Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Disaster Assistance Recoupment Fairness Act of 2015”.
Disaster Assistance Recoupment Fairness Act of 2015
A BILL
To authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to waive certain debts owed to the United States related to disaster assistance distributed to individuals and households in error, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Debts owed to United States related to disaster assistance distributed in error
Covered assistance defined— In this section, the term covered assistance means assistance provided—
under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174); and
in relation to a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) on or after January 1, 2011.
Waiver authority— The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency—
subject to paragraph (2) and subsection (c), may 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 Federal Emergency Management Agency;
there was no fault on behalf of the debtor; and
the collection of the debt would be against equity and good conscience; and
may not waive a debt under paragraph (1) if the debt involves fraud, the presentation of a false claim, or misrepresentation by the debtor or any party having an interest in the claim.
Presumption of repayment— In determining whether to waive a debt under subsection (b), the Administrator shall presume that, if the adjusted gross income (as defined under section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the household of the debtor for the last taxable year ending in or with the calendar year preceding the date on which the income is determined exceeds $100,000 (adjusted annually for inflation beginning with the year following the date of enactment of this Act), the debtor should be required to make at least a partial payment on the debt.
Reporting— Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit a report that assesses the cost-effectiveness of the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recoup improper payments under the individuals and household program under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) to—
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Monitoring of covered assistance distributed based on error—
In general— The Inspector General shall monitor the distribution of covered assistance to individuals and households to determine the percentage of such assistance distributed based on an error by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Removal of waiver authority based on excessive error rate— If the Inspector General determines, with respect to any 12-month period, that the amount of covered assistance distributed based on an error by the Federal Emergency Management Agency exceeds 4 percent of the total amount of covered assistance distributed—
the Inspector General shall notify the Administrator and publish the determination in the Federal Register; and
with respect to any major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) after the date of the determination, the authority of the Administrator to waive debt under subsection (b) shall no longer be effective.