Congressional Research Service Issues Insight White Paper on 'Who Says It's a Disaster?' Podcast Companion

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12290) entitled "'Who Says It's a Disaster?': Podcast Companion" on Dec. 19, 2023.

The white paper was written by homeland security and appropriations specialist William L. Painter, natural resources policy analyst Anthony R. Marshak, flood insurance and emergency management specialist Diane P. Horn, agricultural conservation and natural resources policy specialist Megan Stubbs, American national government specialist Bruce R. Lindsay and emergency management and disaster recovery analysts Erica A. Lee and Elizabeth M. Webster:

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"Who Says It's a Disaster?": Podcast Companion

This Insight accompanies the CRS podcast episode "Who Says It's a Disaster?" and includes background information on the issues discussed on the podcast.

Four Families of Disaster Declarations

1. Stafford Act

2. Small Business Administration

3. U.S. Department of Agriculture

4. Department of Commerce

Note: Overlapping declarations for a single incident are common.

Stafford Act

* 42 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.5121 et seq.

* Presidential authorities delegated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

* 44 C.F.R. Part 206

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Table 1. Stafford Act Declarations

Note: For more information, see CRS Report WMR10001, CRS Guide to Federal Emergency Management.

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FY2023 Funding

Stafford Act relief is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).

Annual Appropriations: $19,945,000,000 (unused prior-year budget authority does not expire)

Supplemental Appropriations: $21,200,000,000 Obligations:

* FMAGs: $133,000,000

* Emergencies: $94,000,000

* Major Disasters: $37,673,000,000

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Eligibility for disaster loans can be triggered by a Stafford Act major disaster declaration or by the SBA Administrator under the Small Business Act.

Under Stafford:

* Entities in declared counties for which PA and IA have been authorized and adjacent contiguous counties are eligible for SBA home and business disaster loans.

* In counties with declarations that only allow PA, only eligible non-profits may receive SBA disaster loans.

Under the Small Business Act:

* At the request of the governor or tribal executive, the SBA Administrator can issue a declaration to make disaster loans available.

* Minimum threshold is in regulations: at least 25 homes and businesses sustain uninsured losses of 40% or more in any county or other smaller political subdivision.

FY2023 Funding

Annual Appropriations: $179,000,000 (largely administrative costs; like the DRF, its budget authority does not expire)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Stafford:

* Entities in counties with major disaster declarations and adjacent counties are eligible for USDA emergency farm loans to cover production and physical losses.

Under Secretarial Authority:

* The Secretary of Agriculture can designate disasters without a request to address livestock, crop, and infrastructure losses.

* A request for a disaster designation must be made within three months of the event, and the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) collects the required loss information.

Drought designations:

Expedited secretarial designations are based on drought conditions; no request is required.

Information comes from the U.S. Drought Monitor - a collaboration between USDA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that produces a weekly report on the duration and severity of drought conditions nationwide.

To qualify, during a county's grazing period, a county must experience either:

* 8 weeks of continuous severe drought (D2), or

* extreme drought (D3) or exceptional drought (D4) for any length of time.

Note: Most USDA assistance for agricultural losses is triggered directly by losses or qualifying events-- not a disaster declaration.

FY2023 Funding

USDA disaster relief is funded through a mix of discretionary appropriations (mostly supplemental) and mandatory funding.

Supplemental Appropriations: $3,741,715,000.

Mandatory Funding: Fiscal year-end information on permanent disaster assistance programs is not yet available.

U.S. Department of Commerce / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Key Terms

Fishery Resource Disaster (biological term): a sudden, unexpected, large decrease in fish stock biomass, or other change that results in significant loss of access to that fishery resource.

Commercial Fishery Failure (economic term): occurs when revenues from commerce in the fishery decrease due to a fishery resource disaster, such that the decrease causes fishers to suffer economic hardship.

Authorities, Processes, and Assistance NOAA provides fisheries disaster assistance under authorities through the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA; P.L. 109-479, as amended).

The MSA was recently amended by the Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act, 2022 (P.L. 117328), which reformed and codified several NOAA policies.

The Secretary of Commerce determines whether a fisheries disaster has occurred, on the basis of a request from a governor, tribal executive, or similar official, or on their own initiative. The determination is made based on 12-month revenue loss thresholds specified in the MSA for a fishery resource disaster.

* Losses greater than 80% over a 12-month timeframe may result in a positive determination.

* Losses between 35% and 80% are evaluated to determine whether economic impacts were severe enough, while losses less than 35% are not eligible for that determination.

* Determinations are not automatic. Overfishing and other factors can result in no determination being made.

FY2023 Funding

Annual Appropriations: $300,000 (administrative costs).

Supplemental Appropriations: $300,000,000 (disaster assistance).

For More Information:

* CRS Report R41981, Congressional Primer on Responding to and Recovering from Major Disasters and Emergencies

* CRS Report R47631, Federal Disaster Assistance for Businesses: Summaries and Policy Options

* CRS In Focus IF10565, Federal Disaster Assistance for Agriculture

Music: Inspirational City, by Denys Kyshchuk, as carried on freemusicarchive.org, under the terms of its Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

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The white paper is posted at: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12290