Order Code RS22239
Updated August 22, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for
Hurricane Katrina Relief
Keith Bea
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
In response to the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, the 109th
Congress enacted two FY2005 emergency supplemental appropriations bills (P.L. 109-
61 and P.L. 109-62), which together provided $62.3 billion for emergency response and
recovery needs. The FY2006 appropriations legislation for the Department of Defense
(P.L. 109-148) reallocated some of those funds primarily to pay for the restoration of
damaged federal facilities, largely through a government-wide rescission and also
through the reallocation of $23.4 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund administered by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In addition, Congress agreed to
transfer $712 million from FEMA to the Small Business Administration for disaster
loans (P.L. 109-174). In FY2006, Congress agreed to an administration request for
further funding; $19.3 billion was appropriated in supplemental legislation (P.L. 109-
234) for recovery assistance.
This CRS report summarizes federal disaster assistance funding legislation in the
109th Congress and presents some information on federal expenditures and obligations
for disaster recovery activities. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Overview of Disaster Appropriations
In response to Administration requests after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast
on August 29, 2005, the 109th Congress enacted two FY2005 emergency supplemental
measures (P.L. 109-61 and P.L. 109-62), which appropriated $62.3 billion for immediate
relief and response needs. Both measures were enacted one day after the requests were
received — P.L. 109-61 on September 2, 2005, and P.L. 109-62 on September 8, 2005.
In addition, Congress approved a third emergency supplemental funding request, this one
for FY2006, that includes $19.3 billion for disaster recovery assistance not only for
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The Library of Congress
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Hurricane Katrina-related damages but for other disasters as well.1
Table 1 provides
summary information on these appropriations measures.
Table 1. FY2005-2006 Supplemental Disaster Appropriations
(millions of dollars, designated as emergency spending)
FY2005
FY2006
Department
P.L. 109-61 P.L. 109-62 P.L. 109-234
Agriculture
—
—
* $152
Commerce
$150
Defense -Military
$500
$1,400
$1,488
Defense-Civil/Corps of Engineers
—
$400
$3,686
Education and related agencies
$285
Health and Human Services
$12
Homeland Security
$10,000
$50,000
$6,662
Housing and Urban Development
$5,200
Interior
$256
Justice
$9
Labor
$16
Transportation
** $702
Veterans Affairs
$586
Agencies
Armed Forces Retirement Home
$176
Corporation for National and Community Service
$10
Environmental Protection Agency
$13
General Services Admin.
$37
Historically Black Colleges Capital Financing
$15
National Aeronautics and Space Admin.
$35
Small Business Admin.
$542
Total
$10,500
$51,800
$19,300
Grand total
$81,600
Source: CRS calculations from amounts presented in P.L. 109-61 and 109-62.
* Does not include authority for $500 in direct assistance to be drawn from the Commodity Credit
Corporation, authorized in Title III of P.L. 109-234.
** Department of Transportation funds derived from Highway Trust Fund rescission.
1 The FY2006 supplemental request is available at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
amendments/supplemental1_2_16_06.pdf], visited Aug. 22, 2006. For overview information on
P.L. 109-234 see CRS Report RL33298,
FY2006 Supplemental Appropriations: Iraq and Other
International Activities; Additional Katrina Hurricane Relief, coordinated by Paul Irwin and
Larry Nowels.
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Reallocation
Complications associated with rebuilding and recovery in the Gulf Coast states have
slowed reconstruction normally funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).2 On
October 28, 2005, the President submitted to Congress a request to reallocate $17.1
billion previously appropriated “to undertake response and recovery activities in the
affected regions that cannot be funded by FEMA...,” primarily for the repair and
replacement of federal facilities.3 The President also submitted that same day a budget
amendment that sought the rescission of “$2.3 billion from lower-priority federal
programs and excess funds.”4 Through the FY2006 Department of Defense (DOD)
appropriations legislation (P.L. 109-148), Congress agreed, in modified form, to the
President’s request.5
Table 2 presents summary information on the funding reallocated
to federal agencies, by agency or appropriation accounts (as presented in the legislation).
Table 3 sets forth information on the rescissions and offsets to be used to fund the
reallocations summarized in
Table 2.
