A More Formal Disaster Relief Program

Abstract

<p>Until 2008, with some exceptions which featured a more general scope,<strong>1 </strong>disaster relief tended to be enacted for a specific term and for a specific disaster.<strong>2 </strong>As an example, the $100 deductible was suspended for losses on or after August 25, 2005, attributable to Hurricane Katrina.<strong>3 </strong>However, in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008,<strong>4 </strong>the Congress created what some have termed a national disaster relief program. Additional legislation may be needed to create a complete fabric of relief provisions, particularly in light of the fact that many of the 2008 enactments have a limited life (through 2009 only) although the scope of the legislation is national.</p>