Congressman Neal Dunn of Florida has introduced a new piece of legislation aimed at preventing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from reclaiming Public Assistance grants provided to communities affected by natural disasters. The proposed bill, known as The Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act, seeks to address concerns about FEMA’s practice of attempting to recoup funds years after they have been spent on recovery efforts.
“Communities impacted by natural disasters like tropical storms and hurricanes should not be concerned that government bureaucrats will attempt to recoup federal aid for recovery efforts years after the money has been spent rebuilding the community,” Congressman Dunn stated. He emphasized that “Florida cities and counties are responsible stewards of federal funding when disaster strikes, and we cannot allow bureaucratic uncertainty to impact the recovery process.”
Currently, local entities such as cities, counties, and electric cooperatives submit requests for Public Assistance through the Florida Division of Emergency Management before these requests reach FEMA. Despite undergoing multiple levels of review prior to approval, FEMA often revisits these projects years later with intentions to recover funds already disbursed.
This practice has led to confusion among local leaders and disrupted recovery processes. Notably, several projects related to Hurricane Michael in 2018 were subjected to this issue despite having completed rigorous reviews before receiving disaster relief funding. These projects face potential financial setbacks due to nearly $100 million in funding being targeted for claw-back by FEMA.
The Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act proposes several measures: exempting certain project costs during grant agreements with FEMA; reducing the statute of limitations for recoupment from three years to two; allowing waivers for some fund recoveries; granting discretion in pursuing project overruns exceeding five percent; and requiring an “acceptable error ratio” during eligibility negotiations.
The full text of the bill is available for public reading.
