Congresswoman Johnson joins U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz in a bipartisan, bicameral letter from members of the Texas delegation to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson requesting that HUD allocate the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds intended for Harvey immediately, lower certain statutory income requirements, give grantees maximum flexibility when funds are dispersed, and shorten the public comment period.
“In response to this catastrophic event, Congress moved on H.R. 601 with a high sense of urgency, in an effort to make sure that the State of Texas and local governments received aid as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Congress’ quick action can easily be undone by unnecessary delays at the agency level,” the Members wrote.
“Our constituents in Texas have been suffering from the consequences of Hurricane Harvey for nearly a month. The State of Texas and local governments are eager to begin the rebuilding and recovery process,” they continued. “We trust that HUD will give full consideration to the intent of Congress’ in appropriating these CDBG-DR funds and avoid burdensome artificial restrictions.”
