Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) joined other members of the Financial Services Committee during a daylong hearing of the full committee to examine the federal housing response and housing reconstruction efforts in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"We cannot treat the people of New York better than we treat people in New Orleans," said Green. Green reminded colleagues that in response to September 11, 2001, the average 9-11 victim justifiably received $3.1 million, 42 percent of which came from the local, state and federal government. The analysis by the RAND Institute for Civil Justice was the most comprehensive examination of financial compensation made following the September 11 attacks.
"We have seen FEMA set deadline after deadline and extension after extension. It is time for FEMA to stop playing games with these evacuees and provide them with the housing assistance they deserve," said Green. In January, Green wrote Director David Paulison strongly urging FEMA to extend its temporary housing assistance for families still housed through FEMA’s trailers, mobile homes, and rental assistance. The program helps an estimated 19,000 families currently living in Houston. FEMA’s Acting Director of Recovery assured Green that FEMA planned to notify all households of the six month extension.
During the hearing, Green introduced Kirk Tate, the past president of the Houston Apartment Association and Texas Apartment Association, who provided testimony on the City of Houston’s efforts to immediately shelter evacuees after the storms and later usher them into more permanent housing.
"Based on FEMA’s good word, the City of Houston co-signed apartment leases of up to one year to shelter evacuees," said Green. "When FEMA prematurely ended this program, apartment owners suffered damages and losses for which they were not fully compensated."
The panel explored a number of issues including the loss of affordable rental housing units, efforts to provide grants to homeowners, recovery programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as the prevalence of housing discrimination in the region since the hurricanes.
"Whether it is access to disaster assistance or participation in the rebuilding process, we must work hard to ensure that language barriers are not an issue for Vietnamese American and immigrant communities," said Green. Green, who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’ (CAPAC) Housing Task Force, highlighted the importance of language access for the more than 66,000 Asian Americans impacted by Katrina and Rita, of which 17 percent are limited English proficient.
The Committee plans to make housing recovery for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita a priority in the 110th Congress.