FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act

This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse a local government or electric cooperative for interest paid on a loan used for emergency or disaster-related activities later paid for by FEMA assistance. The bill provides for similar reimbursement of interest to states for projects that are pending obligation.

The bill retroactively applies to interest incurred by a local government or electric cooperative in the nine years preceding enactment of the bill.

FEMA must reimburse states for loan interest for emergency or disaster-related projects that are pending obligation on the date of the bill’s enactment. FEMA must publish procedures for such reimbursement within 30 days after the bill’s enactment and states must apply within 60 days after publication of the procedures.

The interest that qualifies for reimbursement may not exceed the amount of interest that would have been paid if the loan's interest rate were equal to the most recent prime rate.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service.