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Federal Harvey Relief Funds Might Take Years, Officials Tell Legislators
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Flood damaged debris piled outside of homes in Port Arthur Texas. The city saw 47 inches of rain during the storm. - Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
texastribune.org - by Brandon Formby - October 2, 2017
. . . state lawmakers were told that Housing and Urban Development disaster relief funds, which includes money for extensive home repairs or rebuilds, could take seven to 32 months to work their way through bureaucratic processes and several layers of government agencies . . . Congress approved $7.4 billion in HUD disaster relief funds last month. But that may have to be shared with Florida and Puerto Rico, which have each been hit by hurricanes in the weeks after Harvey battered Texas, unless legislators approve another aid package . . .
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$20B Additional Federal Funds May Not Make It To Texas
kfdm.com - by Peter Eliopoulos - October 12, 2017
KFDM News has learned that $20 billion of additional federal funds for Harvey relief may not make it to Texas . . .
. . . ”It was a request for $20 billion dollars and right before this meeting, I learned that Texas might not be getting any of that money," <Gov.> Abbott said.
He said the reason Texas may not receive the money is because Texas lawmakers lost votes for funding.
"My urgent request to the Texas Delegation is that they vote in unison to send a message to the rest of Congress," said Abbott.
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Congress Asked for $29 Billion in Hurricane Relief
reuters.com - by David Shepardson, Richard Cowan - October 4, 2017
The Trump administration on Wednesday asked U.S. lawmakers to approve $29 billion in disaster relief funds to assist victims of recent hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.
The aid request includes $12.8 billion in new funds to help storm victims and $16 billion to defray debt in the federal government’s flood insurance program. The White House said the program would reach the limit of its borrowing authority late this month. The administration also wants another $576.5 million to pay for fighting wildfires in the western United States.
(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)