Hurricanes Harvey and Irma Federal Relief Funding Approved

President Trump signs the bill that gives $15.25 billion in emergency aid for disaster relief. Photo courtesy of Andrea Hanks of The White House.

On Friday, September 8, President Trump signed legislation providing $15.25 billion to help with the recovery from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Of these funds, $7.4 billion are for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), $7.4 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and $450 million for the Small Business Administration (SBA). This relief was also tied to raising the federal government’s debt ceiling until December 8, and providing funds to operate the federal government until that time as well.

The FEMA money will go to the Disaster Relief Fund. This fund supports the repair of infrastructure, mitigating hazards, fire management assistance for wildfires and most importantly, financial assistance to eligible survivors. The HUD money will go to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Program. This programs pays for disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure, and housing and economic revitalization. The SBA money will go to its disaster loan program, which provides low-interest loans to help small businesses and qualified homeowners rebuild. The FEMA and SBA funds are targeted specifically for Hurricane Harvey relief, while the HUD CDBG funds can be used for any area with a disaster declaration in 2017, which means they will be available for immediate use in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma as well.

This funding will have an immediate impact on survivors of both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The FEMA funds support families and individuals with emergency payments, fund emergency operations that rescue people and help with immediate shelter needs, such as providing alternative housing. The CDBG funds are available for state and local governments to pay for immediate infrastructure repairs, such as restoring power and water, and to repair housing damaged during the disaster. There is a lot of local government discretion in how these funds are spent, with the idea that they can better target local needs. The SBA funds will be available quickly as communities assess their recovery needs.

The National Guard arrives in Houston, TX to help residents in need. Photo courtesy of the Texas Army National Guard.

This relief bill is just the start. Hurricane Harvey recovery may cost more than $100 billion, and early estimates for Hurricane Irma recovery are in a similar range. While some members of Congress have discussed passing a large recovery package all at once, Congress will most likely fund the recovery efforts in installments because of the magnitude of the rebuilding. This is how Katrina relief was approved.

The legislation was the unusual product of a deal between congressional Democratic leaders and the president, bypassing Republican leadership. Republican opponents of the deal viewed a long-term deal raising the debt ceiling as leverage to enact cuts in domestic programs. Supporters wanted to ensure that disaster relief would not be slowed by political clashes over annual spending bills. Extending the debt ceiling and funding for government operations for three months removes the threat of a government shutdown on October 1 or a default on the U.S. debt. The Senate passed its relief bill by a vote of 80-17, with all opposed being Republicans. The House bill passed by 316-90, with all opposed being Republicans.

It was very interesting that the Senate added the funds for CDBG, since this program has been a frequent target of Republican budget cuts. Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget has said and the President’s “Skinny Budget” says the CDBG program “has not demonstrated results.” President Trump proposed to eliminate the program for FY2018, with the House FY2018 appropriation bill proposing a $100 million cut to the program and the Senate proposing level funding. Many small towns are especially dependent on CDBG for housing and public infrastructure projects, and the program’s role in disaster recovery may provide more support in Congress to keep this program.

We’ll continue to follow disaster recovery funding legislation and report on it here on our blog.