Rethinking Disaster Aid: Promoting Fiscal Responsibility and Risk Management

As Congress reconvenes post-election, a critical agenda item is likely to be an emergency funding request to replenish disaster relief funds in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund expected to run dry soon and the Small Business Administration's disaster loans already exhausted, calls for a multi-billion-dollar emergency package are circulating. But this cycle--reacting to each crisis with ever-larger disaster relief bills, often loaded with politically motivated add-ons--is unsustainable, especially given America's precarious fiscal outlook. A more sustainable approach to disaster aid would pair relief with responsible fiscal reforms, including offsetting new spending with cuts elsewhere and discouraging development in high-risk areas through more accurate risk-based insurance pricing.