	Overview and Legislative History

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States. President Obama had, as of January 31, 2013, declared major disasters for 12 states plus the District of Columbia under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. The Obama Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages from Hurricane Sandy, as well as to mitigate the damage from future disasters in the impacted region. 3338 , entitled the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, was introduced as an amendment to H.R. This legislation would have provided $60.41 billion in supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance, as well as a suite of legislative provisions that included reforms to disaster assistance authorities. The Senate made several changes to the amendment (which was passed by voice vote), and then passed the supplemental appropriations legislation on December 28, 2012, by a vote of 62-32. The House did not act on the legislation before the end of the 112 th Congress. 113th Congress

On January 4, 2013, the House and Senate both passed H.R. 41 , legislation providing an additional $9.7 billion in borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which had been a part of the Obama Administration's request. 113-1 on January 6, 2013. H.R. The House Appropriations Committee described H.R. The House took up the legislation on January 15, 2013. The rule for consideration of the bill combined H.R. 219 , a House-passed package of legislative provisions reforming disaster assistance programs, with the appropriations legislation upon engrossment of H.R. 152 , and sent them to the Senate as a single package. The Senate passed H.R. 152 unchanged on January 28, 2013 by a vote of 62-36, and it was signed into law as P.L. 113-2 the next day. A breakdown of the Administration's request that illuminates the Administration's separate request for mitigation funding is included in CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief . 152 as it passed both House and Senate and was ultimately signed into law. Note that all funding levels in the enacted column show the resources provided by P.L. 113-2 : those resources were ultimately reduced by the sequestration required on March 1, 2013, under the provisions of the BCA, as amended. The amount and implementation of those reductions was unclear at the time P.L. 113-2 was enacted. This was the first time under the BCA that in the wake of a major disaster more relief funding was sought than could be accommodated under the allowable adjustment. Senate-passed H.R. P.L. The Obama Administration's request, Senate-passed H.R. 1 , and P.L. However, an amendment was offered in the House to offset $17 billion of disaster assistance from H.R. A Senate amendment to offset the entire cost of H.R. P.L. Comparing Past or Future Disasters to Hurricane Sandy15

As Congress debated the provision of supplemental funding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, some commentators compared the scope and magnitude of Hurricane Sandy to past disasters.
On January 29, 2013, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, a $50.5 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy, was enacted as P.L. 113-2.
In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the District of Columbia. The Obama Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages from Hurricane Sandy, as well as to mitigate the damage from future disasters in the impacted region.
On January 15, 2013, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013. This bill included $50.5 billion in disaster assistance. This was the third piece of disaster legislation considered by the House during the first month of the 113th Congress. H.R. 41, which passed the House and Senate on January 4, 2013 and was signed into law two days later as P.L. 113-1, provided $9.7 billion in additional borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program. On January 14, the House passed H.R. 219, legislation making changes to disaster assistance programs. The rule for consideration of H.R. 152 combined the text of H.R. 219 with H.R. 152 upon its engrossment, to send them to the Senate as a single package.
The Senate passed H.R. 152 unchanged on January 28, 2013 by a vote of 62-36, and it was signed into law as P.L. 113-2 the next day.
H.R. 152 was not the initial legislative response to the storm. In the 112th Congress, the Senate passed a separate package of disaster assistance totaling $60.4 billion, as well as several legislative provisions reforming federal disaster programs. While appropriations legislation generally originates in the House of Representatives, the Senate chose to act on the Obama Administration's request first by amending an existing piece of House-passed appropriations legislation—H.R. 1. This passed the Senate December 28, 2012, by a vote of 62-32. The House did not act on the legislation before the end of the 112th Congress.
This summary report analyzes the Obama Administration's request, the initial Senate position from the 112th Congress, and H.R. 152, the legislative package developed in the House that was ultimately enacted as P.L. 113-2.
This report is primarily for reference purposes. The material in it is intended to provide context to help the reader better understand how the disaster relief bill that passed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy moved through Congress at what funding it ultimately contained. The report does not track obligation of funds or discuss ongoing recovery efforts.
Enacted funding levels in the report represent funding prior to the sequestration of March 2013, as how sequestration would be implemented was not clear at the time P.L. 113-2 was enacted.
For details concerning the legislative provisions requested by the Obama Administration, as well as those included in Senate-amended H.R. 1, see CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief. Division B of P.L. 113-2, which amended several disaster assistance programs managed by FEMA, is discussed separately in CRS Report R42991, Analysis of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013.