Congressman Kim Brings Efforts to the House Floor to Help Communities Recovering from Superstorm Sandy
Congressman Kim Brings Efforts to the House Floor to Help Communities Recovering from Superstorm Sandy
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) secured efforts through the House Appropriations Committee that would forgive debt owed to the federal government by municipalities and homeowners recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
The amendments, formally introduced by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) in committee, were championed by Congressman Kim and would address ‘clawbacks' issues and offer FEMA Community Disaster Loan (CDL) forgiveness for many families and municipalities in New Jersey still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy. Those efforts may now to go the full House of Representatives for consideration.
"These provisions are a major step forward in relieving the burden of millions in debt from our neighbors and townships in Ocean County," said Congressman Kim. "The time is now to forgive this financial burden and allow our community to focus on recovering from the ongoing crisis we're facing right now. I want to thank Chairman Pallone and Congresswoman Watson Coleman for their leadership, and call on my colleagues to swiftly pass these important efforts."
One provision, passed through the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, would allow New Jersey to request waivers to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to forgive individual homeowners debt in certain categories. These categories will include duplication of benefits and hardship. If this were to pass into law, it could result in an estimated $23.58 million in forgiveness for New Jersey families.
The other provision, passed through the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, would fully forgive all outstanding Community Disaster Loans from Superstorm Sandy. This would impact townships in Ocean County including Toms River, Berkeley Township, Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, Borough of Point Pleasant, and the Seaside Park, Seaside Heights and Ocean Gate Boards of Education. There is currently an estimated $31.4 million in outstanding Community Disaster Loans from Superstorm Sandy that would be forgiven if this were signed into law.
Congressman Kim is the author of the Security After Sandy Act which would provide direct relief to communities by forgiving all Community Disaster Loans (CDLs) from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2020, which includes all Sandy loans. The bill would also help New Jersey homeowners forced to pay back aid that was disbursed in the aftermath of Sandy, by stopping any further recoupment efforts for debt owed to the federal government in relation to Sandy and other major declared disasters between 2006 and 2020.
More information about Congressman Kim's efforts to help our Shore communities recover from Superstorm Sandy can be found here.