[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2767-H2768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTING DISASTER REVICTIMIZATION ACT
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 539) to amend the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to
require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
waive certain debts owed to the United States related to covered
assistance provided to an individual or household, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 539
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 ``Preventing Disaster
Revictimization Act''.
SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY.
Section 1216(a) of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018
(42 U.S.C. 5174a(a)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (2)(A) to read as follows:
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), shall--
``(i) waive a debt owed to the United States related to
covered assistance provided to an individual or household if
the covered assistance was distributed based on an error by
the Agency and such debt shall be construed as a hardship;
and
``(ii) waive a debt owed to the United States related to
covered assistance provided to an individual or household if
such assistance is subject to a claim or legal action,
including in accordance with section 317 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5160); and''; and
(2) in paragraph (3)(B)--
(A) by striking ``Removal of'' and inserting ``Report on'';
and
(B) in clause (ii) by striking ``the authority of the
Administrator to waive debt under paragraph (2) shall no
longer be effective'' and inserting ``the Administrator shall
report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate actions that
the Administrator will take to reduce the error rate''.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
the Senate a report containing a description of the internal
processes used to make decisions regarding the distribution
of covered assistance under section 1216 of the Disaster
Recovery and Reform Act of 2018 (42 U.S.C. 5174a) and any
changes made to such processes.
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Missouri
(Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 539.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 539, the Preventing Disaster
Revictimization Act, introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Ranking Member Graves from Missouri and Representatives
Carbajal, Garamendi, Huffman, Thompson, and LaMalfa of California.
This legislation is designed to ensure disaster survivors are not
revictimized by recoupment--or clawbacks--of Federal disaster
assistance they have received from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency.
Unfortunately, FEMA has repeatedly instructed disaster survivors to
register for individual assistance for which they were ultimately not
eligible, or granted qualified survivors more assistance than they
should have received.
However, once FEMA identifies an error, it forces these survivors
into a bureaucratic nightmare to appeal the debt that they now owe as a
result of the agency's error. I am not surprised that this still goes
on, but I am disappointed that--given the technology and data we have
at our fingertips--we have not been able to improve this system for
survivors, especially considering that this program is just a small
piece of the Federal disaster recovery apparatus.
H.R. 539 would waive survivors' debt owed to the Federal Government
in instances where FEMA erroneously distributed assistance. This bill
would also provide a similar waiver to disaster survivors who may be
involved in a legal action against a party deemed responsible for a
disaster event. While this scenario is less common, it played out in
California last year and jeopardized disaster relief for tens of
thousands of families displaced by the unprecedented wildfires of the
last few years.
Survivors have already been traumatized by a disaster--the Federal
Government should not force them to endure a convoluted process to
correct FEMA's mistakes or decision to pursue legal action years after
an event against a liable party.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am a proud sponsor of this bill, the Preventing
Disaster Revictimization Act.
In 2018, Congress made the recovery process fairer and more equitable
for communities when we passed important reforms to the disaster
preparation and recovery processes. This bill builds upon those efforts
by ensuring that funds spent by disaster victims aren't clawed back by
the government.
When victims apply--and this is in good faith, mind you--when victims
apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and
receive it from the agency, those individuals likely need to move
quickly to use that assistance for eligible expenses like home repairs
to speed up
[[Page H2768]]
recovery and to begin rebuilding their lives, for obvious reasons. So,
these victims should never expect that FEMA is going to come back
weeks, months, and sometimes even years later and say: Oops, we made a
mistake. Now you, the victim, are going to have to give back those
funds that you have already put to good use.
To add insult to injury, FEMA's information on how disaster victims
can appeal these decisions is incredibly confusing, and it is
absolutely insufficient.
Remember, this is due to no fault of their own, but many disaster
victims are faced with debt collectors and the full force of the
Federal Government when it comes to repaying these funds.
This is absolutely unacceptable. People acting in good faith to
rebuild should not be revictimized after they have properly relied upon
FEMA's determination that they were qualified for the assistance that
they did receive.
This bill, H.R. 539, is going to clarify that if FEMA makes an error,
and there is no evidence of fraud, then the victim will not be
revictimized. Their debt is automatically viewed as a hardship, and it
is waived.
In addition, the bill would also require FEMA to report back to
Congress, to us, on its error rates and tell us what they are doing to
be more accurate.
Last Congress, this bill passed on the House floor and had bipartisan
support. This Congress, the bill now has a companion version in the
Senate, and I hope that we can see this legislation enacted into law
this year and truly help disaster victims not only in my district but
also across the Nation.
Madam Speaker, I encourage support for this bill. It is a good bill,
and people don't need to be revictimized.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 539.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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