Figure 1: GDB Economic Activity Index Source: Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico
Section II: Federal Policy for Disaster Relief
T
he Stafford Act (PL 93-288) establishes a process for federal assistance to states and territories, including Puerto Rico, in case of a major disaster. When the President of the United States approved a major disaster declaration for Puerto Rico, several sources of funding became available to both assist the government of the island and the individuals affected by the disaster. No agency is solely responsible. Instead, a government-wide plan exists to help coordinate and provide assistance.4 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with various agencies, oversees many of the federal disaster recovery efforts and assistance programs. Many of these federal assistance programs, overseen by FEMA but in coordination with various agencies, fall under three broad categories: Public Assistance. This is FEMA’s largest funded program. Administered through grants to the local government, it helps communities pay for debris removal and repairs to public infrastructure, such as public buildings, roads, bridges, and utilities.
Individual Assistance. This is direct aid for
individuals affected by the disaster. It includes things such as housing for displaced people, grants to provide for needs not covered by insurance, crisis counseling, and disaster unemployment assistance. 4
6
See “National Response Plan” and “National Disaster Recovery Framework.”
Hazard Mitigation. This grant program funds
measures to improve resiliency and lessen the effects of a future disaster. Mitigation funding is a fraction of the amount spent on the other two categories.
A fourth category, Operations and Support, encompasses direct costs incurred or reimbursed by FEMA to other agencies for disaster relief operational costs.
Funding for FEMA activities is separated into two categories: base funding and major declarations. Base funding is the smaller of the two and is used to fund ordinary FEMA operations and routine events. Funding for major declarations is much more substantial; for FY2017, that appropriation consisted of $6.7 billion. That amount is based on previous disaster relief spending from the past decade. However, regular appropriations are rarely enough to fund a major disaster. When dealing with major disasters, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is regularly given additional funding by Congress through supplemental appropriations. Supplemental appropriations enacted to address major disasters in 2017 added $26 billion to the Disaster Relief Fund alone. These funds were also disbursed to those also affected by other natural disaster such as Florida, Texas, and California.
Federal Funding and Congressional Appropriations The federal government separates funding for its various functions in a process they refer to as appropriations. An appropriation is a bill that sets aside money to specific departments, agencies, and programs of the federal
