The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that it is cancelling the repayment of over $870 million in outstanding community disaster loan balances.
The Community Disaster Loan Program is available to local governments that have been adversely affected by major disasters. The cancellation is a result of congressional legislation in the continuing budget resolution that began October 1, 2021.
The legislation cancelled any outstanding loan balance. It will provide significant flexibilities to communities recovering from disasters, as they can use the funds to cover expenses. FEMA recently sent notifications to the 158 loan holders notifying them of this cancellation. It will also provide significant relief to states along the Gulf Coast, including:
- over $27 million cancelled for Florida;
- more than $6 million cancelled for Louisiana;
- more than $3.5 million cancelled for Mississippi; and
- over $13 million cancelled for Texas.