Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act
This bill reduces to two years the statute of limitations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to recoup disaster funding. It also requires FEMA to establish a ratio of acceptable error in its grants payments and authorizes the waiver of certain recoupment and duplication of benefits requirements.
The bill reduces from three years to two the time period (starting from the final report of project completion) during which FEMA may take action to recover emergency or disaster assistance FEMA has provided to a state, Indian tribal, or local government.
Also, under current law, FEMA generally must reduce and recover improper payments (i.e., payments that should not have been made or were made in an incorrect amount) and maintain an error rate below 10%. The bill requires FEMA to establish its own acceptable error ratio for providing emergency or disaster assistance funds for eligible purposes. It also authorizes FEMA to waive recoupment of certain emergency or disaster assistance (e.g., Public Assistance funding) when the provided funds exceed the total cost of the relevant project by no more than 5%.
Additionally, the bill reauthorizes the President to waive the prohibition on the duplication of benefits upon request from the governor of a state if the President determines certain criteria are met. In exercising such authority, the President may not determine that a loan is a duplication. This authority is not applicable to FEMA’s Individual Assistance program or Public Assistance for repair and replacement.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 5, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 6, 2025: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Neal Dunn (R-FL) introduced it on June 5, 2025. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 5, 2025, 462 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 461 days ago, on June 6, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers