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To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to make certain changes with respect to duplication of benefits, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to modify restrictions on disaster assistance recipients receiving duplicate benefits. The bill removes language from Section 312(a) that prevents federal disaster assistance when disaster victims receive aid from other sources. Currently, the law restricts federal disaster assistance if losses would be covered by other sources such as insurance, charity, or other government programs. By removing this "duplication of benefits" restriction, the bill would allow disaster victims to receive full federal disaster assistance regardless of whether they also receive compensation from other sources for the same losses.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
12 cosponsors
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA)
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA)
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA)
- Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray, Jr. [D-CA-31] (D-CA)
- Rep. Ezell, Mike [R-MS-4] (R-MS)
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA)
- Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9] (D-CA)
- Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA)
- Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA)
- Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] (D-CA)
- Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] (D-CA)
- Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Laura Friedman’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $16,200
- CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES $10,424
- CITY OF LOS ANGELES $10,115
- DAKE WILSON ARCHITECTS $7,800
- CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE $7,050
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Laura Friedman → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Mar 21, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. · house
- Mar 21, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. · house
- Mar 21, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 21, 2025
Ms. Friedman (for herself, Mr. Ezell, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Chu, Mr. Harder of California, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Brownley, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Whitesides, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to make certain changes with respect to duplication of benefits, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Don’t Penalize Victims Act”.
SEC. 2. DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.
Section 312(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155(a)) is amended by striking “or any other source”. <all>
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