	Introduction

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( P.L. But while the Katrina experience was not a "normal" or "average" disaster, it tested every form of housing assistance offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Post-Disaster Housing

In the wake of a disaster, local and state governments and charitable organizations take immediate steps to shelter families and individuals whose housing has been made uninhabitable by the disaster event. As previously noted, states can be victims of an event that can greatly diminish their ability to assist in housing victims of major disasters or emergencies. Given the scope of the problem, Congress has begun work on legislation to address the issue through legislation that would 
require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine how many temporary units it needs in stock to respond to major disasters and to develop criteria to establish whether the stored housing units are usable. 109-295 , the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA), removed that cap and now repairs can be made for the full amount available under IHP. The narrative of the strategy is, at most points, thematically reinforcing FEMA's work of recent years: to emphasize the federal role as acting in collaboration with the state and local governments, as well as emergency managers at those levels, to establish both professional standards and operational principles to enhance cooperation and the efficiency of disaster operations. While offering plaudits to the strategy for incorporating comments from stakeholders and providing a comprehensive listing of federal assets, a report by a Senate ad hoc subcommittee noted:
(1) the Agency's failure to develop and implement a catastrophic disaster housing response plan was a major contributing factor in the inadequate housing response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; (2) the final Strategy released by FEMA in January of 2009 is a considerable improvement over FEMA's initial Strategy, however, many of the constructive proposals in the plan must still be developed; (3) the Strategy delivered on the final working day of the last Administration leaves the new Administration without essential operational housing plans, including plans directed toward post-catastrophic response; and (4) in leaving these essential catastrophic planning response components for a yet unformed Task Force, FEMA has ignored its own advice and recommendations on housing, including its recognition of the need for such a plan and its acknowledgement that its programs are insufficient for catastrophic response. Similarly, other emergency management practitioners, including the new Administrator of FEMA, also felt the strategy report left a number of unanswered questions regarding the future outline of temporary housing following a disaster. Congress may wish to pursue the fundamental questions of housing, both its authorities and its operational reality, with the new leadership at FEMA

		Directions

In its introduction, the National Disaster Housing Strategy refers to a vision that will "point the nation in new directions to meet the disaster housing needs of individuals and communities." An indication of the direction of the strategy, and how it will be translated into policy and practice, may come in FEMA's operational implementation plan which is discussed in the Disaster Housing Strategy. This period has also seen a burgeoning FEMA-HUD relationship to potentially develop new ways to provide disaster housing for those displaced by those events.
For over three decades the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided temporary housing assistance to eligible victims of natural disasters. FEMA has responded to more than a thousand disaster and emergency events over this period, employing a number of options for meeting the needs of people who have lost their primary housing as a result of a disaster declared by the President. The cycle of help from sheltering provided by local organizations in the immediate aftermath, to the eventual repair and rebuilding or replacement of private homes and rental units, is the focus of this report.
Because of the historic nature of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, much of FEMA's work has been defined and measured by its response to that event. Katrina was an outlier in scope and not representative of disasters declared, on almost a weekly basis, over the last 30 years. But Katrina highlighted the gaps in FEMA's housing authorities, raised questions regarding the agency's leadership in exercising existing authorities, and provoked an examination of the flexibility, or lack thereof, in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and its implementing regulations.
The congressional response to Katrina increased FEMA's authority and ability to address many housing issues in the post-disaster environment. Further, subsequent analysis of the Katrina response has also directed attention to the authorities of other federal agencies charged with federal housing responsibilities.
In the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, P.L. 109-295, enacted in October of 2006, Congress directed FEMA to prepare a National Disaster Housing Strategy. While FEMA was directed to deliver the strategy within nine months, a final version was not delivered to Congress until January 16, 2009. The final product contains a comprehensive summary of previous disaster housing policy and highlights innovative approaches taken at the state and local level, by both governmental and non-governmental organizations responding to disaster housing needs.
The Obama Administration, and the 111th Congress, have the opportunity to review and, if inclined, adjust the strategy and consider other alternatives discussed in the report. Congress may also wish to exercise oversight over the implementation of the strategy and to suggest, through legislation, the future direction of the federal disaster housing mission.
This report reviews standard disaster housing procedures as well as options that could be taken to improve disaster housing including increased FEMA/HUD cooperation, the use of the case management authority, the repair and renovation of private rental housing units, and the use of alternative manufactured housing. It will be updated as warranted by events and legislative action.