Congressman MacArthur Introduces Legislation to Help Sandy Victims

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (D-NY) introduced the Disaster Assistance Fairness and Accountability Act of 2017. This bill sets a statute of limitations of three years for disaster recoupment preventing FEMA from trying to “recoup” money from innocent taxpayers. 

“Since I first came to Congress, fighting for natural disaster victims, who have been treated unfairly by FEMA, has always been a top priority of mine,” said Congressman MacArthur. “This bipartisan bill will bring common sense reform to FEMA by protecting victims from recoupment years after their claims have been received.  As South Jersey continues to recover from Superstorm Sandy, Jersey Shore families shouldn’t have to pay for FEMA’s mistakes.”

“Victims of disasters like Sandy use whatever assistance they receive to rebuild their homes and put their lives back together, and it’s not fair for FEMA to try and claw back that money years later because they think they noticed a mistake,” said Congresswoman Rice. “While we keep working to waive all debts for homeowners who may have been overpaid through no fault of their own, this bipartisan legislation will impose a three-year statute of limitations on attempts to recoup funds from individuals, as is already the case for states and municipalities.”