The HUD recently announced a $5 billion budget towards disaster recovery efforts in the state of Texas. Who will benefit from the appropriation?
The past few months have been a nightmare to some Americans in areas hardly hit by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Flood waters destroyed crops and homes, vehicles are damaged, and many of our fellow citizens are left to rebuild with the anxiety of not knowing how.
Various government relief and recovery efforts have been established to help these homeowners and their families recover from the disaster. One of the most recent of these efforts if the HUD’s provision of $5 billion to the state of Texas to aid recovery from Hurricane Harvey.
Need mortgage financing?On Friday, HUD deputy secretary Pam Patenaude and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is to appropriate $5.024 billion to the state of Texas as part of the federal government’s effort to hasten disaster recovery in the hard hit areas of the state.
Extend help to the uncovered, underinsured
The aim of the funding is to address the needs not met by other federal assistance programs and private insurance companies.
Prior to allocation, the HUD gathered data with the help of the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get an estimate of how many homes and businesses aren’t adequately insured and who weren’t able to get assistance from both public and private sources. They then used this information to determine the budget for the recovery efforts.
The funding is appropriated to the state in a form of a grant via the department’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program. The money will be used primarily for the repair of damaged homes, buildings, and other critical infrastructures in the state.
Per the HUD’s data, there are over 230,000 housing residences damaged by the hurricane. Some 65,000 of these properties have been severely damaged. Furthermore, over 4,000 businesses without insurance coverage were also devastated by the hurricane. These entities will be the target of the appropriation.
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The budget allotment was brought to fruition by Continuing Appropriations Act of 2018 and the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act of 2017 which was signed by the president on September 8.
In a statement, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said his department will work with the governor and his staff to “do whatever is needed to rebuild damaged homes and to restore shuttered businesses in some of the hardest-hit areas of the State.”
“As President Trump has said from the beginning, the whole federal family is with the people of Texas to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” Carson adds.
The bill essentially appropriates $7.4 billion for major disasters during the year, including the Category 4 Hurricane Harvey that damaged areas in Texas.
“Texans hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey face unprecedented hurdles as they rebuild their homes and businesses, and these funds will help them move forward after the storm,” says Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“I’m grateful for the support Texas has received from Secretary Carson, and I look forward to continuing my work with Senator Cruz, the Texas delegation, and Governor Abbott to ensure Texans aren’t left behind.”
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