Bill would block FEMA from seeking refund of assistance given by mistake

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Federal officials would be prevented from making homeowners refund disaster assistance mistakenly given them under a bill passing the House in Washington.

Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves sponsors the measure which came as a response to an incident in northwest Missouri.

“So, what we basically said is that if FEMA makes a mistake like this they can’t come and claw the money back, as long as there is no fraud involved. If it was a mistake on FEMA’s part then they can’t do that,” Graves tells St. Joseph Post. “This amounted to $12,000. That’s not a lot of money to FEMA, but it’s a tremendous amount of money to an individual, particularly after the money had been spent rebuilding their home.”

Graves says the Holt County resident lost the family home in the 2019 flood. The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the homeowner $12,000 in FEMA Individual Assistance funds. Later, the agency determined the homeowner didn’t qualify for the money and demanded it be repaid.

Graves says others have been caught in the crosshairs of FEMA; asked to refund disaster assistance given them by FEMA after the agency determined they really weren’t eligible. The legislation allows the disaster victim to keep the money. It also requires FEMA report to Congress how many times that happens and what it is doing to prevent it.

Graves says efforts to get back disaster assistance once awarded can put the homeowner in a real bind.

“This was FEMA’s fault and so they need to be held accountable for it and the fact of the matter is the money was used and it was used for exactly the purpose that FEMA originally laid it out for and, in my opinion, they shouldn’t be penalized as a result,” Graves says.

The Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act would require FEMA waive the debt of someone who received federal assistance by mistake, as long as applicant sought the assistance in good faith and no fraud was involved. The Congressman’s office claims that under current law, FEMA can demand repayment weeks, months, even years later.