Congress redirects unspent foreign aid to domestic disaster relief
H.R. 1370 — USA FIRST Act · Filed by Josh Brecheen (R-OK) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 14, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill redirects unspent money that Congress previously gave to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) into the federal Disaster Relief Fund, which pays for emergency response to major disasters declared under federal law. The money being moved is only funds that USAID has not yet committed to spending as of the bill's enactment date.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole mechanism is a one-time transfer of unobligated appropriations from one federal account (USAID) to another (Disaster Relief Fund). It is a straightforward budget reallocation with no regulatory, tax, or structural changes.
What the text implies
- The bill only transfers funds that USAID has not yet obligated (committed to contracts or grants). Funds already committed to ongoing projects remain at USAID, so the actual amount transferred may be substantially smaller than total unobligated balances and is unknowable without current USAID budget data.
- Disaster Relief Fund transfers are discretionary and subject to appropriations; the bill does not guarantee the transferred funds will be spent on disasters or that they will remain available if Congress later appropriates new money to the same fund.
- The bill does not specify a timeline for transfer or a mechanism for USAID to plan around the loss of unobligated funds, potentially disrupting planned foreign aid initiatives mid-fiscal-year.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Domestic disaster relief is a public good that benefits affected citizens directly. However, the bill reduces USAID's capacity to fund international development, humanitarian aid, and diplomatic programs that may indirectly benefit U.S. citizens through global stability, disease prevention, and soft power — the trade-off between these two public goods is genuine and material.
Named in the bill
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Disaster Relief Fund, Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, House Committee on Appropriations
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Feb 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Appropriations · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (743 characters) on Oct 26, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,580 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-26.
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