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Legistlative Notice: H.R. 1 – Vehicle for Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013

December 14, 2012

Noteworthy

  • Floor Situation: The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 was released by the Senate Committee on Appropriations on December 12, 2012. The Senate is expected to consider it as an amendment to H.R. 1 during the week of December 17.
  • Background: Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. in late October 2012. On December 7, the Obama Administration requested $60.4 billion in supplemental appropriations.
  • Executive Summary: The Senate bill includes $60.4 billion, just $1.251 million below the Administration request. CBO reports that both the President’s request and the Senate bill would spend nearly two-thirds of their total amount in fiscal year 2015 and later years. Of the funding provided by the bill, $5.379 billion is considered disaster funding under the Budget Control Act. The remainder, $55.028 billion, is designated as emergency spending. The Administration requested $12.97 billion in mitigation activities that are not typically designated as an emergency. The bill repurposes some of these funds to other activities, but retains a substantial amount for mitigation. A summary from the Senate Appropriations Committee is available here.

Bill Provisions

Chapter 1

Agriculture

The Senate bill includes $224 million for programs under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Subcommittee, equal to the Administration request.

Farm Service Agency, Emergency Conservation Program

Senate bill: $25.1 million. The Senate bill fully funds the Administration’s request and includes an additional $10.1 million.

Administration request: $15 million to rehabilitate farmland damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Farm Service Agency, Emergency Forest Restoration Program

Senate bill: $58.9 million. The Senate bill fully funds the Administration’s request and includes an additional $35.9 million.

Administration request: $23 million to clear debris, implement emergency conservation efforts, and plant trees in an effort to restore and enhance non-industrial forestland damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Natural Resources Conservation Service, Emergency Watershed Protection Program

Senate bill: $125 million, $54.9 million below the Administration request. The Senate bill does not include mitigation funding.

Administration request: $180 million, including $30 million for flood mitigation by cleaning stream channels, stabilizing stream banks, and repairing water control structures. $150 million was requested for mitigation of future flood risk, including purchase of floodplain easements.

Food and Nutrition Service, Commodity Assistance Program

Senate bill: $15 million, $9 million above the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $6 million to provide one month of food for food banks and soup kitchens for individuals displaced by Hurricane Sandy

Chapter 2

Commerce

The Senate bill includes $482 million for programs at the Department of Commerce, $11 million under the Administration request.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Operations Research and Facilities

Senate bill: $373 million, $20 million below the Administration request. $223 million will be used for repairs, evaluations, mapping, and damage assessments. $150 million will be used for fishery disaster relief.

Administration request: $393 million, including $360 million for mitigation purposes that the Administration cannot specify to stabilize and restore ecosystems, assess risks, provide technical assistance, and improve forecast and modeling; $13 million to repair weather and ocean observing equipment and to repair damaged facilities; and $20 million to evaluate storm impacts, conduct mapping/charting missions, conduct debris assessments, and provide technical assistance.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Procurement, Acquisition and Construction

Senate bill: $109 million; $62 million for repairs to NOAA facilities and aircraft, and improvements to weather forecasting equipment; $47 million for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) to help state and local governments acquire land for restoration purposes.

Administration request: $100 million for CELCP mitigation by helping state and local governments acquire land to improve “coastal resiliency.” This program was eliminated in the fiscal year 2013 budget request.

Justice

The Senate bill includes $15.25 million for programs at the Department of Justice, equal to the Administration request.

General Administration, Office of Inspector General

Senate bill: $20,000, equal to the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $20,000 to repair and replace vehicles, furniture and equipment.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $4 million, equal to the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $4 million to replace vehicles, furniture, and equipment.

Drug Enforcement Administration, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $1 million, equal to the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $1 million to replace over 15 vehicles and communications equipment.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $230,000, equal to the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $230,000 to replace three vehicles and repair or replace communication lines and furniture.

Federal Prison System, Buildings and Facilities

Senate bill: $10 million, equal to the Administration’s request.

Administration request: $10 million to repair federal prisons damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Construction and Environmental Compliance and Restoration

Senate bill: $15 million, $11 million greater than the Administration request.

