Disaster Recovery Assistance: Authorization of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program

Managed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) fund helps cities, counties, and states recover from Presidentially declared disasters. The program fills needs that remain after a disaster and after other assistance is exhausted. These are needs that persist particularly for residents who cannot recover on their own. Disasters have a long-term negative impact on the housing and household finances of survivors for years after the event and, without assistance, the impact is longer and deeper. And as Dr. Martin testified in a December 2021 Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing on Disaster Recovery Assistance: Authorization of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program, while Congress has relied on CDBG-DR to provide flexible, long-term recovery assistance to communities in need, Congress has not provided permanent authorization for the program.