New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - FEMA to explain process on forgiving overpayments from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita

FEMA is preparing to send out letters next week explaining the procedures the agency will follow as it considers whether to forgive overpayments the agency made to tens of thousands of Louisiana residents after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Aides to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., shared the agency's plans, which are expected to be announced Wednesday morning.

Ted Jackson, The Times-Picayune
FEMA says it made overpayments of $643 million between 2005 and 2010, mostly to victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. The delivery of FEMA trailers in the Lower 9th Ward was photographed on Dec. 6, 2006.
The letters will explain that under legislation Landrieu helped enact in December, the agency is now authorized to waive repayment demands sent to about 90,000 people, over 90 percent related to claims for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Only overpayments resulting from an error by FEMA will be eligible to have repayments waived.
FEMA will ask residents to submit letters within 60 days addressing the following questions:
-- Can they certify that the money in question was not obtained through willful misinformation?
-- Did they live in the affected communities at the time of the hurricanes?
-- How did they use the money that was sent them in error and would repayment constitute a financial hardship?
-- What was their family income reported in their 2010 tax return? The program will primarily benefit people with incomes under $90,000. People with income over $90,000 could get some of their overpayments waived from repayment requirements.
The agency is likely to respond affirmatively to people who certify that they used the money for recovery and rebuilding efforts and that they would have trouble repaying the money.
A Landrieu aide said the agency is attempting to make the process as consumer-friendly as possible. A big worry, he said, is that some people will ignore the letters and won't respond, as required within 60 days, thereby not making themselves eligible to have overpayments forgiven.
Landrieu, who was also briefed on FEMA's plans, said she's pleased the agency is moving forward quickly to take advantage of the new authority her legislative provision gave the agency. Without it, FEMA said it lacked the authority to forgive overpayments, even those caused by mistakes make by agency employees.

http://media.nola.com/hurricane_katr...1526-large.jpg
"I think they will be sending some very good news to tens thousands of Louisiana residents," Landrieu said.
Landrieu credited Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., whose subcommittee had jurisdiction over the FEMA provision, and Obama administration officials for working with her to find a fix to a major problem for so many Louisiana residents. One estimates pegs the average overpayment claimed by FEMA at about $2,500.

read more