Washington, D.C. - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson met with U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and other members of the Texas Congressional delegation to discuss Texas' eligibility for hurricane recovery programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bi-partisan Texas congressional delegation was unified in their message of absolute disdain for the unfair amount of recovery assistance from the federal agency.

 

Congressman Brady secured three key commitments from Secretary Jackson during the meeting. 

 

First, the Secretary agreed to review HUD's programs and identify any unspent program monies and work to funnel those to Texas for hurricane recovery. 

 

The Secretary also accepted Congressman Brady's invitation to travel to East and Southeast Texas and tour the affected Rita areas and discuss housing needs first hand with local officials.  The Secretary further agreed that he would be a strong advocate for Texas to receive a fairer share of HUD resources with the White House. 

 

"After absorbing nearly half a million Louisiana evacuees and then having close to 75,000 homes destroyed or suffering major damage from Hurricane Rita, Texas has a very real housing shortage," said Brady. "HUD Secretary Jackson is a Texan and knows what we need to recover. To his credit, he listened carefully and made a commitment to make sure Texas needs are meet in every way possible through his Department," said Brady.   

 

The meeting was attended by key Texas appropriators Rep. Kay Granger (R-Forth Worth) and Rep. John Carter (R-Round Rock) along with Representatives Louis Gohmert (R-Tyler), Al Green (D-Houston), Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), Charlie Gonzalez (D- San Antonio), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D- Dallas), and Dr. Michael Burgess (R-Flower Mound). It was held in response to a January 26 letter drafted by Congressman Brady and Senator Hutchison signed by the entire Texas congressional delegation expressing their extreme displeasure and dismay with the distribution of only $74 million to Texas out of the $11.5 billion Community Development Block Grant program established by Congress for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

 

The Texas Congressional delegation, in approving the appropriation distributed by HUD, contends the legislative intent was to distribute funding to applicants based solely on the merit of the request, and not geography.  HUD's allocation resulted in Louisiana and Mississippi receiving nearly 98% of the total amount approved by Congress. 

 

Brady acknowledged that while the Community Development Block Grant allocation in January by HUD was inequitable, very little can be done now to reverse it.  The members agreed that the meeting today was as much about preventing such shortsighted allocations in the future as it was addressing past grievances.