“Who Says It’s a Disaster?”: Podcast Companion

“Who Says It’s a Disaster?”: Podcast Companion

INSIGHTi

“Who Says It’s a Disaster?”: Podcast
Companion
December 19, 2023
This Insight accompanies the CRS podcast episode “Who Says It’s a Disaster?” and includes background
information on the issues discussed on the podcast.
Four Families of Disaster Declarations
1. Stafford Act
2. Small Business Administration
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture
4. Department of Commerce
Note: Overlapping declarations for a single incident are common.
Stafford Act
• 42 U.S.C. §§5121 et seq.
• Presidential authorities delegated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)
• 44 C.F.R. Part 206
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
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Table 1. Stafford Act Declarations
Fire Management
Assistance Grants

(FMAGs)
Emergency
Major Disaster
Purpose
Federal support for
Federal assistance for affected
Federal assistance for
governments for mitigation,
communities to save lives and
affected communities to
management, and control of
protect property and public
alleviate the damage, loss,
wildfires that risk becoming
health and safety, or to lessen
hardship, or suffering caused
major disasters.
or avert the threat of a
by a natural catastrophe or
catastrophe anywhere in the
any flood, fire or explosion
United States.
when local capacity is
overwhelmed.
Authorities
42 U.S.C. §5187
42 U.S.C. §§5191-5193
42 U.S.C. §§5170-5189h
44 C.F.R. §204
Requestor
Governor, or tribal
Governor, or tribal executive;
Governor, or tribal
executive (required)
President unilaterally for cases
executive (required)
of “primary federal
responsibility”
Format
Phone call, fol owed by
Written; can be made prior to
Written (with preliminary
supporting documentation
an incident
damage assessment)
Decisionmaker
FEMA Regional
President (with FEMA
President (with FEMA
Administrators
recommendation)
recommendation)
Potential
Reimburses costs for certain Specific aid made available is
Declaration specifies aid
Assistance
equipment and supplies,
spelled out by jurisdiction in the
made available by
labor costs, travel, pre-
declaration, and varies by
jurisdiction, and varies by
positioning, emergency
incident.
incident.
work, temporary repairs to
Potential assistance is limited:
Potential assistance includes
firefighting damage,
Public Assistance (PA): debris
the ful range of activities
mobilization and
removal; emergency protective
under the Public Assistance
demobilization.
measures
and Individual Assistance
Makes states eligible for the
Individual Assistance (IA):
programs as well as Hazard
Hazard Mitigation Grant
Individuals and Households
Mitigation Grant Program
Program Post Fire program.
Program; Crisis Counseling
assistance.
Provision of IA is “extremely
rare,” according to FEMA.
Note: For more information, see CRS Report WMR10001, CRS Guide to Federal Emergency Management.
FY2023 Funding
Stafford Act relief is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).
Annual Appropriations: $19,945,000,000 (unused prior-year budget authority does not expire)
Supplemental Appropriations: $21,200,000,000
Obligations:
• FMAGs: $133,000,000
• Emergencies: $94,000,000
• Major Disasters: $37,673,000,000

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Small Business Administration (SBA)
Eligibility for disaster loans can be triggered by a Stafford Act major disaster declaration or by the SBA
Administrator under the Small Business Act.
Under Stafford:
• Entities in declared counties for which PA and IA have been authorized and adjacent
contiguous counties are eligible for SBA home and business disaster loans.
• In counties with declarations that only allow PA, only eligible non-profits may receive
SBA disaster loans.
Under the Small Business Act:
• At the request of the governor or tribal executive, the SBA Administrator can issue a
declaration to make disaster loans available.
• Minimum threshold is in regulations: at least 25 homes and businesses sustain uninsured
losses of 40% or more in any county or other smaller political subdivision.
FY2023 Funding
Annual Appropriations: $179,000,000 (largely administrative costs; like the DRF, its budget authority
does not expire)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Under Stafford:
• Entities in counties with major disaster declarations and adjacent counties are eligible for
USDA emergency farm loans to cover production and physical losses.
Under Secretarial Authority:
• The Secretary of Agriculture can designate disasters without a request to address
livestock, crop, and infrastructure losses.
• A request for a disaster designation must be made within three months of the event, and
the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) collects the required loss information.
Drought designations:
Expedited secretarial designations are based on drought conditions; no request is required.
Information comes from the U.S. Drought Monitor—a collaboration between USDA, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that produces
a weekly report on the duration and severity of drought conditions nationwide.
To qualify, during a county’s grazing period, a county must experience either:
• 8 weeks of continuous severe drought (D2), or
• extreme drought (D3) or exceptional drought (D4) for any length of time.

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Note: Most USDA assistance for agricultural losses is triggered directly by losses or qualifying events—
not a disaster declaration.
FY2023 Funding
USDA disaster relief is funded through a mix of discretionary appropriations (mostly supplemental) and
mandatory funding.
Supplemental Appropriations: $3,741,715,000.
Mandatory Funding: Fiscal year-end information on permanent disaster assistance programs is
not yet available.
U.S. Department of Commerce / National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Key Terms
Fishery Resource Disaster (biological term): a sudden, unexpected, large decrease in fish stock biomass,
or other change that results in significant loss of access to that fishery resource.
Commercial Fishery Failure (economic term): occurs when revenues from commerce in the fishery
decrease due to a fishery resource disaster, such that the decrease causes fishers to suffer economic
hardship.
Authorities, Processes, and Assistance
NOAA provides fisheries disaster assistance under authorities through the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSA; P.L. 109-479, as amended).
The MSA was recently amended by the Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-
328), which reformed and codified several NOAA policies.
The Secretary of Commerce determines whether a fisheries disaster has occurred, on the basis of a request
from a governor, tribal executive, or similar official, or on their own initiative. The determination is made
based on 12-month revenue loss thresholds specified in the MSA for a fishery resource disaster.
• Losses greater than 80% over a 12-month timeframe may result in a positive
determination.
• Losses between 35% and 80% are evaluated to determine whether economic impacts
were severe enough, while losses less than 35% are not eligible for that determination.
• Determinations are not automatic. Overfishing and other factors can result in no
determination being made.
FY2023 Funding
Annual Appropriations: $300,000 (administrative costs).
Supplemental Appropriations: $300,000,000 (disaster assistance).

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For More Information:
• CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on Responding to and Recovering from
Major Disasters and Emergencies
• CRS Report R47631, Federal Disaster Assistance for Businesses: Summaries and Policy
Options
• CRS In Focus IF10565, Federal Disaster Assistance for Agriculture
Music: Inspirational City, by Denys Kyshchuk, as carried on freemusicarchive.org, under the terms of its
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

Author Information

William L. Painter, Coordinator
Anthony R. Marshak
Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy

Diane P. Horn
Megan Stubbs
Specialist in Flood Insurance and Emergency
Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural
Management
Resources Policy

Erica A. Lee
Elizabeth M. Webster
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Recovery
Recovery

Bruce R. Lindsay

Specialist in American National Government

Disclaimer
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Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
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