Don’t Penalize Victims Act

Don’t Penalize Victims Act

This bill enables persons receiving funds from a federal disaster assistance program to also receive funds for that same purpose from any other source except for another federal program or insurance.

Under current law, federal agencies providing financial assistance for losses resulting from a major disaster or emergency are prohibited from allowing recipients to receive other funds for that same purpose from any other source. Persons seeking federal disaster assistance must report the availability or receipt of duplicative funds and federal agencies will reduce the amount of disaster assistance accordingly to prevent a duplication of benefits.

The bill narrows the duplication restriction to apply only to funds from other federal programs or insurance, so federal agencies providing disaster assistance may allow recipients to also receive funds for that same purpose from any other sources (e.g., charitable gifts, legal claims).

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2254 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2254

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to make certain changes with respect to duplication of 
                   benefits, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 21, 2025

Ms. Friedman (for herself, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Chu, Mr. Harder 
of California, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Brownley, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. 
 Whitesides, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to make certain changes with respect to duplication of 
                   benefits, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Don't Penalize Victims Act''.

SEC. 2. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.

    Section 312(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155(a)) is amended by striking 
``or any other source''.
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