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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Federal Disaster Recovery Programs: Brief Summaries


Carolyn V. Torsell
Information Research Specialist

This report summarizes federal disaster assistance programs for use by Members of Congress and their staff in helping address the needs of constituents. A number of federal agencies provide assistance to individual victims; state, territorial, and local governments; and non-governmental entities, following a disaster. The federal forms of assistance include grants, loans, loan guarantees, temporary housing, and counseling.

The programs summarized in this report fall into two broad categories. First are programs for disaster situations; most of these programs are administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Second are general assistance programs that may be used in either disaster situations, or to meet regular service needs. Many federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, administer programs that may be brought to bear under certain circumstances.

The programs may also be classified by recipients: primarily individuals, state and local governments, or businesses. These programs address such short-term needs as food and shelter, and such long-term needs as repair of public utilities.

This report includes a list of CRS reports on disaster assistance and assistance for victims of recent hurricanes. It also includes a list of federal agencies’ websites that were established to provide information on disaster responses, updates on recovery efforts, and resources on federal assistance programs.



Date of Report: March 14, 2011
Number of Pages: 17
Order Number: RL31734
Price: $29.95

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