The blame game over who dropped the ball with Hurricane Harvey relief funds continues

[ad_1]

The blame game over who dropped the ball with Hurricane Harvey relief funds continues

Days after a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) audit, Houston criticized Houston for doing a dismal job helping the victims of Hurricane Harvey rebuild. A new complaint, filed by the agency, holds the state’s General Land Office (GLO) responsible for similar reasons.

HOUSTON – Days after a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) audit, Houston criticized Houston for doing a dismal job helping the victims of Hurricane Harvey rebuild. A new complaint, filed by the agency, holds the state’s General Land Office (GLO) responsible for similar reasons.

BACKGROUND: HUD audit criticizes Houston’s handling of Harvey relief funds

“I had to put this up; when it was winter, I had ice all over this floor”, explains Sandra Edwards, removing the layers of wallpaper she had stuck to the floor of her bathroom. and his room.

The same paper is spread over the walls and climbs to the ceiling of his room. She says it helps keep her Fifth Quarter home warm while she waits for federally-funded repairs to damage from Hurricane Harvey.

“In every disaster, we’re the first to get hit, but we’re the last to get resources,” Edwards says.

RELATED: Has Harris County Flood Protection Improved Since Hurricane Harvey?

She also says many of her neighbors have given up on asking for help, but she continued to contact the mayor’s office and submit requests to the general land office after years of refusal due to back taxes. and documents that have expired pending approvals.

Its walls which received repair work are now developing mold from the rain that has seeped in since the storm of 2017.

“I had to leave my house last month just to breathe again,” she says. “They must have put me up in a hotel, but what good if I come back to the mold problem.”

Hurricane Harvey relief funds not fully utilized, report says

An audit of federal Hurricane Harvey relief funds found that the city of Houston did a dismal job helping people rebuild their homes despite being given a lot of money to do the job.

Texas has already been approved for $ 1.95 billion in Harvey aid for flood mitigation projects, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development halted funding on Friday, releasing a letter saying General Land The state’s office had not provided the required analysis explaining how much racial and ethnically diverse areas would benefit from the money.

“If the people making these decisions were as uncomfortable as those in pain, it would have been taken care of,” Congressman Al Green said at a press conference on Saturday morning in response to the letter. .

MORE: Four Years After Hurricane Harvey, Houston Mayor Says City Less Vulnerable

Green, who sits on the Federal Housing Subcommittee, wants the General Land Office to meet with HUD, as well as Mayor Sylvester Turner after Houston was excluded from GLO’s plans for distributing the funds.

“If GLO is not compliant, I am ready to move forward with the legislation [so] that we can move the funds, ”says Green. “I would like to see Houston directly funded by the federal government. This would eliminate this problem. “

GLO has issued plans to allocate $ 750 million to Harris County. A representative from the office responded to HUD’s letter, stating:

“The GLO has submitted 628 pages of meaningful analysis – this is Annex H of the Action Plan Amendment. This is a purely political decision by HUD as they informed the press more than an hour before informing its recipient, the State of Texas… HUD must approve this funding now, before the next storm hits. ”

MORE: Texas GLO Extends Application Deadline for Hurricane Harvey Homeowner Assistance Program

According to HUD, the GLO has 45 days to provide the required analysis. After years of direct appeal to the General Land Office, Edwards says she is expecting an inspector on Monday.

“You shouldn’t have to wait five years for a storm to fix your house,” Edwards said. She can no longer wait for the blame game for Harvey’s funding to be played between the state and local politicians.

“Just show me something, do something and I’ll be happy,” she adds.

FOR THE LATEST UPDATES, DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP

[ad_2]