Sponsors (2)
The bill provides $26.37 billion in immediate, sustained disaster relief funding that speeds recovery and helps survivors, at the trade-off of adding substantial federal spending, weakening budget rules and transparency, and potentially reducing local incentives to invest in mitigation.
Disaster survivors in affected rural and urban communities gain access to federal assistance for housing, rebuilding, and debris removal because $26.37 billion is provided to the Disaster Relief Fund and the money remains available until expended.
State and local governments receive $26.37 billion in Disaster Relief Fund aid to respond to major disasters, enabling faster recovery and rebuilding of infrastructure in affected jurisdictions.
State and local governments (and the affected communities they serve) can obligate relief funds immediately because the legislation designates the funding as emergency spending, speeding delivery by avoiding regular budget caps.
Taxpayers face $26.37 billion in additional federal spending, which increases the deficit or could crowd out other federal priorities if not offset.
Designating the funds as emergency spending bypasses regular budget caps and pay‑as‑you‑go offsets, reducing fiscal transparency and weakening long‑term budgetary constraints.
Large centralized FEMA funding may reduce incentives for some state and local governments to invest in disaster mitigation, potentially increasing future disaster costs and losses.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Appropriates $26.367 billion to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund for FY2026 to support Stafford Act major disaster response and recovery, designated as emergency spending.
Appropriates $26,367,000,000 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund for FY2026 to pay for major disasters declared under the Stafford Act. The funds remain available until expended and are designated as emergency spending under applicable PAYGO and congressional budget rules. The appropriation is intended to cover disaster response and recovery costs for major disaster declarations, routing federal resources to support state, local, tribal, and territorial recovery efforts and FEMA operations.
Official title: To appropriate funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 20, 2026 by Troy Carter · Last progress April 20, 2026