For Immediate Release
Contact: Paul Lindsay
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr. today filed a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for the criteria and conditions related to President Bush’s recent decision to extend a full federal reimbursement for debris removal to only six parishes in Louisiana.
On June 29th, President Bush extended the full federal reimbursement for hurricane debris removal to only six Hurricane Katrina-affected parishes in Louisiana. The extension failed to include a number of parishes that were devastated by Hurricane Rita, forcing many local governments in Southwest Louisiana to foot a bill they do not have the resources to pay.
“FEMA’s failure to disclose these documents adds insult to injury,” said Boustany. “First, the parishes who were excluded from the federal extension are forced to foot the bill on a problem that is FEMA’s doing in the first place. Now, they refuse to release the documents which led to that decision, providing no legal basis to do so.”
The appeal comes in response to a June 30th request from Boustany’s office to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the criteria and conditions FEMA used to make the recommendation to the President. That request was denied by staff at FEMA.
Click here to view the full text of the appeal.
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