Hurricane Sandy relief bill

This article is about the bill relating to the National Flood Insurance Program. For the wider relief bill, see Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013.
Great Seal of the United States
Full title To temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program.
Colloquial name(s) Hurricane Sandy relief bill
Introduced in 113th United States Congress
Introduced on January 3, 2013
Sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett (R, NJ-5)
Number of Co-Sponsors 19
Effects and Codifications
Act(s) affected National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress).
U.S.C. sections created 42 U.S.C. 4016(a), 2 U.S.C. 933(g),
Legislative history

The Hurricane Sandy relief bill (Pub.L. 113–1, H.R. 41, 127 Stat. 3, enacted January 6, 2013) is a law enacted by the 113th United States Congress.[1]

The Act amended the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to increase from $20.725 billion to $30.425 billion the total amount of notes and obligations (i.e. federal borrowing authority) which may be issued by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with the President's approval, for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Procedural history

House of Representatives

The Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on January 3, 2013 by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), with 44 cosponsors.[2]

On January 4 the Bill was considered by the House. The vote was made under suspension of the rules, so it required a two-thirds majority.[3] It was passed 354-67.[2]

Senate

The Bill was passed in the Senate by a voice vote on January 4.[2]

President

The Bill was presented to President Obama on January 4 and signed into law on January 6.[2]

Background

On December 28, 2012, the Senate passed H.R. 1 of the 112th Congress, with an amendment in nature of a substitute, by a vote of 62 – 32.[4] The bill would have provided for $60.4 billion in supplemental disaster assistance. While it was not enacted by Congress as a whole, its Title VI (Section 601) became the Hurricane Sandy relief bill.[5]

The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) authorized two types of spending to exceed the established spending caps: disaster and emergency. While emergency spending is not subject to the caps in the BCA, spending for disaster relief is calculated by taking the average of the previous ten years' disaster relief spending (excluding the highest and lowest spending years).

Provisions

The Bill amended section 1309(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program from $20,725,000,000 to $30,425,000,000 (a difference of $9.7 billion).[6]

The bill also contains vast amounts of funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), intended for repairs and upgrades of its facilities and equipment.

Costs

This amount is designated as emergency spending, pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. § 933(g)).

The amounts of new budget authority, outlays, or revenue that result from a provision designated as an emergency in a PAYGO measure are not included in CBO estimates.

Public perception

Some perceived the bill as too costly, while others described it as necessary to repair the areas damaged by the hurricane.[7] While the bill was signed on January 4, the larger Disaster Relief Appropriations Act was not signed until January 29, 91 days after the storm struck.[7]

Notes/References

  1. ↑ 113th Congress (2013) (January 3, 2013). "H.R. 41 (113th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved March 18, 2013. Hurricane Sandy relief bill
  2. 1 2 3 4 "H.R. 41 Actions". United States Congress. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ "H.R. 41: Hurricane Sandy relief bill (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Major H.R.1 Actions". THOMAS. The Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  5. ↑ "H.R.1 CRS Summary". THOMAS. The Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ 113th Congress. "Public Law 113-1". U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  7. 1 2 DAILY MAIL REPORTER (January 30, 2013). "Obama signs $50BILLION Hurricane Sandy relief bill approved by Congress more than three months after the superstorm ravaged the Northeast". Daily Mail. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

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