Fairness and Accountability of Appeals Act of 2025
Fairness and Accountability of Appeals Act of 2025 amends the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require reimbursement of an applicant’s attorney fees if the applicant won an appeal or arbitration of a disaster relief decision. Specifically, if an applicant who requests an appeal under the law’s appeals process or arbitration under its arbitration option receives a favorable decision, the Federal government (the Administrator) must reimburse the applicant for their attorney’s fees related to that appeal or arbitration. The bill aims to make the appeals process more accessible and responsive by ensuring that successful applicants aren’t burdened by legal costs, though it does not specify caps, definitions of fees, or processes for reimbursement.
Key Points
- 1Adds new subsection (e) to Section 423, establishing a right to attorney’s fees reimbursement for successful appeals/arbitrations.
- 2Applies to appeals requested under subsection (a) or arbitration under subsection (d) of Section 423.
- 3Reimbursement is required only when the applicant receives a favorable decision following the appeal/arbitration.
- 4The reimbursement obligation falls on the Administrator (the FEMA Administrator under the Stafford Act).
- 5The bill does not define fee caps, what counts as “attorney’s fees,” reasonable vs. unreasonable fees, or the reimbursement process/timeline.