of the unmet needs in the wake of an incident. Per FEMA’s website:
FEMA’s Individual Assistance program is designed to help disaster survivors with basic, critical
needs such as a safe, sanitary, and functional place to live during recovery from a disaster. It is not
designed to make survivors whole and is not a substitute for insurance coverage. FEMA Individual
Assistance cannot duplicate other sources of assistance.
Changes to FEMA’s Overall Role
How agencies go from authority to policy:
• Laws provide the statutory authorization for action by the executive branch.
• Regulations are formal rules developed by the executive branch to clarify their
interpretation and implementation of a law.
• Guidance, either public or internal to an agency, sets forth agency policy on how to
interpret statutes and regulations.
Increasing frequency and severity of events:
• FEMA data on the frequency of disaster declarations.
• NOAA data on the frequency of severe events.
Novel applications of the Stafford Act:
• CRS Report R47048, FEMA’s Role in the COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Response,
coordinated by Erica A. Lee.
• CRS Insight IN12163, Potential Stafford Act Assistance for Migration Activity, by Erica
A. Lee and Elizabeth M. Webster.
• CRS Report R46665, Stafford Act and Selected Federal Recovery Programs for Civil
Unrest: Historical Perspectives and Policy Observations, coordinated by Bruce R.
Lindsay.
For Further Information
Katrina
• U.S. Congress, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and
Response to Hurricane Katrina, “A Failure of Initiative.”
• The White House, The Federal Responses to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned.

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• Lex Frieden, National Council on Disability, The Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
on People with Disabilities: A Look Back and Remaining Challenges, August 3, 2006.
PKEMRA
• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Actions Taken to Implement the Post-
Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, GAO-09-59R, Dec. 8, 2008.
• GAO, National Preparedness: Actions Taken by FEMA to Implement Select Provisions of
the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, GAO-14-99R, Nov. 26,
2013.
SRIA
• CRS Report R42991, Analysis of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, by Jared
T. Brown, Francis X. McCarthy, and Edward C. Liu.
DRRA
• CRS Report R45819, The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA): A Summary of
Selected Statutory Provisions.
• CRS Report R46776, The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA):
Implementation Updates for Select Provisions.
Next Episode
Domestic Violent Extremism.

Music: “Icas,” by Audiorezout, as carried on freemusicarchive.org, under the terms of its Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

Author Information

William L. Painter, Coordinator

Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations

Disclaimer
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to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
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