Pallone, Kim Hold Press Conference on Forgiveness of New Jersey Community Disaster Loans

Toms River, NJ – Congressmen Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Andy Kim (NJ-03) held a press conference today on forgiveness of outstanding balances of Community Disaster Loans (CDLs) made to municipalities in New Jersey to help them recover from Superstorm Sandy. Pallone, Kim, and Congresswoman Watson Coleman (NJ-12) secured the loan forgiveness in a government operations bill that the House passed and President Biden signed last week. Last year, the New Jersey delegation requested cancellation of unforgiven loans. Currently, 18 New Jersey municipalities owe more than $25 million worth of Community Disaster Loans that were issued after the storm.

“This is great news for cities and towns in New Jersey that are still struggling to rebuild from the devastating impacts of Superstorm Sandy nearly nine years after it hit New Jersey. It’s simply unfair to force New Jersey residents to bear the burden of paying millions of dollars that they needed after a time of crisis,” said Pallone. “I’m glad we were able to get loan forgiveness across the finish line. I will continue to work with the Biden Administration to help homeowners who are still recovering from the storm and to ensure our state receives all the support it needs after Hurricane Ida.”

“I’m proud to have fought for and won more than $12 million dollars in total loan forgiveness for several Ocean County towns and schools,” said Kim. “This month marks nine years since Superstorm Sandy devastated our communities. This relief is an important step in healing our communities, but there’s still work ahead of us. I won’t stop fighting until every single homeowner in my district has the financial relief they need.”

“It’s great news that we secured Sandy Community Disaster Loan forgiveness for towns in the spending bill that House passed and President Biden signed into law—my town, Stafford, has a Community Disaster Loan. It’s not just our towns that are being asked to unfairly repay disaster relief funding, it’s also individuals like me. We are hopeful that individual clawback relief will be included in future bills and stand ready to work with Ida-impacted families to make sure everyone gets home and whole,” said Joe Mangino New Jersey Organizing Project Board President.