Summary

Requires FEMA to pay applicants’ attorney’s fees for appeals or arbitrations of disaster assistance decisions when the applicant obtains a favorable outcome. The change applies only to fees tied to the appeal or arbitration that produced the favorable result and does not specify new funding or broader program changes.

Key Points

• FEMA must reimburse attorney’s fees when an applicant wins an appeal or arbitration of a disaster assistance decision.
• Coverage is limited to fees incurred in the specific appeal or arbitration that resulted in a favorable outcome.
• The text does not provide an explicit funding appropriation or cap on reimbursed fees.
• Will likely require FEMA to set procedures for claims, documentation, and determining fee reasonableness.
• May increase the use of lawyers in FEMA appeals and could raise federal costs and administrative workload.
• Does not change eligibility for disaster assistance or create new benefits beyond fee reimbursement.
• Could produce disputes over what fees are reasonable and how reimbursements are calculated.

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