Administration request: $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Legal Services Corporation

Payment to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC)

Senate bill: $1 million, equal to the Administration’s request. The bill language limits the use of these funds only to resources necessary to provide storm-related services to LSC clients.

Administration request: $1 million for LSC.

Chapter 3

Department of Defense

Chapter 3 includes $88.3 million for the Department of Defense, $1.2 million less than the Administration request. Defense funding is also included in Chapter 4 (civil works) and Chapter 9 (military construction).

Operation and Maintenance, Army

Senate bill: $5.4 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $5.4 million for facility repair and debris removal.

Operation and Maintenance, Navy

Senate bill: $40 million, $1.2 million less than the Administration request.

Administration request: $41.2 million for facility repair, equipment repair, and debris removal.

Operation and Maintenance, Air Force

Senate bill: $8.5 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $8.5 million for facility repair, equipment repair, and debris removal.

Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard

Senate bill: $3.2 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $3.2 million for facility repair, equipment repair, and debris removal.

Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard

Senate bill: $5.8 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $5.8 million for facility and equipment repair.

Procurement of Ammunition, Army

Senate bill: $1.3 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $1.3 million to repair facilities at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.

Revolving and Management Funds, Working Capital Fund, Navy

Senate bill: $24.2 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $24.2 million for facility repair, equipment repair, debris removal, and repair to the hull of the USNS Arctic.

Chapter 4

Department of Defense – Army Corps of Engineers

This chapter includes $5.35 billion for the Army Corps, equal to the Administration request.

Civil Works, Investigations

Senate bill: $50 million, $20 million above the Administration request. Of the funds provided, $29.5 million is for studies of flood and storm damage resulting from Hurricane Sandy, $20 million is for an inter-agency planning process as requested by the Administration, and $500,000 is to evaluate the effectiveness of Army Corps projects in areas impacted by Sandy.

Administration request: $30 million for mitigation, $20 million of which will be used for an inter-agency planning process to create innovative solutions to reduce future flood risk. The remaining $10 million would be used to fund a study originally authorized in 2007 that would report on national vulnerability to flooding and recommend improvements to reduce flood damage in the future.

Civil Works, Construction

Senate bill: $3.5 billion, $368 million less than the Administration request. $2.9 billion is to reduce flood risk and flood costs in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. $51 million is to expedite projects in areas impacted by Sandy. $9 million is to repair in-progress projects as requested by the Administration. The bill increases the federal cost share for projects funded with this appropriation to 90 percent except for costs associated with land rights-of-way, easements, relocations and disposal areas.

Administration request: $9 million for repairs to in-progress projects and $3.8 billion for mitigation projects that would reduce future flood risk.

Civil Works, Operation and Maintenance

Senate bill: $821 million, $78 million less than the Administration request.

Administration request: $899 million for repairs to completed projects that are maintained by the Army Corps, including emergency dredging.

Civil Works, Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies

Senate bill: $1 billion, $416 million over the Administration request. Of the $1 billion, $430 million will be used to restore projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The bill states that this $1 billion can be spent without regard to the maximum authorized cost for Army Corps projects.

Administration request: $592 million for disaster response, repairs to federal Civil Works projects maintained by non-federal entities and certain non-federal civil works projects.

Civil Works, Expenses

Senate bill: $10 million for expenses incurred in overseeing emergency response.

Administration request: No request.

Chapter 5

Independent Agencies

General Services Administration

Real Property Activities, Federal Buildings Fund

Senate bill: $7 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $7 million for repairs and equipment replacement in federal facilities in New York and New Jersey.

Small Business Administration

Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $40 million, $10 million less than the Administration request (however, this $10 million is included under another SBA account, so the total amount to the SBA is equal to the Administration request).

Administration request: $50 million, $20 million of which will be for state and regional initiatives to assist long-term economic development in regions impacted by Hurricane Sandy. $10 million is for administrative expenses in the SBA’s response to Sandy, and another $20 million is for local SBA partners to provide technical assistance to small business owners impacted by Sandy.

