TX Gov. Perry: FEMA housing policy failing evacuees
Tags: housing, texasFrom Hurricane Evacuees Face Eviction Threats at Both Their Old Homes and New:
Warned by angry Texas officials that thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees could soon face eviction from their new homes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is negotiating with officials in Dallas to set up a federally financed housing-voucher program, municipal officials said Thursday.
Gov. Rick Perry wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Tuesday telling him that FEMA, part of the Homeland Security Department, continued to fail to address the evacuees' needs.
"Tens of thousands of Katrina evacuees will soon be evicted with no place to go, because of poor planning for long-term housing," Mr. Perry wrote. "Our communities cannot be expected to support such a large evacuee population on a long-term basis without substantial federal aid."
Under the proposal, Washington would reimburse the Dallas Housing Authority for the cost of placing evacuees, including those in hotels, into apartments, similar to a program in place in Houston, as well as in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee…
However, housing advocates couldn't point to examples of mass evictions. Despite the title, there's nothing in there about NO evictions.
