FEMA rejects voucher claims

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it didn’t handle housing vouchers for displaced residents of Puerto Rico any differently from those of displaced Texas and Florida residents after last year’s hurricanes.

FEMA said in court papers filed Friday that it’s unfair to compare the three responses to the hurricanes because the governors of the two states and the island made different requests for federal assistance. The agency is fighting a lawsuit brought by Puerto Rican evacuees who are asking a judge to extend vouchers allowing them to live in hotels until they find more permanent housing. The vouchers expire at the end of the month.

“It is common sense that the impact of each disaster is unique, causing different types and amounts of damage, and affecting different numbers of people,” government attorneys wrote.

FEMA said in the filing that it had approved $3.9 billion in assistance for Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria, $2.4 billion for Texas for Hurricane Harvey and $1.1 billion for Florida for Hurricane Irma.

The evacuees said in a court filing Friday that FEMA isn’t doing enough for the Puerto Ricans left homeless by Hurricane Maria, in contrast to how it treated Texas residents after Hurricane Harvey last year. Attorneys for the evacuees said FEMA had provided housing assistance in a “discriminatory manner.”