The FEMA funding and a new CR were being packaged together in differing House and Senate bills. The Republican-controlled House passed a seven-week government-wide stopgap early on Sept. 23 that had $3.65 billion for FEMA—$1 billion for the tail end of fiscal 2011 and $2.65 billion for the start of 2012. But the GOP offset the 2011 FEMA money by cutting $1 billion from the Dept. of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing Program and $100 million from a DOE renewable-energy loan program.

Democrats opposed the House's offsetting cut and spoke up for the benefits of the DOE vehicle program. Thanks partly to those opponents, the Senate killed the House-passed bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) then offered a counterproposal, which coupled a seven-week CR with $3.65 billion for FEMA but without any offsetting spending cuts.

Lawmakers felt they were under severe time pressure and had to act by Sept. 26 because FEMA’s fund was projected to last only until that date.

But then, on Sept. 26, a new FEMA estimate showed the Disaster Relief Fund was slightly better off than feared, with $114 million still available. That amount could be enough to last until Oct. 1, giving lawmakers more breathing room to pass a bill.

Although Reid’s counterproposal was blocked on the floor, he came up with yet another plan—the one that ultimately was approved in the evening of Sept. 26.

FEMA has been stretching its Disaster Relief Fund for weeks even as the late summer storms, fires and floods hit. One way the agency conserved its dollars was to delay the funding of longer-term reconstruction projects stemming from earlier natural disasters.

According to a list provided by the office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), those deferred projects totaled $469.8 million. Landrieu chairs the appropriations subcommittee that oversees FEMA’s budget.

Iowa ranks first on the list, with $77.2 million in projects, followed by Mississippi, with $77 million; Florida, with $67.9 million; Louisiana, with $65.6 million; and Tennessee, with $43.7 million. Landrieu’s office said the list’s totals were not exhaustive.

The projects include many roads and bridges, as well as schools and other public buildings, recreational areas and electric-utility work.