	Introduction

Nearly all major roads and bridges in the United States are part of the federal-aid highway system and are therefore eligible for assistance from the Emergency Relief Program (ER) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This report describes FHWA assistance for the repair and reconstruction of highways and bridges damaged by disasters (such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012) or catastrophic failures (such as the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge in Washington State in 2013). FHWA's Emergency Relief (ER) Program

The ER program provides funds for the repair and reconstruction of roads on the federal-aid highway system that have suffered serious damage as a result of either (1) a natural disaster over a wide area, such as a flood, hurricane, tidal wave, earthquake, tornado, severe storm, or landslide; or (2) a catastrophic failure from any external cause (for example, the collapse of a bridge that is struck by a barge). Although ER is a federal program, the decision to seek financial assistance under the program is made by the state departments of transportation, not by the federal government. As state departments of transportation normally deal with FHWA division office staff on many matters, they typically have working relationships that facilitate a quick coordinated response to disasters. These funds are not subject to the annual obligation limitation placed on most highway funding by appropriators, which means the entire $100 million is available each year. Because the costs of road repair and reconstruction following many disasters exceed the $100 million annual authorization, the FAST Act authorizes the appropriation of additional funds on a "such sums as may be necessary" basis, generally accomplished in either annual or emergency supplemental appropriations legislation. The intent of ER assistance is to repair and restore highway facilities to conditions comparable to those before the disaster, not to increase capacity or fix non-disaster-related deficiencies. Betterments may, in some cases, require NEPA review. Its report found that the "scope of eligible activities funded by the ER program has expanded in recent years with congressional or FHWA waivers of eligibility or changes in definitions," and also that FHWA was not recapturing all unused program funds allocated to states, so that states with immediate disaster needs had to wait for funding, while states with no current disaster needs retained their allocations. More recently, a 2013 GAO report found that FHWA officials in some states were reluctant to recoup funds from inactive ER highway projects over concerns about "harming their partnership with the state." The program does not have a permanent annual authorization. All funds are authorized on a "such sums as necessary" basis and require an appropriation to be made available. Hurricane Sandy Public Transportation ER Funding

The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 provided $10.9 billion for FTA's Emergency Relief Program for recovery, relief, and resilience projects and activities in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy. ER Program Appropriations
Major roads and bridges are part of the federal-aid highway system and are therefore eligible for assistance under the Emergency Relief Program (ER) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Following a natural disaster (such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which damaged highways in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina), or catastrophic failure (such as the 2013 collapse of the Skagit River Bridge in Washington State) ER funds are made available for both emergency repairs and restoration of federal-aid highway facilities to conditions comparable to those before the disaster.
State departments of transportation typically have close ongoing relationships with FHWA's division offices in each state, which facilitate a quick, coordinated response to disasters. Although ER is a federal program, the decision to seek ER funding is made by the state, not by the federal government.
The program is funded by a permanent annual authorization of $100 million from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) along with general fund appropriations provided by Congress on a "such sums as necessary" basis. A number of issues have arisen in recent years:
The scope of eligible activities funded by ER has grown via legislative or FHWA waiving of eligibility requirements or changes in definitions. As a result, in some cases the ER program has funded activities that have gone beyond repairing or restoring highways to predisaster condition. The $100 million annual authorization has been exceeded nearly every fiscal year, requiring appropriations that can lead to delay in funding permanent repairs. Congress has directed that in some cases ER fully fund highway projects, without the normal 10% or 20% state matching share, increasing the federal outlay for disaster highway assistance on these projects and constraining the funds available for other ER requests. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that FHWA's partnership with the states was sometimes so close that some division offices were reluctant to enforce compliance with the requirements of the ER program. FHWA has taken certain corrective actions which Congress might find of oversight interest.
The 112th Congress authorized an emergency relief program for public transportation systems. However, this program does not have a permanent funding source, and funds are to be provided only by appropriation. The 2013 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-2) made available appropriations of $10.9 billion (reduced by $545 million by sequestration) for the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program. There have been no further appropriations since 2013.