Title: Disaster Assistance Recoupment Fairness Act of 2017
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Disaster Assistance Recoupment Fairness Act of 2017
This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to waive a debt owed to the United States related to disaster assistance provided to an individual or household if:
The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall: (1) monitor federal disaster assistance to determine the percentage that is distributed based on a FEMA error; and (2) upon determining that such percentage exceeds 4% for any 12-month period, notify the FEMA Administrator and publish such determination. The waiver authority under this bill shall not apply to debts owed in relation to assistance provided for a disaster or emergency declared after the date such a determination is published.
Unless there is evidence of fraud, FEMA shall not initiate any action to recover: (1) disaster assistance for an individual or household later than three years after the last date the assistance was provided, or (2) amounts owed by an individual or household in relation to such assistance later than three years after the date the amounts were determined to be owed.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1860 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1860

   To ensure fairness in the recoupment of certain Federal disaster 
                  assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2017

  Mr. Meeks introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure fairness in the recoupment of certain Federal disaster 
                  assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Disaster Assistance Recoupment 
Fairness Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF CERTAIN DEBTS.

    (a) Waiver Authority.--Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, 
United States Code, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency may waive a debt owed to the United States related to 
covered assistance provided to an individual or household if--
            (1) the covered assistance was distributed based on an 
        error by the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
            (2) there was no fault on behalf of the debtor, including 
        that there was no fraud, presentation of a false claim, or 
        misrepresentation by the debtor or any party having an interest 
        in the applicable claim; and
            (3) the collection of the debt would be against equity and 
        good conscience.
    (b) Monitoring of Covered Assistance Distributed Based on Error.--
            (1) In general.--The Inspector General of the Department of 
        Homeland Security shall monitor, on an ongoing basis, the 
        distribution of covered assistance to determine the percentage 
        of such assistance that is distributed based on an error by the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (2) Removal of waiver authority due to excessive error 
        rate.--If the Inspector General determines, with respect to any 
        12-month period, that the percentage of covered assistance that 
        is distributed based on an error by the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency exceeds 4 percent of the total amount of 
        covered assistance distributed--
                    (A) the Inspector General shall--
                            (i) notify the Administrator of the Federal 
                        Emergency Management Agency of the 
                        determination; and
                            (ii) publish the determination in the 
                        Federal Register; and
                    (B) with respect to debts owed in relation to 
                covered assistance provided for a major disaster or 
                emergency declared after the date on which the 
                determination is published under subparagraph (A)(ii), 
                the waiver authority under subsection (a) of this 
                section shall not apply.
    (c) Covered Assistance Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered assistance'' means assistance provided--
            (1) under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
        Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); and
            (2) in relation to a major disaster or emergency declared 
        by the President under such Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) on or 
        after October 30, 2012.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON RECOVERY.

    Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, United States Code, 
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, unless 
there is evidence of fraud, shall not initiate any action, in any 
forum, to recover--
            (1) assistance provided to an individual or household under 
        section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) more than 3 years 
        after the last date on which the assistance was provided; or
            (2) amounts owed by an individual or household in relation 
        to assistance provided under such section more than 3 years 
        after the date on which the amounts were determined to be owed.
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