Table 2. Disaster Funding Reallocations, P.L. 109-148
(thousands of dollars)
Department, agency, or appropriation account
Amount reallocated
Department of Agriculture
$1,183,100
Department of Defense (includes military construction)
$5,753,700
Department of Defense-Civil
$2,899,549
Department of Homeland Security
$285,100
Department of the Interior
$70,300
Department of Labor
$125,000
Department of Health and Human Services
$640,000
Department of Education
$1,600,000
Department of Veterans Affairs
$658,436
Department of Justice
$229,000
Department of Commerce
$54,600
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$349,800
2 Among other factors, environmental challenges and debris clearance constitute some, but not
the only, obstacles to recovery. See CRS Report RL33115,
Cleanup After Hurricane Katrina:
Environmental Considerations, by Robert Esworthy, Linda-Jo Schierow, Claudia Copeland,
Linda Luther, and Jonathan L. Ramseur.
3 U.S. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, “Estimate No.13,”
at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments/reallocation_package_10_28_05.pdf],
visited Aug. 22, 2006.
4 U.S. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, “Estimate No.14,”
at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments/rescission_package_10_28_05.pdf],
visited Aug. 22, 2006.
5 P.L. 109-148, Division B, Title I, “Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address
Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.” For more information on the reallocation legislation, see
CRS Report RL33197,
Reallocation of Hurricane Katrina Emergency Appropriations: Defense
and Other Issues, coordinated by Amy Belasco.
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Department, agency, or appropriation account
Amount reallocated
Small Business Administration a
$446,000
Department of Transportation
$2,798,100
Department of Housing and Urban Development
$11,890,300
The Judiciary
$18,000
General Services Administration
$38,000
Environmental Protection Agency
$8,000
Total
$29,046,985
Source: Calculation by the author of appropriations presented in Division B, Title I, conference report to
accompany H.R. 2863, H.Rept. 109-359.
a. In addition to the funds reallocated to the Small Business Administration (SBA) through Division B,
Congress and the President agreed to an additional transfer of $712 million from the DRF to the SBA
for disaster loan obligation authority (P.L. 109-174).
Table 3. Rescissions and Offsets, P.L. 109-148
(thousands of dollars)
Department or agency
Amount rescinded or offset
Department of Agriculture
$66,100
Department of Defense
$80,000
Export-Import Bank
$25,000
Department of Homeland Security
$23,669,833
Department of the Interior
$3,500
Department of Commerce
$7,000
Department of State
$30,000
Department of Transportation
$1,143,000
Government-wide a
$9,045,998
Total
$34,070,431
Source: CRS calculation of rescissions and offsets presented in Division B, Title III, conference report to
accompany H.R. 2863, H.Rept. 109-359.
a. Data for the 1% rescission obtained from: Letter from Joshua Bolten, Director, Office of Management
and Budget to Senator Thad Cochran, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, Feb. 8, 2006,
available at [http://www.cq.com/flatfiles/editorialFiles/budgetTracker/reference/docs/
20060213omboneperc.pdf], visited Feb. 15, 2006.
Federal Disaster Expenditure Information
As a general practice, data on federal expenditures and obligations for disaster relief
and recovery are not presented in a comprehensive or systematic fashion.6 Each
department or agency uses a variety of reporting formats in appropriations justifications.
6 U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Budget, Task Force on Budget Process,
Budgetary
Treatment of Emergencies, hearing, 105th Cong., 2nd sess., June 23, 1998 (Washington: GPO,
1998).
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However, considerably more information is available on federal expenditures for
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma than for disasters in previous years, in large part
because of the mandate in P.L. 109-62 that requires specified agency heads to provide
data on a weekly basis on the allocation and obligation of the funds appropriated in that
statute.7 To the extent known, this was the first time such a reporting requirement has
been attached to DRF supplemental funding. The FY2006 appropriations legislation for
DHS approved weeks after enactment of the FY2005 supplementals augmented the DHS
reporting requirements by mandating the inclusion of five specific types of information
in the weekly reports.8
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Funds appropriated to the DRF
provide assistance to individuals, families, state and local governments, and certain
nonprofit organizations, as authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act).9 Funds appropriated to the DRF remain
available until expended for all catastrophes that are the subject of presidential disaster
declarations.10 According to the August 16, 2006, report submitted by FEMA, over $31.3
billion had been allocated as of that date from the DRF for Katrina-related assistance.11
Army Corps of Engineers.12 The Corps receives funding through FEMA for its
public works and engineering mission assignments (e.g., debris removal and demolition)
under the National Response Plan. In addition, Congress appropriates funds directly to
the Corps for some emergency response and repair activities. Through the supplemental
appropriations and reallocation legislation in response to the 2005 hurricanes, Congress
appropriated $3.3 billion directly to the Army Corps of Engineers and directed that the
funds be used for designated purposes. Of the $3.3 billion, $0.98 billion is for repairing
existing hurricane protection, flood control, and navigation infrastructure; and $1.59
billion is for restoring the existing hurricane protection infrastructure to its design level
of protection (protection from a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane). The agency also is
to use $0.54 billion for constructing authorized hurricane protection projects in Louisiana
that were yet to be completed when the 2005 hurricanes struck and $70 million for
investing in natural disaster preparedness and mitigation activities. Also, $55 million is
for various Corps studies, including investigations into the restoration of Louisiana’s
7 P.L. 109-62, 119 Stat. 1991. According to the Senate Budget Committee, the “enacted
hurricane-related relief,” including tax, loan, and grant assistance, totals over $103 billion. See
Senate Budget Committee Releases Current Tally of Hurricane-Related Spending,
[http://budget.senate.gov/republican/pressarchive/2006-08-22Katrinatally.pdf], Aug. 29, 2006.
