,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gig  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #e1 #bjae  
,mr4 ,meeks 7for himself and ,mr4 ,king 
of ,new ,york7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure  ,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 error1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,disaster           
,assistance ,recoupment ,fairness ,act  
of #bjae4  #b4 ,debts owed to ,united   
,states related to disaster assistance  
distributed in error  7a7 ,covered      
assistance defined ,in this section1 the
 term covered assistance means          
assistance provided--  7#a7 under       
section #djh of the ,robert ,t4         
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         

,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #eagd72 and  7#b7 in relation 
to a major disaster declared by the     
,president under section #dja of the    
,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief 
and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db    
,u4,s4,c4 #eagj7 on or after ,january   
#a1 #bjaa4  7b7 ,waiver authority ,the  
,administrator of the ,federal          
,emergency ,management ,agency-- 7#a7   
subject to paragraph 7#b7 and subsection
 7c71 may waive a debt owed to the      
,united ,states related to covered      
assistance provided to an individual or 
household if--  7,a7 the covered        
assistance was distributed based on an  
error by the ,federal ,emergency        
,management ,agency2  7,b7 there was no 
fault on behalf of the debtor2 and  7,c7
 the collection of the debt would be    
against equity and good conscience2 and 
7#b7 may not waive a debt under         
paragraph 7#a7 if the debt involves     
fraud1 the presentation of a false      
claim1 or misrepresentation by the      

debtor or any party having an interest  
in the claim4  7c7 ,presumption of      
repayment ,in determining whether to    
waive a debt under subsection 7b71 the  
,administrator shall presume that1 if   
the adjusted gross income 7as defined   
under section #fb of the ,internal      
,revenue ,code of #aihf7 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  
#ajj1jjj 7adjusted annually for         
inflation beginning with the year       
following the date of enactment of this 
,act71 the debtor should be required to 
make at least a partial payment on the  
debt4  7d7 ,reporting ,not later than #c
 months after the date of enactment of  
this ,act1 and every #f months          
thereafter1 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 #djh of the ,robert ,t4         
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         
,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #eagd7 to--  7#a7 the         
,committee on ,homeland ,security and   
,governmental ,affairs and the          
,subcommittee on ,homeland ,security of 
the ,committee on ,appropriations of the
 ,senate2 and  7#b7 the ,committee on   
,homeland ,security1 the ,committee on  
,transportation and ,infrastructure1 and
 the ,subcommittee on ,homeland         
,security of the ,committee on          
,appropriations of the ,house of        
,representatives4  7e7 ,monitoring of   
covered assistance distributed based on 
error  7#a7 ,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 ,agency4  7#b7 ,removal of  

waiver authority based on excessive     
error rate ,if the ,inspector ,general  
determines1 with respect to any         
#ab-month period1 that the amount of    
covered assistance distributed based on 
an error by the ,federal ,emergency     
,management ,agency exceeds #d percent  
of the total amount of covered          
assistance distributed--  7,a7 the      
,inspector ,general shall notify the    
,administrator and publish the          
determination in the ,federal ,register2
 and  7,b7 with respect to any major    
disaster declared by the ,president     
under section #dja of the ,robert ,t4   
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         
,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #eagj7 after the date of the  
determination1 the authority of the     
,administrator to waive debt under      
subsection 7b7 shall no longer be       
effective4