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          ACongressional
            SResearch Service





CDBG-DR Process Standardization: Selected

HUD Actions and Legislative Proposals



Updated July 10, 2025


Introduction

Periodically, Congress has provided supplemental appropriations for Community Development Block
Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR), administered by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). This funding is intended to support needs unmet by other forms of federal disaster
assistance, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and Small Business
Administration loans. Since 1993, Congress has appropriated more than $109 billion in supplemental
CDBG-DR   funds. Typically, CDBG-DR funds have been directed to the most impacted and distressed
areas with major disaster declarations under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (Stafford Act).
Broadly, CDBG-DR  funds are subject to the conventional Community Development Block Grant
Program's statutory authority and regulatory requirements. In addition, the text of CDBG-DR
supplemental appropriations historically has included specific statutory directives and authorized HUD to
establish waivers and alternative requirements as circumstances may require.
The ad hoc nature of this process has allowed Congress and HUD to adapt CDBG-DR requirements to the
specific needs of affected communities. Some analysis indicates that it has contributed to recovery
coordination and planning challenges. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported some
findings, however, of protracted rulemaking periods, inconsistent administrative time frames, and funding
delays. Some grantees have also expressed concern with the administrative burden of simultaneously
managing multiple CDBG-DR grants with differing sets of requirements. GAO and the HUD Office of
Inspector General (HUD-OIG) have recommended permanent authorization and regulatory codification of
these (or similar) long-term disaster recovery investments.








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