Fact
Sheet - Gulf Coast Housing Accessibility Act of 2006
August 24, 2006
Senator Feingold has announced that he
will introduce, the Gulf Coast Housing Accessibility Act,
a bill that seeks to provide immediate and long-term housing
assistance to the victims of last year’s hurricanes
that devastated the Gulf Coast, as well as future disaster
victims.
Feingold’s legislation addresses several housing issues
faced by victims of last year’s hurricanes:
Project-Based Housing
Vouchers
- Feingold’s bill authorizes $200
million for project-based Section 8 housing vouchers targeted
to low income and extremely low income individuals and families
in the Gulf Coast. These project-based vouchers will help
make new and rebuilt housing damaged by the 2005 hurricanes
affordable to low income individuals and families wishing
to move back to the Gulf Coast.
- The legislation also provides for a
certain amount of project based vouchers to be set-aside
for special needs individuals and families, including: persons
with disabilities, persons who were homeless before the
hurricanes, and elderly families.
- This provision is similar to a proposal
offered by Louisiana’s senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
and David Vitter (R-LA) earlier this year.
More Flexible Disaster
Assistance
- Feingold’s bill amends the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act to allow FEMA the flexibility to provide more secure
and reliable housing as an alternative to FEMA trailers,
both to survivors of the 2005 hurricanes and survivors of
future disasters.
- The legislation also ensures
that when providing any temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent
housing after a disaster, FEMA shall: meet the needs of
renters and low income families, provide accessible housing,
and place housing units within reasonable distance from
needed services.
- This provision builds on an earlier
effort by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Lieberman
(D-CT) to provide flexibility for FEMA.
Housing Assistance Reorganization
- Feingold’s bill would transfer
funding for remaining temporary rental assistance programs
from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to the Department
of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Disaster
Voucher Program. By moving these funds for transitional
housing to HUD, the government will be able to provide displaced
families still receiving housing assistance with better
options to meet their long-term housing needs. This transfer
would provide more choice and stability in housing options
for survivors.
Feingold’s bill is supported by the
National Low Income Housing Coalition; Louisiana Advocacy
Coalition for the Homeless (LACH); Louisiana Permanent Supportive
Housing Coalition (LPSH); The Outreach Center, Louisiana;
Biloxi Branch NAACP; The Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities
– Mississippi; National Alliance to End Homelessness;
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;
Acadiana Regional Coalition on Housing & Homelessness;
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Coastal Women
for Change; Public Interest Law Project [of California]; Back
Bay Mission (MS), and the Technical Assistance Collaborative.
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