Nov 22, 2011 - express our strong support for S. 1630, the Disaster Recovery Act of 2011. We are very grateful ... singl
November 22, 2011 The Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader United States Senate The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader United States Senate The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman Chairman Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate The Honorable Susan Collins Ranking Member Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Chairman Lieberman, and Ranking Member Collins, We, the undersigned members of the Katrina Housing Group (KHG), are writing to express our strong support for S. 1630, the Disaster Recovery Act of 2011. We are very grateful to Senators Landrieu and Cochran for introducing this long-awaited and critical piece of legislation, and we urge you to move the legislation as quickly as possible. Since September 2005, the KHG, convened by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, has advocated for a just and comprehensive federal response to the acute housing crisis of the low income people of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The KHG is a coalition of national and Gulf Coast based organizations committed to the long term housing recovery of the Gulf Coast. KHG urges reforming the Stafford Act, the statutory authority for disaster response and recovery, in order to improve housing outcomes for victims of future disasters. The devastation and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina was so extreme that it required a federal authority to oversee the response and recovery. We learned that states vary significantly in their capacity and willingness to respond to emergencies in a manner that treats all of their residents equally. S. 1630 would make key improvements to the Stafford Act in several areas to ensure that everyone living in the United States receives equal treatment following a disaster no matter where they live. First, the bill clearly defines when a disaster is considered to be catastrophic and sets up mechanisms to ensure an appropriate federal role.
Second, the bill would make substantial improvements to the existing case management system for disaster victims. One of the most serious flaws in the response to Hurricane Karina was the chaotic manner in which victims received information about the services and programs to which they were entitled. The KHG identified the disjointed and ineffective case management system of one of the impediments to survivors moving to permanent housing in the Gulf Coast. S. 1630 would require that FEMA, HHS, and HUD develop a single, comprehensive case management system and within one year develop regulations to ensure that every survivor has a single point of contact for case management services. These provisions are consistent with the recommendations we made and we wholeheartedly support them. Third, the bill would also make critical changes to the housing response and recovery activities authorized under the Stafford Act. The KHG has argued that any disaster response and recovery effort must minimize the time that households are in temporary housing and must ensure a seamless transition for these households to new permanent housing. S. 1630 includes several provisions that work to meet these goals. The bill would require all federal agencies that provide housing assistance to define the roles and responsibilities of each agency in the provision of disaster housing assistance. The bill would make simplifications to current law to ensure that damaged rental properties could be quickly repaired and re occupied instead of allowing money to be wasted on temporary housing units. Further, the bill would allow for assistance to be provided to more than one household associated with the same predisaster address, if the household had to separate for reasons related to the disaster. S. 1630 marks the most significant effort to improve the Stafford Act to date. While the bill does not go quite as far as we believe is necessary, we look forward to working with Senator Landrieu and Senator Cochran’s staff to strengthen the bill as it moves forward in Committee. It is critical that it S. 1630 be enacted as quickly as possible to ensure that the housing needs of victims of future disasters are met. Please do not hesitate to contact Sham Manglik of NLIHC at 202.662.1530 x 243 for more information. Sincerely, Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Inc. Enterprise Community Partners Equity and Inclusion Campaign Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA) Habitat for Humanity International International Relief and Development US The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Louisiana Housing Alliance Mississippi Center for Justice NAACP, Biloxi Branch National Alliance to End Homelessness National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
National Low Income Housing Coalition NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby The Public Interest Law Project Rebuilding Together Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) Texas Appleseed Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Unitarian Universalist Service Committee cc:
The Honorable Mary Landrieu The Honorable Thad Cochran
