The Federal Emergency Management Agency has waived the repayment of nearly $95 million that the agency believes was improperly paid to victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma
According to a report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, FEMA also denied 1,293 requests totaling $6.3 million in improper payments and has recouped $1.3 million from applicants who got improper disaster payments.
At least some of the overpayments were due to FEMA employees’ own mistakes, ranging from clerical errors to failing to interview applicants, according to congressional testimony. In some cases, the errors resulted in FEMA providing applicants with duplicate payments.
FEMA said it is required by law to make an effort to recover improper payments, even if the recipient wasn’t at fault. Last December, Congress approved legislation that would allow FEMA to waive many of the debts.
The Times-Picayune reports the 18,283 waiver cases processed by FEMA represent 20 percent of the outstanding waivers, which total more than $371 million the agency said should be repaid. In addition to the money not recovered, implementing the waiver program has cost FEMA $4.8 million so far, and has resulted in the refund of $2.5 million to individuals who repaid their grant money, but were later granted a waiver, according to the report.
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