Summary

Allows the President to waive the Stafford Act rule that normally prevents people or businesses from receiving two federal disaster benefits that overlap, when a Governor requests the waiver and the President finds it is in the public interest and will not cause waste, fraud, or abuse. The President must act on a waiver request within 45 days and may consider FEMA input, cost-effectiveness, equity, and other public policy factors. The waiver cannot treat a loan as a duplication of assistance if all federal aid is applied to the disaster loss, and it forbids using income tests to limit who can get a waiver. The authority is limited to major disasters declared in calendar years 2023 and 2024; one section only provides the Act's short title and makes no other programmatic changes.

Key Points

• Gives the President a time-limited authority to waive the duplication-of-benefits prohibition under the Stafford Act when a Governor requests it.
• Waiver may be granted only if it is in the public interest and will not cause waste, fraud, or abuse.
• President must decide on waiver requests within 45 days of submission.
• Loans are not treated as duplicative if all federal assistance is applied to the disaster loss.
• No income threshold may be used to limit who can receive a waiver.
• Waiver authority applies only to major disasters declared in calendar years 2023 and 2024.
• FEMA recommendations and cost-effectiveness, equity, and other public policy factors may be considered in the decision.
• One section only provides the Act's short title and does not change programs or funding.

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