II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 709 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 23, 2017 Mr. Nelson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from taking administrative action to recover certain payments for disaster or emergency assistance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Disaster Assistance Improvement Act of 2017 . 2. Actions to recover payment for disaster or emergency assistance (a) In general Section 705 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5205 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(1)— (A) by striking Except and inserting Notwithstanding section 3716(e) of title 31, United States Code, and except ; and (B) by striking report for the disaster or emergency and inserting report for project completion as certified by the grantee ; and (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking report for the disaster or emergency and inserting report for project completion as certified by the grantee ; and (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting for project completion as certified by the grantee after final expenditure report . (b) Applicability With respect to a payment for disaster or emergency assistance provided to a State or local government on or after January 1, 2004, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may not take administrative action to recover such payment for assistance after the date of enactment of this Act if the action is prohibited under section 705(a)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5205(a)(1) ), as amended by subsection (a). (c) Limitation Nothing in this section, including the amendments made by this section, shall be construed to invalidate or otherwise affect any administrative action completed before the date of enactment of this Act.