Disaster Relief Fund State of Play: In Brief (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 12, 2024 |
| Report Number |
R47676 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
William L. Painter |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is one of the most-tracked single accounts funded by Congress
each year. It is the primary source of funding for the federal government’s domestic general
disaster relief programs.
The DRF receives appropriations in excess of the annually requested level through annual and
supplemental appropriations on a frequent basis. Even so, FEMA has projected that the
unobligated balance available to pay the costs associated with major disaster declarations would
be inadequate from the beginning of the fiscal year. This occurred both in FY2023 and in
FY2024.
On August 7, 2024, FEMA announced the implementation of immediate needs funding (INF)
restrictions, slowing obligations for long-term recovery and mitigation projects in favor of
preserving resources for response and recovery activities.
The last time these restrictions were implemented was on August 29, 2023. FEMA had, from the
beginning of FY2023, projected a shortfall in funding for major disaster costs. Delaying more
than $8 billion of long-term recovery and mitigation obligations prevented depletion of the DRF
before then end of the fiscal year. After the DRF received interim budget authority for FY2024,
and a supplemental appropriation of $16 billion,
the INF restrictions were lifted on October 2,
2023. Three weeks later, the Biden Administration requested $9 billion in supplemental
appropriations for the DRF, to cover another anticipated shortfall, caused in part by catastrophic
disaster activity and the shift of delayed project costs into the next fiscal year. It would also
restore a $2 billion reserve intended to pay immediate response costs from an otherwise
unanticipated large incident.
The Administration’s request was not addressed before the enactment of FY2024 annual
appropriations in March 2024. Once the annual level of appropriations was set for the fiscal year,
FEMA reported a projected shortfall of nearly $7.4 billion for the DRF major disasters
subaccount, with the subaccount being depleted in August 2024. While the size of the estimated
end-of-year shortfall has declined slightly to $6.77 billion as of July 31, disaster activity remains
unpredictable and additional large and recent disasters, such as Hurricane Debby, are not included
in the projections.
This report summarizes
• what the DRF is used for, and how its structure reflects that;
• how it is funded;
• its recent funding history; and
• why it remains reliant on supplemental appropriations even when its budget
request is met or exceeded, as was the case in FY2023.
More detailed history and policy discussion of the DRF is included in CRS Report R45484, The
Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues.
