WASHINGTON — Technically it’s called a “recoupment” but U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner is going with “clawback” to describe what the government has demanded of 255 households that received federal money after .
In letters mailed as early as November 2013, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has insisted that these residents repay some or all of the recovery aid they received — or else face fines that, in the long term, could cost hundreds of dollars.
On average, FEMA is seeking about $3,800 of repayments from the 255 households, according to figures released by the agency.
FEMA officials said the letters are justified and that they represent an honest effort by the agency to ensure tax dollars aren’t wasted on victims who don’t deserve the money.
But the FEMA requests have touched a nerve among Colorado lawmakers, several of whom filed legislation this week to push back against the agency and its policy of recoupment.
“Disaster victims have suffered enough,” Gardner said in a statement. “Victims don’t need the prospect of the federal government coming back to them, years after they’ve had to rebuild their lives, demanding a return of the aid that had been appropriately granted.”
The Republicans’ bill would give disaster-aid recipients an additional layer of protection from the government and prohibit FEMA from starting the recoupment process after a resident received recovery assistance.
Although the three-year limit wouldn’t apply right now in the case of the , which ravaged Boulder County and other parts of north-central Colorado, FEMA has been criticized in the past for seeking recoupment after other disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.
A similar bill offered by U.S. Reps. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, and Jared Polis, D-Boulder, also would impose a three-year limit.
“For families who lost almost everything they had in the Colorado floods, wildfires, or other natural disasters, being asked to pay money back is a final insult that could be the nail in their financial coffin,” Polis said in a statement.
Since Colorado’s 2013 floods, FEMA has distributed about $62 million of aid to nearly 16,600 individuals or households. Agency officials said the 255 households asked to return some or all of the money is small by comparison; that’s about 1.5 percent of the total recipients.
It’s also in line with other disasters. After Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, FEMA doled out $1.4 billion of aid to about 183,000 households then asked about 3,600 of them for recoupments — about 2 percent of the total from that disaster, according to the agency.
“Unfortunately, whether through fraud, human or accounting errors, or other reasons, assistance sometimes goes to individuals who are not eligible,” wrote FEMA spokeswoman Susan Hendrick in a statement. “Federal law requires FEMA and other federal agencies to recover improper payments.”
In the case of the Colorado floods, FEMA told Polis’ office that there was a range of reasons why the agency would seek recoupment. These include a duplication of benefits among individuals in a household, or “overpayment” for home repair or rental assistance.
Mark K. Matthews: 202-662-8907, mmatthews @denverpost.com or twitter.com/mkmatthews
