Washington - Congressman Al Green (D-TX) today joined other members of Congress in a Washington, D. C., press conference in support of ACORN’s legal action to pressure FEMA to comply with a federal judge’s orders to “immediately’’ resume making housing benefits available to 11,000 survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  FEMA is appealing the order.

“FEMA has not acted in good faith,” Congressman Green stated.  “Hurricane Katrina was the greatest disaster in our nation’s history. Unfortunately, our government has not done nearly enough to help those whose lives have been devastated by this natural disaster.”

Congressman Green is sending a letter to the President asking for his intervention.  “I appeal to the President to tell FEMA enough is enough,” Congressman Green stated.  “It is time for the President to direct FEMA to withdraw its appeal and transfer those with Section 403 assistance, FEMA’s short-term emergency housing assistance, to its Section 408, longer-term program.”

Congressman Green is also sending a letter to FEMA Director David R. Paulison, co- signed by 32 members of Congress, asking him to comply with Judge Richard Leon’s order in ACORN v. FEMA: “Your appeal will needlessly add more delay and uncertainty for thousands of families struggling to rebuild their lives 15 months after the storms as well as result in more costs for cities that continue to provide housing services to evacuees unable to return home.”

“I want to thank all the Members of Congress who have signed on to my letter to FEMA urging FEMA to comply with a November 29, 2006 court ruling ordering FEMA to restore short-term housing assistance to Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors who sought, but were ultimately denied, continued assistance and to provide more information about the denials of evacuees’ eligibility for housing assistance,” Congressman Green stated.

FEMA Court Decision
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In 2005 FEMA determined, pursuant to a presidential disaster declaration, that the evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita qualified for short-term housing rental assistance under Section 403 of the Stafford Act. However, in February of this year, FEMA attempted to transfer those evacuees that were eligible to its longer-term Section 408 housing program, which provides up to 18 months of housing assistance to disaster evacuees. During this transfer process, FEMA would ultimately deny the Section 408 applications of thousands of evacuees, and after 30 days notice, terminate their Section 403 benefits.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that FEMA’s policies, coupled with data entry errors and insufficient support staff, unfairly resulted in the denial of housing assistance to certain Katrina and Rita survivors as they sought to transition from the Section 403 program to the Section 408 program. 

The court ordered the aid restored retroactively, so affected families are to receive checks for past payments from Sept. 1 to now, and continued assistance until February 2007, or until FEMA gives them adequate notice of why they were ineligible. The ruling affects families mostly in Texas and Louisiana who received FEMA rental assistance.

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