{
  "id": "R42352",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R42352",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 450220,
      "date": "2016-02-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:02:56.144474",
      "title": "An Examination of Federal Disaster Relief Under the Budget Control Act",
      "summary": "On August 2, 2011, the President signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), which included a number of budget-controlling mechanisms. As part of the legislation, caps were placed on discretionary spending for the next ten years, beginning with FY2012. If these caps are exceeded, the BCA provides for an automatic rescission\u2014known as sequestration\u2014to take place across most discretionary budget accounts to reduce the effective level of spending to the level of the cap. Additionally, special accommodations were made in the BCA to address the unpredictable nature of disaster assistance while attempting to impose discipline on the amount spent by the federal government on disasters. The BCA created an allowable adjustment specifically to cover disaster relief (defined as the costs of major disasters under the Stafford Act), separate from emergency appropriations. \nThe limit established by the BCA on adjustments to the caps for disaster relief is based on the average funding provided for disaster relief over the previous ten years, excluding the highest and lowest annual amounts, calculated by the Office of Management and Budget. If Congress spends less than that average on disaster relief in a given fiscal year, the caps can be further adjusted upward by the unspent amount in the following year. The existence of this \u201callowable adjustment\u201d for disaster relief has influenced the way that the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is structured, allowing a larger overall funding stream to be provided in annual appropriations without it counting against the bill\u2019s allocation of discretionary spending. \nOn October 29, 2013, Hurricane Sandy came ashore, causing loss of life and billions of dollars in damage. The Administration proposed a relief package that exceeded the allowable adjustment for disaster relief under the BCA. The Administration requested, and Congress for the most part agreed, to designate the supplemental funding provided in the wake of Hurricane Sandy as emergency spending outside of the limited disaster relief adjustment made available under the BCA. The history of the legislative response to this disaster demonstrated that while the BCA included an accommodation to provide dedicated additional funding for many disasters, catastrophic events such as Sandy remain a challenge to those developing long-term budgeting strategies.\nThis challenge could be compounded by the fact that by design, the methodology used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to calculate the allowable adjustment could not capture the full range of disaster relief spending, and that the structure of the formula for calculating the average provides smaller allowable adjustments in future years. The sizeable initial disaster relief expenditures for Hurricane Katrina and the other 2005 storms will begin to lose relevance in calculating the allowable adjustment for disaster assistance for FY2016, and will no longer impact calculations for the allowable adjustment in FY2017. Once FY2005 and FY2006 rotate out, there will be a corresponding drop in the allowable disaster assistance adjustment. \nIn the face of these challenges, Congress could choose to continue to use emergency funding to meet unbudgeted disaster relief needs, or change the allowable adjustment mechanism. Congress may also consider changing the formula used for calculating the allowable adjustment. Another potential option would be to take other steps to mitigate the impact of federal disaster relief spending on the budget, including altering the underlying laws, if Congress believes further legislative controls for federal disaster relief expenditures are a priority. \nThis report will be updated as needed.",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 2345,
          "name": "Homeland Security Appropriations"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 2432,
          "name": "Disaster Recovery, Mitigation, and Funding"
        }
      ]
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc267798/",
      "id": "R42352_2013Nov08",
      "date": "2013-11-08",
      "retrieved": "2013-12-03T12:16:12",
      "title": "An Examination of Federal Disaster Relief Under the Budget Control Act",
      "summary": "This report addresses traditional funding for major disaster declarations, workings of the President's Disaster Relief Fund, a basic overview of how disaster assistance is appropriated, what factors affect how much the federal government spends on disasters, how disaster relief is impacted by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, and what the policy implications are for disaster assistance under the constraints of the BCA, and the increasing number of disaster declarations and both the possible causes and likely cost implications of a greater number of declarations.",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Fiscal policy",
          "name": "Fiscal policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Budgets",
          "name": "Budgets"
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        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government spending",
          "name": "Government spending"
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        {
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          "id": "Emergency management",
          "name": "Emergency management"
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          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Disasters",
          "name": "Disasters"
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        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Disaster relief",
          "name": "Disaster relief"
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87213/",
      "id": "R42352_2012Feb10",
      "date": "2012-02-10",
      "retrieved": "2012-07-03T07:51:21",
      "title": "An Examination of Federal Disaster Relief Under the Budget Control Act",
      "summary": "This report addresses traditional funding for major disaster declarations, workings of the President's Disaster Relief Fund, a basic overview of how disaster assistance is appropriated, what factors affect how much the federal government spends on disasters, how disaster relief is impacted by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, and what the policy implications are for disaster assistance under the constraints of the BCA, and the increasing number of disaster declarations and both the possible causes and likely cost implications of a greater number of declarations.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Fiscal policy",
          "name": "Fiscal policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Budgets",
          "name": "Budgets"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government spending",
          "name": "Government spending"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Emergency management",
          "name": "Emergency management"
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          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Disasters",
          "name": "Disasters"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Disaster relief",
          "name": "Disaster relief"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Appropriations"
  ]
}