Congressional Action on the FY2013 Disaster Supplemental (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 31, 2017 |
| Report Number |
R44937 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
William L. Painter, Coordinator; Jared T. Brown |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
On January 29, 2013, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, a $50.5 billion package of
disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy, was enacted as P.L. 113-2.
In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United
States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the
District of Columbia. The Obama 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.
On January 15, 2013, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 152, the Disaster Relief
Appropriations Act, 2013. This bill included $50.5 billion in disaster assistance. This was the
third piece of disaster legislation considered by the House during the first month of the 113th
Congress. H.R. 41, which passed the House and Senate on January 4, 2013 and was signed into
law two days later as P.L. 113-1, provided $9.7 billion in additional borrowing authority for the
National Flood Insurance Program. On January 14, the House passed H.R. 219, legislation
making changes to disaster assistance programs. The rule for consideration of H.R. 152 combined
the text of H.R. 219 with H.R. 152 upon its engrossment, to send them to the Senate as a single
package.
The Senate passed H.R. 152 unchanged on January 28, 2013 by a vote of 62-36, and it was signed
into law as P.L. 113-2 the next day.
H.R. 152 was not the initial legislative response to the storm. In the 112th Congress, the Senate
passed a separate package of disaster assistance totaling $60.4 billion, as well as several
legislative provisions reforming federal disaster programs. While appropriations legislation
generally originates in the House of Representatives, the Senate chose to act on the Obama
Administration’s request first by amending an existing piece of House-passed appropriations
legislation—H.R. 1. 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.
This summary report analyzes the Obama Administration’s request, the initial Senate position
from the 112th Congress, and H.R. 152, the legislative package developed in the House that was
ultimately enacted as P.L. 113-2.
This report is primarily for reference purposes. The material in it is intended to provide context
to help the reader better understand how the disaster relief bill that passed in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy moved through Congress at what funding it ultimately contained. The report
does not track obligation of funds or discuss ongoing recovery efforts.
Enacted funding levels in the report represent funding prior to the sequestration of March 2013,
as how sequestration would be implemented was not clear at the time P.L. 113-2 was enacted.
For details concerning the legislative provisions requested by the Obama Administration, as well
as those included in Senate-amended H.R. 1, see CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental
Funding for Disaster Relief. Division B of P.L. 113-2, which amended several disaster assistance
programs managed by FEMA, is discussed separately in CRS Report R42991, Analysis of the
Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013.
