Statement from NLIHC President Sheila Crowley on HUD’S Rejection of Texas’s Disaster Plan
Statement from NLIHC President Sheila Crowley on HUD’S Rejection of Texas’s Disaster Plan
November 12, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 2009
Contact: Taylor Materio (202) 662-1530 x. 227 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Statement from NLIHC President Sheila Crowley on HUD’S Rejection of Texas’s Disaster Plan
The National Low Income Housing Coalition joins housing advocates from Texas in applauding the decision by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to reject the plan submitted by the state of Texas on how the state would use Hurricane Ike disaster recovery funds.
Housing advocates in Texas objected to the state plan primarily because it failed to assure that low and moderate income Texans who lost their homes or whose homes were damaged in Hurricane Ike would be assisted. After conducting their review of what the state proposed, HUD officials agreed with the advocates that the plan did not meet federal CDBG requirements.
In a letter to Texas Governor Rick Perry, HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development Mercedes Marquez notified him that these requirements had not been met and more than $1.7 billion in Community Development Block Grants would be withheld until they were. The state now has 45 days to resubmit its plan.
HUD based its denial on Texas’s failure to provide an adequate method of distribution of the funds that would allow the public to exercise its right to comment on where the funds would be spent and who would benefit. Federal law requires that states who receive CDBG funding for disaster recovery detail how the funds will be allocated to local units of government and that the state notify the public of the state action plan and give the public an opportunity to comment.
In its letter, HUD urged Texas to consider whether fair housing concerns are being addressed in accordance with Federal requirements that require states receiving disaster recovery funds to certify that low and moderate income households will be assisted and that it is affirmatively furthering fair housing choice.
HUD’s rejection of the Texas plan sends a strong message to state and local officials that the new HUD will hold them accountable for how they spend federal housing and community development funds. No longer will they be able to spend CDBG and other HUD dollars without regard to federal guidelines and their obligation to serve low income people and advance fair housing choice.
Housing advocates across the country should look to the Texas case as a victory and a model to follow in their communities.
Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.
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National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
727 15th Street NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005
202/662-1530; Fax 202/393-1973; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); www.nlihc.org
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