In general, Congress has provided increased flexibility and allocated additional CDBG funds to affected communities and states to help them respond to and recover from presidentially declared disasters. This includes allowing communities to reprogram CDBG funds to meet disaster-related needs, including short-term disaster relief, mitigation activities, and long-term recovery activities. For instance, approximately $250 million in CDBG funds were used to finance the emergency temporary restoration of utilities in the affected areas of Lower Manhattan following the destruction of the World Trade Center, and an additional $500 million was made available for permanent utility restoration and infrastructure improvements. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress appropriated $2 billion under P.L. 107-117 for disaster relief and recovery assistance to New York. In addition, the act earmarked at least $10 million for the tourism and travel industry. For instance, to assist in the redevelopment of the Lower Manhattan area of New York following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress appropriated $3.5 billion in CDBG funds. Other Actions by HUD in Support of Disaster Recovery

In addition to providing CDBG funding assistance, Congress has included a number of other provisions in past disaster relief appropriations to facilitate relief and recovery efforts and to ensure accountability. In response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Congress increased the ceiling on the use of the CDBG funds for public service activities in Los Angeles from 15% to 25%. Legislation providing CDBG disaster relief assistance to communities affected by the 1997 and 1998 Midwest floods included provisions that required HUD and FEMA to jointly submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the use of CDBG funds for land acquisition and buyouts. Legislation providing CDBG assistance to New York following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005, and natural disasters of 2008 also included quarterly reporting provisions. Recent Legislation

On July 29, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Supplemental Appropriations Act for FY2010, P.L. The legislation appropriates supplemental CDBG funds for disaster recovery activities. 4899 , the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, recommended appropriating $100 million in CDBG supplemental funds for presidentially declared disaster areas affected by severe storms and flooding during the period from March 2010 to May 2010. P.L. 111-212 limits the $100 million in CDBG disaster assistance to states where 
the entire state has been declared a presidential disaster area; or at least 20 counties in the state have been declared presidential disaster areas. In addition, P.L. The latter provision gives grantees greater flexibility in developing and implementing CDBG disaster recovery plans. Disaster Relief 112th Congress: P.L. It would have:
directed HUD to allocate funds to both states and local governments; allowed CDBG disaster funds to be used to meet the matching fund requirements of other federal programs; allowed states and localities to use up to 5% of their CDBG disaster allocation to cover administrative costs; and allowed HUD to grant waivers or specify alternative program requirements (except those related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and environmental review) as long as such waivers or alternative requirements are not inconsistent with purpose and rules governing the CDBG program. During consideration of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012, H.R. 2112 , which was signed into law as P.L. 112-55 by the President on November 18, 2011, Congress included $400 million in supplemental CDBG assistance in response to multiple disasters that occurred during 2011. prohibits funds from being used to for activities reimbursable by, or made available, by the Federal Emergency Management Administration or the Army Corps of Engineers; and allows HUD to waive statutory or regulatory provisions governing the use of CDBG funds, except those related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and environmental review. Should Congress require states to meet a matching fund requirement as a condition for receiving disaster recovery-related CDBG funds?
In the aftermath of presidentially declared disasters, Congress has used a variety of programs to help states and local governments finance recovery efforts, among them the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Over the years, Congress has appropriated supplemental CDBG funds to assist states and communities to recover from such natural disasters as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes. In addition, CDBG funds supported recovery efforts in New York City following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; in Oklahoma City following the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Building in 1995; and in the city and county of Los Angeles following the riots of 1992. In response to those calamities, CDBG funds were made available for short-term relief efforts, mitigation actions, and long-term recovery, and to provide housing and business assistance, infrastructure reconstruction, and public services.
The Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005 (Katrina, Rita, and Wilma) resulted in the largest appropriation of CDBG funds for disaster relief and recovery in the program's history. Since December 2005, Congress has provided $19.85 billion in CDBG disaster-related assistance to the five states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) affected by the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005. This included $11.5 billion in CDBG assistance appropriated in the Defense Appropriations Act for FY2006, P.L. 109-148; $5.2 billion in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery Act of 2006, P.L. 109-234; and $3 billion (exclusively for Louisiana's Road Home Program) appropriated in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2008, P.L. 110-116.
The 110th Congress appropriated $6.8 billion in CDBG funds to be used to respond to presidentially declared disasters occurring in 2008. This included $300 million appropriated under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, P.L. 110-252, and $6.5 billion included in the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009, P.L. 110-329.
In general, CDBG disaster relief acts passed since 2005 have included provisions that limit the amount a state could use for administrative expenses to 5%; allow a state to seek waivers of program requirements, except those related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and environmental review; prohibit the use of funds for activities that were reimbursable by or made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Army Corp of Engineers; and require each state to develop and HUD to approve state recovery plans
As a condition for the receipt of CDBG disaster recovery assistance, states are required to submit quarterly reports to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on all awards and use of funds. The acts do not prescribe the form these quarterly reports are to take nor the content they are to include, except for identifying and rationalizing the use of sole source contracts.
The 111th Congress approved a supplemental appropriations act for 2010, H.R. 4899, which was signed by the President on July 29, 2010, as P.L. 111-212. The act provided an additional $100 million in CDBG funds to help states and communities undertake disaster recovery activities in presidentially declared disaster areas affected by severe storms and flooding during the period from March 2010 through May 2010. Most recently, the 112th Congress also considered and passed legislation (P.L. 112-55) appropriating $400 million in supplemental CDBG disaster assistance for disasters occurring in 2011. This report will be updated as events warrant.