42 USC § 5205a - Certain recoupment prohibited

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t42/s5205a"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "42 USC § 5205a - Certain recoupment prohibited"
title_number: 42
title_name: "THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE"
section_number: "5205a"
section_name: "Certain recoupment prohibited"
chapter_number: 68
chapter_name: "DISASTER RELIEF"
subchapter_number: "V"
subchapter_name: "MISCELLANEOUS"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 115–254, div. D, § 1237, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3464.)"
---


# § 5205a. Certain recoupment prohibited

**(a)** **In general** Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Agency shall deem any covered disaster assistance to have been properly procured, provided, and utilized, and shall restore any funding of covered disaster assistance previously provided but subsequently withdrawn or deobligated.

**(b)** **Covered disaster assistance defined** In this section, the term “covered disaster assistance” means assistance—

**(1)** provided to a local government pursuant to section 5170b, 5172, or 5173 of this title; and

**(2)** with respect to which the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has determined, after an audit, that—

**(A)** the Agency deployed to the local government a Technical Assistance Contractor to review field operations, provide eligibility advice, and assist with day-to-day decisions;

**(B)** the Technical Assistance Contractor provided inaccurate information to the local government; and

**(C)** the local government relied on the inaccurate information to determine that relevant contracts were eligible, reasonable, and reimbursable.

**(c)** **Effective date** October 5, 2018

This section shall be effective on .

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 115–254, div. D, § 1237, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3464.)

## Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was enacted as part of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 and as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and not as part of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act which comprises this chapter.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Definitions

For definition of “Agency” as used in this section, see , set out as a note under .