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
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
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
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
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