Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act

The Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act would prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from requiring disaster survivors to pay back financial assistance that was awarded to them in error. Under current law, if FEMA mistakenly overpays a claimant or determines later that an individual was ineligible, the agency often seeks "recoupment," which can leave survivors with unexpected debt while they are still recovering from a disaster.

This bill would require FEMA to waive these debts if the error was made by the agency and if repaying the money would cause the individual a financial hardship. Additionally, the legislation requires FEMA to report to Congress on the specific steps it is taking to reduce its internal error rate and improve the accuracy of how disaster funds are distributed to households.