According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2017 was "a historic year of weather and climate disasters" for the United States:
In total, the U.S. was impacted by 16 separate billion-dollar disaster events tying 2011 for the record number of billion-dollar disasters for an entire calendar year....
More notable than the high frequency of these events is the cumulative cost, which exceeds $300 billion in 2017— a new U.S. annual record . 2017 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations

		Enacted 2017 Hurricane Season Supplemental Appropriations

Congress has passed three supplemental appropriations bills in response to Administration requests made in September, October, and November 2017 in the wake of these incidents. For details on program operations and funding, see the CRS experts list included at the end of the report. Issues in Disaster Relief Appropriations

The series of supplemental appropriations requested and provided in the wake of 2017's hurricanes and wildfires are the latest exercise of the congressional role of exercising "the power of the purse" to provide relief to state and local governments overwhelmed by disaster response and recovery needs, fund certain relief for individuals and small businesses, and repair damage to federal facilities. Congress also often asks questions about how quickly relief and recovery funding is made available, and how it can ensure that the funding provided is not spent in wasteful or fraudulent endeavors. The BCA defined "disaster relief" as federal government assistance provided pursuant to a major disaster declared under the Stafford Act.
According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2017 was "a historic year of weather and climate disasters" for the United States. A combination of deadly hurricanes and wildfires were among the 57 major disasters declared under the Stafford Act in 2017. The series of supplemental appropriations requested and provided in the wake of 2017's hurricanes and wildfires are the latest exercise of one congressional role in disaster situations—to exercise "the power of the purse" to provide relief to state and local governments overwhelmed by disaster response and recovery needs, fund certain relief for individuals and small businesses, and repair damage to federal facilities.
Three supplemental appropriations bills have been enacted in response to Administration requests made in September, October, and November 2017 in the wake of these incidents, providing $120 billion in budget authority and canceling $16 billion in debt held by the National Flood Insurance Fund. This report provides a detailed breakdown of the requested and enacted supplemental funding in each of these measures, and provides a contact listing for CRS experts on the funded relief and recovery programs.
As Congress considers supplemental appropriations in response to disasters and chooses how to proceed, it faces a variety of issues, including the appropriate application of budget discipline when disaster relief is requested from the federal government, the appropriate breadth and promptness of the federal investment, and how to ensure that the funding provided is not spent on wasteful or fraudulent endeavors. This report also briefly explores those issues.