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Biosecurity News in Brief
CRS Examines Applicability of the Stafford Act in an Influenza PandemicBy Kunal Rambhia, November 3, 2008 On October 20, 2008, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report for Congress that provides a legal analysis of whether an influenza pandemic would fit under the definition of a major disaster as written in the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The CRS report concluded that, it is reasonable for the President to declare an influenza pandemic as a major disaster as written under the Stafford Act, but that the original Congressional intent is unclear.1 The Stafford Act authorizes the President to allow different levels of federal assistance to and intervention in states and localities based on the declaration of an event as an emergency or a major disaster. An emergency declaration allows up to $5 million in federal assistance to be delivered to states and local communities, while a major disaster declaration allows for more extensive and specific provisions from the federal government. A previous attempt to amend the Stafford Act definition of a major disaster to include outbreaks of infectious disease was not enacted by Congress. However, the CRS report concludes that there is enough ambiguity in both practice and legal language to appropriately consider an influenza pandemic as either an emergency or a major disaster.1 References
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