U.S. Congressman introduces bill to hold FEMA accountable
WASHINGTON D.C. (WMBB) – U.S. Congressman Neal Dunn introduced the 'Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act' bill to the House in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning.
The bill's goal is to prevent FEMA 'claw-backs' of Public Assistance grants for disaster recovery projects.
FEMA has attempted to claw-back its relief funds for several panhandle communities. Some governments are more equipped for a claw-back scenario, like Bay County, which has tools like a surtax. For a rural area like Washington County, a claw-back would be detrimental.
'They did 100% audit twice and partial audits, two more times, and they were all approved,' said U.S. Congressman Neal Dunn. 'Money was lent, then roads were built. And then seven years later, FEMA comes around, says, 'Oh, we made a mistake.' We need $100 million back.'
Dunn said this is unacceptable in rural counties.
'And, you know, you can't do that to rural counties, especially rural fiscally constrained counties,' said Dunn. 'Washington County is one of the counties involved in this. Can you imagine them coming up with $100 million? Not in a thousand years.'
The question remains, should any community who's been promised funds in a time of tragedy and destruction have to turn around and give FEMA the funds back?
'They came in and audited both Bay County and Washington County and approved it repeatedly. Repeatedly ordered it and approved it. Then you go spend the money and they say, 'Oh, we're not and we want it back.' That's wrong. That's just wrong,' Dunn said.
His passion for the topic led him to write the legislation he is hoping Congress will pass this year.
Bay County officials said legislation that reinforces FEMA's system would be extremely reassuring.
'It would be a marvelous thing for us to know that going forward, we would be able to be set up in a place to know that we wouldn't get the rug pulled out from under us after we were doing work for recovery for our citizens,' Bay County Commissioner Doug Moore said.
The bill has been in the works for some time. Dunn said they previously attempted to stiffen the FEMA regulations in 2018.
'We actually did an anti 'claw-back' law back in the 150th Congress, but we only made it for three, so they could go beyond three years back. This time, we're going to go to pinch them a little harder. We're going to make it two years and we're going to make the rules a lot more stringent,' added Dunn.
The Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act makes reinforcements by:
Exempt 'covered project' costs to FEMA Public Assistance projects while executing a grant agreement with FEMA.
Prohibits the recoupment of certain Public Assistance grants by adjusting the statute of limitations from three years to two years.
Includes a FEMA waiver of certain recoupment funds.
Grants FEMA discretion to prioritize the pursuit of project overruns exceeding 5 percent of the total project cost.
Requires the FEMA Administrator to develop and establish an 'acceptable error ratio' for allocations during eligibility negotiations.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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