[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 137 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. Brown of Massachusetts):
  S. 1563. A bill to require the President's budget to include, at a 
minimum, a request for disaster funding based on the 10 year average; 
to the Committee on the Budget.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Safeguarding 
Disaster Funding Act of 2011, which I am introducing along with Senator 
Brown from Massachusetts. This legislation would amend the 
Congressional Budget Act and the Budget Control Act to require the 
President to provide a more comprehensive view of disaster funding in 
his annual budget request.
  Our bill would ensure that the true cost of disaster assistance is 
reflected in the President's budget, by requiring that Presidents' 
annual budget requests for disaster programs include funding levels 
equal to the average amount provided annually over the previous ten 
years, excluding the highest and lowest years, to account for years 
with unusually high or low disaster activity.
  As disaster funding is already considered ``no-year'' money, unused 
monies would carry over to support years where additional funds are 
required. The status quo of Congress providing emergency appropriations 
to support these efforts, rather than including reasonable estimates, 
based on past disaster activity trends, is fiscally irresponsible. We 
should be working with the Administration to fund the necessary and 
appropriate activities of the Federal government, including disaster 
assistance. Responsible budgeting for disasters is the right thing to 
do for the victims of devastation, as the vivid images of the damage 
from Hurricane Irene have reminded us.
  Hurricane Irene caused more than 4.5 million homes and businesses 
along the East Coast to lose power, including nearly 185,000 in my home 
State of Maine, which suffered flooding and washed out bridges in the 
Western portion of the state. But now that the winds and rain have 
subsided, our cities and towns must rebuild from the devastation.
  With the Federal Emergency Management Agency's funding currently 
running unnecessarily low, they now must work on an ``immediate needs 
funding'' basis, meaning that non-emergency recovery projects are put 
on hold. Support of natural disaster recovery should not be stalled by 
the need for Emergency Supplemental Appropriations. While we cannot 
completely predict the number or nature of natural disasters, we do 
know that these events occur and cause massive damage. Policymakers 
cannot continue to play with the livelihoods of recovering Americans; 
assurances must be made that their recovery is facilitated through 
current Federal disaster recovery programs.
  The Safeguarding Disaster Funding Act of 2011 will ensure that the 
President properly accounts for disaster spending. By basing the 
President's budget request for disaster funding on a ten-year average, 
and excluding the highs and the lows, we are assuring that funds are 
neither overextended nor falsely underestimated. In these hard economic 
times, Congress must promote fiscal responsibility while ensuring that 
those areas struck by disasters are able to access the funds needed to 
quickly rebuild.
  I hope that my fellow colleagues will support this bill. In the wake 
of recent disasters it is readily apparent that we must plan better for 
these events.
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