FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act
Disaster Recovery: Reimbursing Interest on Local Government Loans
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and is being reviewed by a House subcommittee. It is actively moving through the committee system, but no further votes or hearings have been scheduled yet.
Legislative Progress
The bill has strong bipartisan support from lawmakers in states often hit by hurricanes, but it still needs to pass through the committee process and find a path in the Senate.
Key Points
- This bill allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay back local governments and electric cooperatives for interest they paid on loans. These loans must have been used to pay for disaster recovery work that the federal government already approved.
- Local cities, counties, and electric companies that provide power to rural areas are the main groups helped. It ensures they are not stuck with high interest bills while waiting for federal disaster money to arrive after a major storm or emergency.
- When a major disaster hits, local governments often have to borrow money immediately to fix roads or restore power. Since it can take a long time for federal funds to be paid out, the interest on those loans can cost local taxpayers millions of dollars.
- The plan would cover interest payments made over the last nine years. The amount paid back would be capped at the current prime interest rate to ensure the government is not overpaying for private bank loans.
- If passed, the government would have 30 days to set up the rules for this program. States would then have 60 days to apply for money they are already owed for past projects, with a goal of getting paid within one year.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(18)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.