8 P.L. 109-90, 119 Stat. 2090.
9 For information on the Stafford Act, see CRS Report RL33053,
Federal Stafford Act Disaster
Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding, by Keith Bea.
10 Lists of major disaster and emergency declarations issued by the President pursuant to the
Stafford Act are presented at “Federally Declared Disasters by Calendar Year,” available at
[http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema], visited Aug. 22, 2006.
11 Pursuant to requirements set out in P.L. 109-61 and P.L. 109-62, FEMA and the Army Corps
of Engineers must provide reports to Congress on funding associated with the hurricanes of 2005.
See weekly reports at [http://appropriations.house.gov/_files/HurricaneKatrinaLink.htm], visited
Aug. 22, 2006.
12 Section authored by Nicole Carter, Resources, Science, and Industry Division, CRS.
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coastal wetlands, increasing the level of hurricane protection for coastal Louisiana, and
addressing Mississippi’s water resource needs.13 These studies may conclude with
recommendations for additional investment of federal resources in the affected Gulf
States.
Defense Department Funding.14 In the first two Katrina supplementals
(P.L.109-61 and P.L.109-62), DOD received the $1.9 billion requested for emergency
evacuation of military and civilian personnel and debris removal and emergency repairs
at defense facilities affected by the hurricanes. In the case of the reallocation request,
Congress reduced DOD’s requested level to $5.8 billion from $6.6 billion by levying a
15% across-the-board cut to certain programs, but not Defense Health and Military
Construction and Family Housing.15 The reallocation provisions in P.L. 109-148 set
DOD funding at the following levels:
! $471 million in military personnel funding for reservists activated to aid
hurricane victims as well as to relocate military personnel and their
dependents from affected bases;
! $1.6 billion in operation and maintenance funding for cleanup, repair,
and replacement of military facilities, equipment and infrastructure,
evacuation and relocation of DOD civilians and their dependents, and
environmental assessments of bases;
! $1.4 billion in military construction and family housing funding to
rebuild facilities and housing on bases; and
! $2.0 billion for military procurement, including $1.7 billion to pay
estimated higher shipbuilding costs for the 11 ships under construction
at Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, MS, and Avondale shipyard in New
Orleans.16
Citing the need for “special oversight” of these shipbuilding funds dedicated to cover
property damage, cleanup, idle payroll, and business disruption (that may also be covered
by shipbuilders’ insurance), the appropriators added report language requiring that the
Navy or Army, as applicable, submit a report to the Appropriations Committees
“certifying” that the costs were related to the hurricanes and would not be paid for by
FEMA or the shipbuilders’ insurers.17
13 The $55 million includes $18 million from the Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-103) as well as the supplemental and reallocated appropriations.
14 Section authored by Amy Belasco, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, CRS.
15 See Sec. 205, P.L. 109-148, which proportionately reduces all appropriations in Division B,
Chapter 2, Defense by $737.089 million, except for Defense Health; a 15% cut to each account.
Military construction and family housing funded in Chapter 7 were not affected by this cut.
16 For more details, see CRS Report RL33197,
Reallocation of Hurricane Katrina Emergency
Appropriaions: Defense and Other Issues, coordinated by Amy Belasco.
17 U.S. House, Conference Committees 2005,
Making Appropriations for the Department of
Defense for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2006, and for Other Purposes, conference
report to accompany H.R. 2863, H.Rept. 109-359, 109th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO,
2005), p. 496.