Vote Smart's Synopsis:

A vote to pass a bill that appropriates a total of $81 billion for the fiscal year 2018 for disaster relief.

Highlights:

• Appropriates a total of $81 billion in fiscal year 2018 to several federal agencies for emergency assistance related to hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and other natural disasters that occurred in 2017 (Secs. 101-1208).

• Exempts emergency spending from the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) enforcement rules and other discretionary spending limits (Sec. 4001).

• Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in order to update disaster response and recovery programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (Sec. 2006).

• Appropriates $2.9 billion to schools and universities for recovery efforts, including support for displaced students and replacement of educational materials (Sec. 701).

• Appropriates $26.1 billion to the Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery program (CDBG-DR) for housing, business, infrastructure, and damage mitigation (Sec. 1001).

• Specifies that $12.1 billion will go to the Army Corps of Engineers, which includes the following allocations (Sec. 101):

• $10.5 billion for ongoing construction projects;

• $608 million to repair damages, such as dredging of navigation channels;

• $537 million for flood control and coastal emergency efforts; and

• $370 million for disaster repair along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

• Appropriates $1.6 billion to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program, which lends money to small businesses and homeowners for disaster relief (Sec. 401).

• Appropriates $1.5 billion to repair military facilities and $1.4 billion to restore federal highways (Secs. 101 & 1001).

• Requires all states to participate in the Department of Agriculture's National Accuracy Clearinghouse, which is a database for states to use to prevent SNAP participants from receiving duplicative benefits in multiple states (Sec. 3003).

• Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to remove the $20-million cap on annual expenditures for livestock producers under the federal crop insurance program (Sec. 3002).

• Amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to designate cottonseed as a covered commodity beginning with the 2018 crop year (Sec. 3001).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text