Office of the Inspector General

Senate bill: $5 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $5 million to audit and investigate the SBA’s supplemental spending.

Disaster Loans Program Account

Senate bill: $760 million, $10 million more than the Administration request.

Administration request: $750 million, $500 million of which will be used as the subsidy cost for $4.5 billion in SBA loans. $250 million is for administrative expenses for servicing the loans.

  • Section 5501 fulfills the Administration’s request to increase the maximum surety bond limit from $2 million to $5 million under the Surety Bond Guarantees Revolving Fund.
  • Section 5502 amends the Small Business Act to ensure that small business owners do not have to put their primary residence up as collateral for an SBA loan if they have other assets with value at least equal to the amount of the loan.

Chapter 6

Homeland Security

This chapter includes $21.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, equal to the Administration request.

Customs and Border Protection, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $1.7 million, $735,000 less than the Administration request.

Administration request: $2.4 million to replace vehicles and mobile x-ray machines at ports of entry.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $855,000, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $855,000 to replace vehicles.

Coast Guard

Senate bill: $274.2 million, the total amount requested, is provided in “Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements” and allows the transfer of funds to other Coast Guard appropriations subject to notification.

Administration request: $66.8 million in the “Operating Expenses” account, and $207.4 million in the “Acquisition, Construction and Improvements” account for recovery and reconstitution costs for damage to Coast Guard facilities, assets, systems, equipment and vessels resulting from Hurricane Sandy.

Secret Service, Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $300,000, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $300,000 to replace vehicles and communications equipment.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Disaster Relief Fund

Senate bill: $11.48 billion, $12.2 million less than the Administration request.

Administration request: $11.5 billion to FEMA recovery efforts, including aid to disaster victims, repairs to public infrastructure, and hazard mitigation.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program Account

Senate bill: $300 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $300 million in direct loans to local governments to compensate them for lost tax revenue.

Science and Technology, Research, Development, Acquisition and Operations

Senate bill: $3.25 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $3.25 million for repairs to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, Systems Acquisition

Senate bill: $3.9 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $3.9 million to replace radiological detector panel systems at New York and New Jersey ports of entry.

  • Section 5601 fulfills the Administration’s request for $9.7 billion of additional borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program. Current borrowing is capped at $20.725 billion.
  • Section 5602 allows FEMA to give greater weight to special populations such as those who are low-income, elderly, or unemployed when considering declaring a disaster under the Stafford Act.
  • Section 5603 allows certain compliance costs to be counted as eligible costs for major disasters declared on or after August 27, 2011.
  • Section 5604 permits FEMA to recommend to the President an increase in the federal cost share for certain projects to 90 percent. FEMA cost shares start at 75 percent.
  • Section 5605 begins a pilot program for the relocation of state facilities damaged in recent natural disasters.
  • Section 5606 allows a local community to construct a levee on land purchased with Hazard Mitigation Grant Program dollars.
  • Section 5607 requires the cancellation of the balances of certain loans made to local governments under the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005.
  • Section 5608 contains rules for Inspector General review of FEMA decisions with regard to the Disaster Relief Fund.
  • Section 5609 is the text of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2012, which amends the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 e.t. seq.) to provide reforms for Hurricane Sandy and future disasters.
    • The reforms to FEMA are modeled after those enacted in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and are designed to reduce impediments to re-building after a disaster by streamlining executive approval procedures.
    • It also allows for alternatives for contracting services, requires increased transparency, and removes administrative hurdles for approval of small projects.

Chapter 7

Interior

This chapter includes $629 million for the Department of the Interior, $200 million lower than the Administration request.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Construction

Senate bill: $78 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $78 million for repairs to national wildlife refuges “from Florida to Maine.”

Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Management

Senate bill: No appropriation, thus this is $400 million below the Administration request.

Administration request: $400 million for mitigation of future coastal flooding by improving natural systems or by “acquiring and converting land that cannot be redeveloped.”

National Park Service, Historic Preservation Fund

Senate bill: $50 million.

Administration request: No request.

