Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act

Streamlined FEMA Cost Exemption Act (H.R. 3759) would modernize and speed up certain cost-recovery and waiver provisions in the Stafford Act to improve disaster recovery efforts. The bill reduces the period during which certain FEMA-funded assistance cannot be recouped (from 3 years to 2 years) and adds new authority for waivers of general prohibitions on duplicative assistance, subject to public-interest safeguards and a tight 45-day decision window. It also creates new, limited avenues to avoid recoupment and to manage small overages or errors in funding (a 5% cost-overrun recoupment waiver and an acceptable error ratio). The changes apply to major disasters or emergencies declared after enactment and do not extend to certain programs (sections 406 and 408). In short, the bill aims to speed and simplify cost exemptions for public assistance projects while maintaining guardrails against waste, fraud, or duplication.