Thompson and Jackson-Lee Respond to Unspent Hurricane Rita Aid
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, December 21, 2007
December 21, 2007 (WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection released the following statements regarding the recent news that much of the aid to support Hurricane Rita victims has not been spent or disbursed. For example, the State of Texas has only spent $1.1 million of an estimated $500 million in federal funds for housing assistance and infrastructure repair and only 13 of 4,300 applicants have received new homes as of September 2007.
“It is absolutely alarming to learn that Texas has spent less than 1 percent of its federal aid for a storm that occurred in 2005,” said Rep. Thompson. “It is apparent that the transition of the Disaster Housing Assistance Program from FEMA to HUD has not been smooth. My Committee plans to hold a hearing to look into the sources of the funding received, why accounting and reporting measures are not in place and most importantly, why the funding has not reached those who are still in need of assistance.”
Rep. Jackson-Lee added the following:
“As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, it saddens me during this holiday season to see people living on the edge of life’s disaster. The survivors of Hurricane Rita are a high priority for this Committee under the chairmanship of Congressman Bennie Thompson. We fought hard to get FEMA trailers and transitional housing money directly to the people who are most in need. I personally traveled to Southeastern Texas after the storm. I saw the huge devastation that many were not aware of. It is unspeakable that more than two years after the tragedy, elderly citizens and families are living again on the edge of disaster without their own housing. All government officials have to answer now – including the state of Texas – as to why the $500 million dollars sent for relief has not been used for the survivors of Hurricane Rita who still remain in the eye of the storm. I am grateful to Chairman Thompson that this hearing will be called so that lives of families in Southeastern Texas can be restored.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978.