National Park Service, Construction

Senate bill: $348 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $348 million for repairs to NPS projects in parks including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Parks in Florida, North Carolina, and the D.C. region will also receive repair funding.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Oil Spill Research

Senate bill: $3 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $3 million for facility repairs.

Departmental Operations, Office of the Secretary

Senate bill: $150 million to assist state, tribal and local governments and to restore and protect parks and other public assets.

Administration request: No request.

Environmental Protection Agency

This chapter includes $817.7 million for the EPA, $200 million over the Administration request.

Environmental Programs and Management

Senate bill: $725,000, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $725,000, of which $600,000 is to assess water quality impacts in New York and New Jersey. $125,000 is to repair damage at the EPA’s Narragansett and Edison laboratories.

Hazardous Substance Superfund

Senate bill: $2 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $2 million to re-stabilize Superfund sites in New Jersey.

Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund

Senate bill: $5 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $5 million for “suspected or actual” leaks from underground storage tanks.

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

Senate bill: $810 million, $200 million over the Administration request. $700 million will be used for grants under the Clean Water State Revolving Funds and $110 million will be used for grants under the Safe Water Drinking Act. All funds are limited to states affected by Hurricane Sandy. The EPA may use $1 million of the funds for administrative expenses.

Administration request: $610 million for mitigation projects. $600 million would be used for drinking water and wastewater mitigation projects, while $10 million would be used to fund ecosystem enhancements such as wetland restoration.

Agriculture

Forest Service, Capital Improvement and Maintenance

Senate bill: $4.4 million, fully funding the Administration request.

Administration request: $4.4 million for repairs at the Grey Towers National Historic Site and the White Mountain and Monongahela National Forests.

Smithsonian Institution

Salaries and Expenses

Senate bill: $2 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $2 million for roof repairs at D.C. region Smithsonian buildings.

Chapter 8

Department of Labor

Employment and Training Administration, National Emergency Grants

Senate bill: $50 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $50 million for employment programs to assist dislocated workers.

Department of Health and Human Services

This chapter includes $800 million for HHS, equal to the Administration request.

Administration for Children and Families, Social Services Block Grant

Senate bill: $500 million, equal to the Administration request. Adds a 10% set-aside for health care provider payments.

Administration request: $500 million for social service needs, such as child day care and child protective services. Specific appropriations language is requested to allow funds to be used for health care services and construction and to target funds to states affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Administration for Children and Families, Children and Families Services Programs (Head Start)

Senate bill: $100 million, equal to the Administration request. The bill includes a provision prohibiting funds from being added to Head Start base grant amount.

Administration request: $100 million to repair, renovate, or reconstruct 265 Head Start centers damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and provide temporary Head Start services including transportation.

Office of the Secretary, Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund

Senate bill: $200 million, equal to the Administration request. The bill includes transfer authority requested by the Administration.

Administration request: $200 million for NIH grantee research programs, CDC public health surveillance and environmental health monitoring, and SAMHSA mental health services. The Administration also requests transfer authority for the Secretary for this $200 million.

Social Security Administration

Limitation on Administrative Expenses

Senate bill: $2 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $2 million to replace damaged equipment and to decontaminate paper records.

Chapter 9

Department of Defense – Military Construction

Military Construction, Army National Guard

Senate bill: $24.2 million, $35,000 below the Administration request.

Administration request: $24.235 million to repair facilities.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

This chapter includes $235.6 million for the VA, which is $31,000 below the Administration request.

Veterans Health Administration, Medical Services

Senate bill: $21 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $21 million to replace medical equipment.

Veterans Health Administration, Medical Facilities

Senate bill: $6 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $6 million to repair/replace VA facilities in the New York area.

Departmental Administration, Construction

Senate bill: $207 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $207 million for repair to the VA Manhattan Medical Center.

Departmental Administration, Information Technology Systems

Senate bill: $500,000 which is $31,000 below the Administration’s request

Administration request: $531,000 to replace IT technology in the VA Manhattan Medical Center.

Departmental Administration, National Cemetery Administration

Senate bill: $1.1 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $1.1 million to repair damage at three national cemeteries in New York and New Jersey.

