Government

Perry, Dewhurst, Hutchison and Cornyn: HUD Shortchanges Texas On Hurricane Relief funds

Leaders Vow to Continue to Press Washington for Full Funding

By Rick Perry, Governor of Texas

January 26, 2006

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn today expressed deep disappointment that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has shortchanged Texas on reimbursement costs for responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Thousands of Texas families and senior citizens whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged in Hurricane Rita will lack the funds to rebuild their homes as a result of this decision,” Perry said. “We sought close to $1 billion, HUD verbally committed to hundreds of millions of dollars, and instead they gave us little more than the change from their couch cushions. Critical repairs to schools, hospitals, universities, electric grids, ports, and water and sewer lines will go unfunded unless HUD revisits this.”

“This is not an acceptable response by the federal government to a catastrophe of this magnitude,” Dewhurst said. “The people of Southeast Texas expect and deserve more support from our federal government. I will continue to work with Gov. Perry and our congressional delegation to seek a funding solution that will help restore basic services such as housing, hospitals and utilities so that our citizens can get back to their normal lives.”

"After all Texas has been through, this level of funding is completely inadequate. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Texans opened their homes and their hearts to their neighbors in need. The federal government welcomed our help and said we'd be reimbursed," Sen. Hutchison said.

"I was disappointed that HUD chose a methodology for allocating this funding that created such an immense disparity for Texas. But I am working with the governor, Senator Hutchison and the Texas congressional delegation to ensure fundamental fairness for Texas in this and future relief funding," Sen. Cornyn said.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced Wednesday that Texas would receive only $74.5 million of the $11.5 billion Congress has appropriated to HUD for aid to Gulf coast states. The amount represents less than 10 percent of the costs incurred by Texans and less than 1 percent of available funding.

"Congress quickly set aside $11.5 billion to help the most impacted and distressed areas related to last year's hurricanes recover. For Texas to be slighted by HUD after suffering from our own hurricane - and taking in those who were devastated by another - flies in the face of congressional intent," Sen. Hutchison said.

To date, the state of Texas has documented more than $1 billion in infrastructure damages that should be covered by HUD, including:

• $250 million in critical repairs needed for schools, universities, ports, waterways, and water and sewer lines.

• More than $350 million in damage to the state’s electrical grid.

• $240 million in preliminary damage reports for an estimated 14,000 single family homes, mobile homes and apartments. More than 35,000 single family homes, mobile homes and apartments were severely damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Rita.

HUD’s announcement disregards the Congressional Conference Report on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, which directed that all Gulf Coast states have an equal opportunity to tap the $11.5 billion in aid Congress approved.

In addition to specific losses to Texas communities as a result of a direct hit from Hurricane Rita, numerous Texas communities incurred sizeable costs in their efforts to provide housing and social services for an estimated 400,000 Louisiana and Mississippi residents who sought refuge in Texas after Hurricane Katrina struck those states.