Stafford Act Assistance in Response to Terrorism

The Stafford Act authorizes the President to issue two types of declarations that could potentially provide federal assistance to states and localities in response to a terrorist attack: a "major disaster declaration" or an "emergency declaration." Major disaster declarations authorize a wide-range of federal assistance to states, local governments, tribal nations, individuals and households, and certain nonprofit organizations to aid recovery from a catastrophic event. Emergency declarations authorize a more limited range of federal assistance and are issued by the President to protect property and public health and safety and to lessen or avert the threat of a major disaster. Examples of these types of emergency declarations with respect to terrorist incidents include the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, and the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon. While the Stafford Act has been used to provide assistance in response to terrorist attacks in the past, recent incidents such as the mass shootings that occurred in 2015 and 2016 in San Bernardino, CA, and Orlando, FL, respectively, and the 2016 vehicular attacks in Nice, France, and Ohio State University may have brought to light some potential shortcomings in the Stafford Act. The list of incidents that qualify for a major disaster declaration is specifically limited, and it is not clear if a terror attack would meet the legal definition of a major disaster if the incident involved something other than a fire or explosion. This lack of damage (to public infrastructure) may disqualify these incidents from receiving the wider range of assistance provided under a major disaster declaration. First, while terrorist incidents such as mass shootings can be devastating in terms of loss of life and impact on national morale, some argue that a major disaster should not be declared for terrorist incidents that do not cause enough damage to public infrastructure to warrant federal assistance. State and local governments, as well as insurance coverage, they say, should be the main sources of assistance if damages are limited. Second, they may argue that terror incidents that do not meet the criteria of a major disaster could be eligible for Stafford Act assistance under an emergency declaration. They would argue that the assistance provided under an emergency declaration is too limited. In contrast, typically only private nonprofit organizations are eligible for disaster loans under an emergency declaration. An incident that does not meet the definition of a major disaster, and/or does not have unmet need would not have intersecting criteria and may have more difficulty receiving a major disaster declaration. IA helps families and individuals. Major disaster declarations that include both IA and PA make all three loan types available. The term "major disaster" was originally defined in the Federal Disaster Relief Act of 1950 as
any flood, drought, fire, hurricane, earthquake, storm, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States which, in the determination of the President, is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the federal government to supplement the efforts and available resources of states and local governments in alleviating the damage, hardship, or suffering caused thereby, and respecting which the governor of any State (or the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia) in which such catastrophe may occur or threaten certifies the need for disaster assistance under this Act, and shall give assurance of expenditure of a reasonable amount of the funds of the government of such state, local governments therein, or other agencies, for the same or similar purposes with respect to such catastrophe. Using this threshold, FEMA may not recommend a declaration for an incident with a high number of casualties but limited damage to public infrastructure. Consequently, some may argue that there is no need to change the Stafford Act to make it easier for "soft target" attacks to receive a major disaster declaration because it is relatively easier to obtain an emergency declaration. SBA Disaster Loans and CDBG Disaster Assistance

			SBA Disaster Loan Program

This section examines how the SBA Disaster Loan programs might be used to assist businesses, individuals, and households following a terrorist attack. Additionally, funding for CDBG disaster assistance is not available for all incidents. One view argues that the Stafford Act should be amended to assure that terrorist attacks are eligible for major disaster assistance.
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) authorizes the President to issue two types of declarations that could potentially provide federal assistance to states and localities in response to a terrorist attack: a "major disaster declaration" or an "emergency declaration." Major disaster declarations authorize a wide range of federal assistance to states, local governments, tribal nations, individuals and households, and certain nonprofit organizations to recover from a catastrophic event. Major disaster declarations also make Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans available to eligible businesses and households. Emergency declarations authorize a more limited range of federal assistance to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a major disaster. Only private nonprofit organizations are eligible for disaster loans under an emergency declaration.
The Stafford Act has been used to provide assistance in response to terrorist attacks in the past including the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, the September 11, 2001, attacks, and the 2013 Boston Marathon attack. Nevertheless, the tactics used in recent incidents such as the 2015 San Bernardino, CA, and the 2016 Orlando, FL, mass shootings, and the 2016 Ohio State University vehicular and knife attack, have brought to light two main challenges that might prevent certain types of terrorist incidents from receiving the wider assistance provided under a major disaster declaration:
the major disaster definition lists specific incident types that are eligible for federal assistance. Past terrorist incidents were considered major disasters, in part, because they resulted in fires and explosions. Incidents without a fire or an explosion may not meet the definition of a major disaster; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) recommendation to the President to issue a major disaster declaration is mainly based on damage amounts to public infrastructure compared to the state's population. Terrorist incidents with a large loss of life but limited damage to public infrastructure may not meet this criterion.
Some may argue that terrorist incidents warrant the wider range of assistance provided by a major disaster declaration, and advocate for changes to the Stafford Act and FEMA policies to make all acts of terrorism eligible for major disaster assistance. Others may disagree and argue that Stafford Act should not be altered for the following reasons:
regardless of cause, state and local governments should be the main source of assistance if damages are limited; if the incident does not qualify for major disaster assistance, it could still be eligible for limited assistance under an emergency declaration.
Advocates of changing the Stafford Act may argue that emergency declaration assistance is too limited. For example, parts of FEMA's Individual Assistance (IA) program, which provides various forms of help for families and individuals, are not available without a major disaster declaration. Another concern is the limited availability of SBA disaster loans under an emergency declaration. Advocates might therefore argue that changes to the Stafford Act are needed to make it easier for certain terror attacks to qualify for major disaster assistance. These include
expanding the major disaster definition to include terror incidents that do not involve fires and explosions; requiring FEMA to use additional metrics when making major disaster recommendations; and/or extending the availability of certain IA programs and SBA disaster loans under an emergency declaration.
This report provides an overview of emergency and major disaster declarations and explains how they might be used in the aftermath of a terrorist incident that does not involve a fire or an explosion, such as high casualty mass shootings or chemical gas attacks. This report also provides an overview of Stafford Act assistance provided for past terrorist incidents.
This report will be updated as events warrant.