Post-Disaster Fairness to States Act of 2017
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Post-Disaster Fairness to States Act of 2017
This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) to prohibit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from taking administrative action to recover any payment for disaster or emergency assistance that is made three years after a completed disaster relief project where the project grantee certifies that the purpose of the grant was accomplished. Under current law, FEMA may initiate an action to recover assistance payments for up to three years after the transmission of a final expenditure report for a disaster or emergency.
Additionally, the bill prohibits FEMA from taking any action to recoup certain assistance under the Stafford Act provided to individuals and households (relating to a major disaster declared on or after January 1, 2012), if the receipt of such assistance occurred more than three years before FEMA first provided written notification of an intent to recoup such assistance.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 27, 2017. 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 July 27, 2017: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced it on July 27, 2017. 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 July 27, 2017, 3332 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3332 days ago, on July 27, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers