I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2455 
To prohibit any requirement of a budgetary offset for emergency disaster 
assistance during 2011 and 2012. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 7, 2011 
Mr. RICHMOND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit any requirement of a budgetary offset for 
emergency disaster assistance during 2011 and 2012. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Humanitarian Aid for 
Americans Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Presidential emergency declarations trigger 
aid that protects property, public health, and safety 
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and lessens or averts the threat of an incident be-
coming a catastrophic event. 
(2) The number of disasters has grown on a bi-
partisan basis and is a reflection of the weather 
events of the period: in the 1980s (1980–1989) 
there were 237 Presidential major disaster declara-
tions; in the 1990s (1990–1999) there were 460 
Presidential major disaster declarations; and in the 
2000s (2000–2009) there were 561 declared disas-
ters, an average of 56 per year during the 2000s. 
(3) In 2011 alone, there have already been 48 
major disaster declarations in Texas, Iowa, Indiana, 
Montana, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Alas-
ka, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Idaho, North Da-
kota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ten-
nessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, 
North Carolina, California, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Or-
egon, Washington, New Mexico, Connecticut, New 
York, Utah, New Jersey, and Maine. 
(4) Historically, the Congress has recognized 
the importance of retaining flexibility to provide im-
mediate disaster assistance, understanding that lim-
iting its flexibility to respond would impede the abil-
ity of the Congress to address constituents’ needs 
and limit its ability to fund disaster relief, thus forc-
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ing State and local governments to face the insur-
mountable challenges of rebuilding alone. 
(5) Despite this history, some members of the 
112th Congress have called for offsets to any emer-
gency aid package. 
(6) Timely disaster aid allows for a humani-
tarian response and a comprehensive recovery, and 
should not be slowed while the Congress considers 
additional cuts to infrastructure, homeland security, 
Medicare, education, and infant nutrition before re-
sponding to an unforeseen disaster. 
(7) For these reasons, this Act allows the Con-
gress to be responsive to its constituents, removing 
any requirement that emergency disaster funding be 
offset by spending cuts. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF REQUIREMENT OF BUDGETARY 
OFFSETS FOR EMERGENCY DISASTER ASSIST-
ANCE DURING 2011 AND 2012. 
Any appropriation during calendar year 2011 or 
2012 for disaster assistance pursuant to a declaration by 
the President of a major disaster or emergency under sec-
tion 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 or 5191) 
shall not be counted for any budgetary purpose of title 
III or IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 
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U.S.C. 631 et seq.) or of any rule of the House of Rep-
resentatives or the Senate, and shall not be required to 
be accompanied by any budgetary offset. 
Æ 
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