Menendez Calls on Senate to Pass Sandy Clawback Fix ASAP

Press Release

During a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called on his Senate colleagues to pass relief for Superstorm Sandy survivors to prevent the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from clawing back any funds they received to help them repair their homes. HUD is attempting to claw back Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) money from Sandy survivors who also received Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.

"It has been 9 years since Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey, New York, and the northeast. Despite some members efforts to block disaster relief for our region, we succeeded in securing billions in CDBG-DR funding," Sen. Menendez said, a senior member of the committee. "Nine years later, HUD is attempting to claw back from New Jerseyans the money they used to repair their homes and get back on their feet."

Congress passed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act in 2018 to end the policy of SBA loans duplicating with CDBG-DR grants, but it only prevents the claw back issue for survivors from 2016 through 2021, leaving Sandy survivors at risk of having their money clawed back. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a provision in their appropriations bill that will give the HUD secretary increased authority to waive claw backs due to the duplication of benefits from Superstorm Sandy.

"While I appreciate that Congress prevented this issue for survivors from 2016 and onward, I hope my colleagues will work together with me to pass relief that the House of Representatives passed earlier this year in its appropriations bill, so these Sandy survivors can finally close this dark chapter of their lives," the senator continued.
Sen. Menendez also urged Congress to direct CDBG-DR spending to invest in mitigation and resiliency projects to prepare communities for future natural disasters.

"You will be hard-pressed to find a place in the country that is not impacted by climate change and natural disaster. Whether it'd be flooding in my state, wildfires in the west, and chronic droughts across the heartland, every single state will inevitably need assistance," the senator said. "We know that for every dollar invested in mitigation, the federal government saves $6 in disaster relief spending."
In Congress, Sen. Menendez has been the top advocate for Sandy survivors ever since the storm hit the region nine years ago.

In October, on the ninth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy slamming New Jersey, Sens. Menendez and Cory Booker along with Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (N.J.-09) introduced the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform Act, to extend the NFIP and implement reforms. In June, Sens. Menendez and Kennedy introduced the National Flood Insurance Program Consultant Accountability Act, which would enhance the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) ability to protect homeowners from parties found guilty of fraud that involved in NFIP property damage assessment.

Sen. Menendez first exposed the problem of widespread lowballing of flood insurance claims during Congressional hearings he chaired in 2014, and then successfully pushed FEMA to reopen every Sandy flood insurance claim for review, which compensated Sandy victims with more than $260 million in additional payments they were initially denied.

Sen. Menendez authored the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act, which extended and expanded access to federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). His Homeowner's Flood Insurance Affordability Act was signed into law in 2014 to address skyrocketing rates many Sandy survivors were encountering. In 2013, he shepherded the original $60 billion federal Sandy aid package through Congress.

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