	Introduction

This report provides a comprehensive summary of the federal financial assistance provided to the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in response to the widespread destruction that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. Though the storms happened over a decade ago, Congress remains interested in the types and amounts of federal assistance that were provided to the Gulf Coast for several reasons. For one, Congress continues to be interested in how the money has been spent, what resources have been provided to the region, and whether the money has reached the people and entities intended to receive the funds. The financial information is also useful for congressional oversight and evaluation of the federal entities that were responsible for response and recovery operations. Similarly, it gives Congress a general idea of the federal assets that are needed and can be brought to bear when catastrophic disasters take place in the United States. As such, the financial information from the storms can help frame the congressional debate concerning federal assistance for current and future disasters. The financial information provided in this report includes a summary of appropriations provided to the Gulf Coast states by Congress in response to the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes. While the evacuation helped to save lives, over 1,800 people died in the storm. Section I: Summary of Gulf Coast Disaster Supplemental Appropriations

 Table 1 presents data on the appropriations enacted after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, and Ike from FY2005 to FY2009, by federal entity and subentity, when possible and applicable. Agency-Specific Information on Gulf Coast Hurricane Federal Assistance

In the course of this research, CRS identified 11 federal departments, 4 federal agencies (or other entities), and numerous subentities, programs, and activities that supplied roughly $121.7 billion in federal assistance to the Gulf Coast states after the major hurricanes of 2005 (Katrina, Rita, and Wilma) and 2008 (Gustav and Ike). Section II provides information on the most significant programs, or categories of programs, through which the aid was provided. Since 2005, Congress has appropriated almost $260 million of hurricane disaster relief to the Gulf of Mexico fishing industry (see Table 8 ). According to data the Corps provided to CRS, of the total $15.6 billion appropriated, more than $11.2 billion has been obligated. Table 11 details how much of this funding was allocated to each of these states for each of the programs discussed in this section. Table 18 contains mission assignment data for Hurricane Gustav and Table 19 contains mission assignment funding for Hurricane Ike. Funds are allocated to states and communities to cover unmet needs not covered by state and local efforts, private insurers, and standard federal disaster programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers. For the U.S. Funding Narrative

Since 2005, Congress has appropriated $20 million in supplemental appropriations for the ATF. Of this amount, just over $2.8 billion has been obligated; see Table 24 . Table 29 lists the amount of the approved loans, by state. Thus, while this report provides the most detailed information on federal assistance for the 2005 and 2008 Gulf Coast hurricanes, there is a need for further research on the subject of federal disaster assistance—including the assistance provided in response to disasters in other regions of the United States—to address existing gaps in funding information. A per capita formula based on damages caused by an incident is used by FEMA to make recommendations to the President concerning whether to issue a major disaster declaration. The cost-share could only be adjusted through congressional action. Reducing the Amount of Assistance Provided Through Declarations

				Adjust the State Cost Share

Most discussions regarding state cost-shares in disaster programs and projects involve ways in which the state amount may be reduced and the federal share increased. For example, a state may receive the traditional 75% cost share for an incident but be required to reimburse 25% of that funding to the federal government. Loans for disaster recovery could also be incentivized.
This report provides information on federal financial assistance provided to the Gulf States after major disasters were declared in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in response to the widespread destruction that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.
Though the storms happened over a decade ago, Congress has remained interested in the types and amounts of federal assistance that were provided to the Gulf Coast for several reasons. This includes how the money has been spent, what resources have been provided to the region, and whether the money has reached the intended people and entities. The financial information is also useful for congressional oversight of the federal programs provided in response to the storms. It gives Congress a general idea of the federal assets that are needed and can be brought to bear when catastrophic disasters take place in the United States. Finally, the financial information from the storms can help frame the congressional debate concerning federal assistance for current and future disasters.
The financial information for the 2005 and 2008 Gulf Coast storms is provided in two sections of this report:
1. Table 1 of Section I summarizes disaster assistance supplemental appropriations enacted into public law primarily for the needs associated with the five hurricanes, with the information categorized by federal department and agency; and 2. Section II contains information on the federal assistance provided to the five Gulf Coast states through the most significant federal programs, or categories of programs.
The financial findings in this report include the following:
Congress has appropriated roughly $121.7 billion in hurricane relief for the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes in 10 supplemental appropriations statutes. The appropriated funds have been distributed among 11 departments, 3 independent agencies/entities, numerous subentities, and the federal judiciary. Congress appropriated almost half of the funds ($53.8 billion, or 44% of the total) to the Department of Homeland Security, most of which went to the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Congress targeted roughly 22% of the total appropriations (almost $27 billion) to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for community development and housing programs. Approximately 20% ($25 billion) was appropriated to Department of Defense entities: $15.6 billion for civil construction and engineering activities undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers and $9.2 billion for military personnel, operations, and construction costs. FEMA has reported that roughly $5.9 billion has been obligated from the DRF after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma to save lives and property through mission assignments made to over 50 federal entities and the American Red Cross (see Table 17), $160.4 million after Hurricane Gustav through 32 federal entities (see Table 18), and $441 million after Hurricane Ike through 30 federal entities (see Table 19). In total, federal agencies obligated roughly $6.5 billion for mission assignments after the five hurricanes. The Small Business Administration approved almost 177,000 applications in the region for business, home, and economic injury loans, with a total loan value of almost $12 billion (Table 28 and Table 29). The Department of Education obligated roughly $1.8 billion to the five states for elementary, secondary, and higher education assistance (Table 11).
This report also includes a brief summary of each hurricane and a discussion concerning federal to state cost-shares. Federal assistance to states is triggered when the President issues a major disaster declaration. In general, once declared the federal share for disaster recovery is 75% while the state pays for 25% of recovery costs. However, in some cases the federal share can be adjusted upward when a sufficient amount of damage has occurred, or when altered by Congress (or both). In addition, how much federal assistance is provided to states for major disasters is influenced not only by the declaration, but also by the percentage the federal government pays for the assistance. This report includes a cost-share discussion because some of these incidents received adjusted cost-shares in certain areas.