NJ Congressman Announces Legislation Aimed At Helping Residents Impacted By Superstorm Sandy
By Cleve Bryan
BERKELEY TWP, N.J., (CBS) -- Standing with Superstorm Sandy victims, New Jersey Congressman Tom MacArthur announced plans to help people still not able to get FEMA aid.
He will introduce a bill that changes federal guidelines so people who took disaster relief loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration won't be penalized when applying for disaster grants.
"So you borrowed money you have to repay and now you don't get aid that you don't have to re-pay, that's not fair," says MacArthur.
Tom and Sandra Bellinato took the loan right after Sandy not knowing how it would affect grants rolled out months later.
"We took the small business mortgage because the banks at the time weren't giving out money, so there was no place else to go," says Sandra Bellinato.
MacArthur's bill will be introduced next Monday and would be retro-active to January 2012.
He says about 32,000 people took the USSBA loans and under his bill some could still get aid as FEMA has now began to the process to re-open grant applications.
