William L. Painter, Coordinator
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
Jared T. Brown
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States. The President has declared major disasters for 11 states plus the District of Columbia under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq). The Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages from Hurricane Sandy, as well as to mitigate the damage from future disasters in the impacted region.
Appropriations legislation generally originates in the House of Representatives. However, the Senate chose to act on the Administration’s request first by amending an existing piece of Housepassed appropriations legislation—H.R. 1. The Senate amendment included $60.4 billion in disaster aid and mitigation funding, as well as several legislative provisions reforming federal disaster programs. This passed the Senate December 28, 2012, by a vote of 62-32. The House did not act on the legislation before the end of the 112th Congress.
When the 113th Congress convened, it quickly passed H.R. 41 which provided part of the Administration’s request for relief—a $9.7 billion increase in borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program. H.R. 152, which included another portion of the Administration’s supplemental request, was introduced on January 4, and an amendment was filed that same day that included further portions. The House Appropriations Committee describes H.R. 152 as including $17 billion “to meet immediate and critical needs,” and the amendment as including $33 billion “funding for longer-term recovery efforts and infrastructure improvements that will help prevent damage caused by future disasters.”
This summary report analyzes the Administration’s request, the House proposals as presented on the House Rules Committee website, and the Senate position as reflected in Senate-amended H.R. 1 from the 112th Congress. The newly constituted Senate has not taken up legislation establishing its position on the supplemental request.
For details concerning the legislative provisions requested by the Administration, as well as those included in Senate-amended H.R. 1, see CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief: Summary and Considerations for Congress.
Date of Report: January 10, 2013
Number of Pages: 21
Order Number: R42892
Price: $29.95
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