FEMA asks for a little back

This will make you laugh: FEMA is asking 625 people in Texas to pay back $1.26 million in Hurricane Rita aid that the government accidentally gave them. So the government is all, "Sorry, we overpaid you. Can we have it back now?" and East Texans are like, "Uh, sure, let me give you some extra money while I'm at it." Ha! That's rich!

And yet it's serious. It seems FEMA really did overpay $1.26 million — mostly for damage to homes that weren't the owners' primacy residences, which are ineligible for federal disaster aid, but also in multiple payments to one person or one household — and now Uncle Sam is kinda pissed. The recoupment process began in mid-March, but it's not clear yet how long it will go on. Under recoupment, people who received unauthorized payments get letters telling them they have 30 days to repay the amount in full or set up a payment plan. After 30 days, the payments start accruing 2 percent interest, which you have to pay even if you appeal the recoupment decision.

After most disasters, FEMA overpays by 2 or 3 percent, but government audits in February found that 36 percent of the 2.5 million federal aid grants after last fall's hurricanes were based on invalid Social Security numbers or false addresses and names. The $1.26 million overpay in Texas is only a portion of the total from last year: FEMA is also after 2,044 people in Mississippi who received $4.7 million in unauthorized benefits. Any bets on how much it'll actually get?