H.R. 2836 — FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act

This section establishes a reimbursement program under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) for qualifying interest paid by local governments (including the District of Columbia) or electric cooperatives on qualifying loans, where at least 90% of loan proceeds fund activities eligible for public assistance under the Stafford Act (i.e., grants to repair or replace public facilities and infrastructure damaged by major disasters). Qualifying interest is the lesser of actual interest paid or interest calculated at the most recent prime rate published by the Federal Reserve. (1) The program applies retroactively to interest incurred in the nine years preceding enactment, funded only by post-enactment appropriations; (2) within 30 days of enactment, FEMA must publish alternative procedures in the Federal Register enabling states to seek reimbursement for outstanding qualifying interest on pending public assistance projects, with state applications due within 60 days of publication and reimbursements completed within one year of enactment.