September 8, 2017 10:10AM 

# FEMA Spending 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

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Congress is set to approve a multi-billion dollar aid package for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Much of the funding will be for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The figure below shows real, or inflation-adjusted, spending on FEMA since 1970. (FEMA was created in 1979, but federal budget figures include spending on predecessor agencies). Put aside the mid-2000s spike from Katrina, and you can see that FEMA spending has trended strongly upwards. FEMA spending averaged $1 billion a year in the 1980s, $3 billion a year in the 1990s, and more than $10 billion a year recently.

Background on FEMA’s history, role, and performance [here](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/dhs/fema). DownsizingGovernment charting utility [here](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/charts/).

![Media Name: fema.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/fema.png?itok=LD3NVRSj) 

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy), [Department of Homeland Security](https://www.cato.org/department-homeland-security), [Downsizing Government](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government) 

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