I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4961 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to protect individuals and businesses from unforeseen consequences 
that may result from Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2016 
Mr. GIBSON (for himself, Mr. TONKO, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New 
York, Mr. DONOVAN, and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to protect individuals and busi-
nesses from unforeseen consequences that may result 
from Federal disaster assistance, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Disaster Noti-
fication and Payment Protection Act of 2016’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITION REGARDING USE OF FEDERAL 
FUNDS. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Federal 
funds may not be used to recoup a debt owed to the 
United States related to assistance provided to an indi-
vidual or household under section 408 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5174) with respect to a major disaster declared 
by the President on or after January 1, 2011, under sec-
tion 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) if— 
(1) the assistance was distributed based on an 
error by the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy; 
(2) the collection of the debt would be against 
equity and good conscience; and 
(3) the debt is not the result of fraud, presen-
tation of a false claim, misrepresentation, or other 
fault of the debtor or any party having an interest 
in the assistance distributed. 
SEC. 3. MANDATORY NOTIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS AND 
BUSINESSES APPLYING FOR ASSISTANCE. 
Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5201 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 707. MANDATORY NOTIFICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS 
AND BUSINESSES APPLYING FOR ASSIST-
ANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the President shall 
establish a process to ensure that each individual and busi-
ness that applies for a category of Federal disaster assist-
ance is provided written notice that describes— 
‘‘(1) the various categories of Federal disaster 
assistance that may be available to the individual or 
business; 
‘‘(2) the impact that receiving or declining the 
category of Federal disaster assistance applied for 
will have on eligibility for other categories of Federal 
disaster assistance; and 
‘‘(3) repayment requirements or penalties that 
may apply if multiple categories of Federal disaster 
assistance are accepted. 
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—On the date on which 
the President establishes the process under subsection (a), 
the President shall transmit to Congress a report describ-
ing the process. 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION.—On and after the date on which 
the President establishes the process under subsection (a), 
an individual or business that is not provided the written 
notice described in that subsection upon application for 
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a category of Federal disaster assistance may not be held 
responsible for any repayment requirement or penalty that 
would otherwise result from the receipt of such assistance. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE DEFINED.— 
In this section, the term ‘Federal disaster assistance’ 
means Federal assistance, including loans and grants, pro-
vided— 
‘‘(1) pursuant to this Act, the Small Business 
Act, or the community development block grant dis-
aster recovery program of the Department of Hous-
ing and Urban Development; 
‘‘(2) to an individual or business; and 
‘‘(3) in response to a major disaster or emer-
gency declared by the President under section 401 
of this Act.’’. 
Æ 
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