Chapter 10

Department of Transportation

This chapter includes $12 billion for the Department of Transportation, equal to the Administration request.

Federal Aviation Administration, Facilities and Equipment

Senate bill: $30 million, equal to the Administration request.

Administration request: $30 million to repair equipment such as air traffic control tower roofs, radars, and navigational aids.

Federal Highway Administration, Emergency Relief Program

Senate bill: $921 million, $613 million more than the Administration request.

Administration request: $308 million for repairs to Federal-Aid highways.

Federal Railroad Administration, Operating Subsidy Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation

Senate bill: $336 million for Amtrak, $304 million more than the Administration request.

Administration request: $32 million to Amtrak to repair infrastructure in the event that Amtrak’s private insurance does not cover this damage. According to the Administration, Amtrak’s insurance coverage is still being assessed.

Federal Transit Administration, Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program

Senate bill: $10.783 billion, $917 million less than the Administration request. The bill includes $5.38 billion for mitigation. The bill also raises the federal cost share for projects funded under this appropriation to 90 percent.  The FTA cost share in MAP-21 is 80 percent.

Administration request: $11.7 billion total: $6.2 billion for repairs and restoration of public transportation infrastructure located in the entire New York City metro area and other impacted regions; and $5.5 billion for mitigation to strengthen transportation systems’ ability to withstand high winds and flooding.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Community Planning and Development, Community Development Fund

Senate bill: $17 billion, equal to the Administration request. $2 billion of the funds are for mitigation activities. As the Administration requested, legislative language is included that requires grantees to submit recovery plans as a condition of funds and gives the Secretary broad authority to waive program requirements.

Administration request: $17 billion, including $2 billion to fund mitigation projects. The remaining $15 billion to state and local governments for a wide variety of purposes, including uninsured or underinsured housing repair needs, assistance to small businesses for their repair needs if they are uninsured/underinsured and/or ineligible for SBA assistance, and state or local cost shares for other federal programs. Funds may be used to restore a small business’ revenue if that business faces a long-term disruption.

General Provisions (Chapter 10)

  • Section 51001 provides language requested by the Administration that holds harmless public housing authorities that may have future Section 8 funding cut due to declining leasing activity resulting from Hurricane Sandy.
  • Section 51002 establishes requirements for DOT and HUD to report to the Committees on Appropriations.
  • Section 51003 requires DOT and HUD to notify the Committees on Appropriations at least three days before a grant is made exceeding $1 million.

Chapter 11

General Provisions applicable to entire supplemental

  • Section 52001 states that all amounts appropriated are in addition to other amounts already appropriated for the applicable fiscal year.
  • Section 52002 requires the President to report to Congress on emergency designations.
  • Section 52003 establishes controls to ensure spending is responsible. The section requires grantees to spend funds within 24 months unless exceptional circumstances apply.
  • Section 52004 requires planning on flood risks for future extreme weather, sea level rise, and coastal flooding.
  • Section 52005 requires that reconstruction work performed with supplemental funds attempt to minimize future power outages.
  • Section 52006 ensures that references to “this Act” throughout different titles are referring to the appropriate titles. The supplemental may be cited as the “Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013” and the entire bill may be cited as the “Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013.”

Administration Position

A Statement of Administration Policy is not available. The Administration requested a supplemental appropriations bill on December 7 that this bill agrees with in terms of size and most line items.

Cost

According to CBO, the bill’s $60.407 billion in budget authority would result in the following outlays:

Fiscal Year 2013: $8.974 billion

Fiscal Year 2014: $12.66 billion

Fiscal Year 2015: $11.589 billion

Fiscal Year 2016: $9.317 billion

Fiscal Year 2017: $7.554 billion

Fiscal Year 2018: $3.99 billion

Fiscal Year 2019: $2.231 billion

Fiscal Year 2020: $1.386 billion

Fiscal Year 2021: $0.923 billion

Fiscal Year 2022: $0.494 billion

Fiscal Years 2013 – 2022: $59.118 billion

Possible Amendments

There is currently no unanimous consent agreement regarding consideration of amendments.