Budget & Taxes (Appropriations · Emergency Management)

HR 8368 proposes to appropriate $26.367 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund for fiscal year 2026. These funds are intended to cover necessary expenses for FEMA to carry out the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. This means the money would be used to help communities and individuals respond to and recover from major disasters officially declared under the Stafford Act. The bill also designates these funds as an emergency requirement, which exempts them from certain budgetary rules.

This bill, known as the Pay FEMA Personnel Act of 2026, provides emergency funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure its employees receive regular pay and benefits during a government shutdown. It authorizes the use of Treasury funds to cover salaries, allowances, and benefits for FEMA staff required to manage disaster relief operations and administer federal grant programs. The funding remains available until new appropriations are passed, a regular appropriations bill is enacted, or September 30, 2026, whichever comes first. The legislation also clarifies that this funding does not prevent FEMA from distributing grant money to eligible recipients.

HR 3787, the Emergency Spending Accountability Act, requires the Office of Management and Budget to implement mandatory spending cuts equal to 20% of all emergency spending approved in a fiscal year. These cuts would occur over five years (starting October 1 of the next fiscal year) and apply to most federal programs, though they exempt Social Security benefits, national defense (budget function 050), Department of Veterans Affairs programs, and Medicare. The bill also mandates that any congressional measure containing emergency spending must include a detailed justification explaining why the spending qualifies as "emergency" under existing budget laws. This aims to create accountability for spending that bypasses standard budget limits.