{ "id": "R44801", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R44801", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, Federation of American Scientists", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Stafford Act Assistance and Acts of Terrorism", "retrieved": "2023-04-07T04:03:38.817533", "id": "R44801_10_2023-03-01", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2023-03-01_R44801_c840e430029c50e054c6e5f74132d1368d7cf0b9.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44801/10", "sha1": "c840e430029c50e054c6e5f74132d1368d7cf0b9" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2023-03-01_R44801_c840e430029c50e054c6e5f74132d1368d7cf0b9.html" } ], "date": "2023-03-01", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44801", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 589903, "date": "2019-01-16", "retrieved": "2019-01-16T23:08:52.403450", "title": "Stafford Act Assistance and Acts of Terrorism", "summary": "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 \u201cmajor disaster declaration\u201d or an \u201cemergency declaration.\u201d 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. \nThe 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:\nthe 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\nthe Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s (FEMA) recommendation to the President to issue a major disaster declaration is mainly based on damage amounts to public infrastructure compared to the state\u2019s population. Terrorist incidents with a large loss of life but limited damage to public infrastructure may not meet this criterion.\nSome 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:\nregardless of cause, state and local governments should be the main source of assistance if damages are limited;\nif the incident does not qualify for major disaster assistance, it could still be eligible for limited assistance under an emergency declaration. \nAdvocates of changing the Stafford Act may argue that emergency declaration assistance is too limited. For example, parts of FEMA\u2019s 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\nexpanding the major disaster definition to include terror incidents that do not involve fires and explosions;\nrequiring FEMA to use additional metrics when making major disaster recommendations; and/or\nextending the availability of certain IA programs and SBA disaster loans under an emergency declaration. \nThis 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. 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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 \u201cmajor disaster declaration\u201d or an \u201cemergency declaration.\u201d 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. \nThe 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:\nthe 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\nthe Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s (FEMA) recommendation to the President to issue a major disaster declaration is mainly based on damage amounts to public infrastructure compared to the state\u2019s population. Terrorist incidents with a large loss of life but limited damage to public infrastructure may not meet this criterion.\nSome 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:\nregardless of cause, state and local governments should be the main source of assistance if damages are limited;\nif the incident does not qualify for major disaster assistance, it could still be eligible for limited assistance under an emergency declaration. \nAdvocates of changing the Stafford Act may argue that emergency declaration assistance is too limited. For example, parts of FEMA\u2019s 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\nexpanding the major disaster definition to include terror incidents that do not involve fires and explosions;\nrequiring FEMA to use additional metrics when making major disaster recommendations; and/or\nextending the availability of certain IA programs and SBA disaster loans under an emergency declaration. \nThis 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. \nThis report will be updated as events warrant.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44801", "sha1": "8c12480e99d252a3aafa24b8c26f6804ae5f9b48", "filename": "files/20170602_R44801_8c12480e99d252a3aafa24b8c26f6804ae5f9b48.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/7.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_26a48092300a837ca1be1e1710e0bfc1daa8351c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/5.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_587ac0f24b0ed715786dcd07852ee2e1ffcc112a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/1.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_a8d02cf8fd3f11232ab9cc615604566b31c965f3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/11.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_a7b177e4879a4bb5a7fd5e18f9baed1dd695e715.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/4.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_4c1243b8eeb4be62a3cc157d4590dcd488a34825.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/2.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_07e6e2d58924e8453273511ae86877fb7f637877.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/0.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_52617ccbf8fccb4185d2f534c52fa763c230bbf8.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/8.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_3be2f388626e5a08e6b4650873bc2a4338140c6c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/6.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_c58f9f3f3071d1c8415b376856e9b33635df99af.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/9.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_4922c44443985780f4079a27652c0b15ee55c5c9.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/10.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_0ca8080109502e4eabae352798f7190249517dc0.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R44801_files&id=/3.png": "files/20170602_R44801_images_c781012744c596734c2d6188440fc8c77f9af3a5.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44801", "sha1": "98494f373937e7d29c80ee76f27e939cff5045bd", "filename": "files/20170602_R44801_98494f373937e7d29c80ee76f27e939cff5045bd.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 460016, "date": "2017-03-22", "retrieved": "2017-03-29T20:04:02.363436", "title": "Stafford Act Assistance and Acts of Terrorism", "summary": "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 \u201cmajor disaster declaration\u201d or an \u201cemergency declaration.\u201d 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. \nThe 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:\nthe 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\nthe Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s (FEMA) recommendation to the President to issue a major disaster declaration is mainly based on damage amounts to public infrastructure compared to the state\u2019s population. Terrorist incidents with a large loss of life but limited damage to public infrastructure may not meet this criterion.\nSome 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:\nregardless of cause, state and local governments should be the main source of assistance if damages are limited;\nif the incident does not qualify for major disaster assistance, it could still be eligible for limited assistance under an emergency declaration. \nAdvocates of changing the Stafford Act may argue that emergency declaration assistance is too limited. For example, parts of FEMA\u2019s 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\nexpanding the major disaster definition to include terror incidents that do not involve fires and explosions;\nrequiring FEMA to use additional metrics when making major disaster recommendations; and/or\nextending the availability of certain IA programs and SBA disaster loans under an emergency declaration. \nThis 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. \nThis report will be updated as events warrant.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44801", "sha1": "a7fb0fe8aa20ebfe6b50097f02bb70ac93891874", "filename": "files/20170322_R44801_a7fb0fe8aa20ebfe6b50097f02bb70ac93891874.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44801", "sha1": "69e0196e313210cb97c1e66a2d32dd71a78f8070", "filename": "files/20170322_R44801_69e0196e313210cb97c1e66a2d32dd71a78f8070.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Economic Policy", "Intelligence and National Security" ] }