Polis, Buck Lead Efforts to Protect Disaster Victims from Aggressive FEMA Penalties

Press Release

Representatives Jared Polis (CO-02) and Ken Buck (CO-04) today announced that they are leading efforts to protect victims of natural disasters from aggressive attempts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to collect erroneous payments that were issued through no fault of the victim.

Under current law, FEMA is allowed to require disaster victims to repay their disaster assistance, if at any time after the payment was made, FEMA changes its determination in a process known as recoupment. Even more troublesome, there is no statute of limitations on this type of action. That is why both Representatives have cosponsored the Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015 to bring accountability and fairness into this broken system.

"For families who lost almost everything they had in the Colorado floods, wildfires, or other natural disasters, being asked to pay money back is a final insult that could be the nail in their financial coffin," said Rep. Polis. "I will do whatever I can to prevent people whose lives were already devastated from being charged back for something that isn't their fault and could be financially devastating."

"This bill will provide Coloradans who have been harmed during natural disasters a greater degree of certainty that the assistance they receive from FEMA will not be unjustly taken away," said Rep. Buck. "Hardworking families in Colorado deserve efficiency and consistency from government, and this bill advances that goal."

Specifically, the Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2015:

* Prohibits FEMA from recouping disaster assistance from those who have filled out accurate aid applications and received aid that could be reasonably expected from that application.

* Requires FEMA to send documentation showing applicant error or fraud to those from whom the recoupment is demanded.

--Under current law, applicants are guilty until proven innocent. This bill would correct this and require FEMA to document guilt.

* Sets a statute of limitations of three years for disaster recoupment.

This legislation does not prevent FEMA from recouping money from those who have defrauded the government, or who have gained relief based on false information.

The problem of FEMA's recoupment letters has plagued natural disaster victims for decades, most recently when the agency issued letters to an estimated 148 disaster survivors in Boulder County thirteen months after floods devastated their communities in September 2013. These letters offered limited information on the reason the relief funds had to be returned, using only vague terminology like "duplication of benefits." The letters gave 30 days for funds to be returned, threatening to charge interest and penalties.

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