Feds have ‘abandoned’ evacuees, Dems say
FEMA, HUD chided in last-ditch aid push
Fifteen Democrats in Congress are urging two federal agencies to extend and expand aid for displaced Puerto Ricans in Florida, claiming the agencies have “abandoned” the housing needs of evacuees.
“The financial strain resulting from a lack of affordable housing has already begun to force families into homelessness and as more Puerto Ricans return home, these numbers will undoubtedly rise,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Wednesday to Brock Long, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Administrator, and Ben Carson, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Secretary.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., took to the Senate floor Thursday to urge the expedited passage of a relief bill, which was rejected.
More than 1,660 displaced families in the United States
may be forced to move out of hotels by Saturday, where they have been living under FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. About 610 of them are living in Florida, according to FEMA.
The letter asked for an extension of the temporary aid as well as activating the Disaster Housing Assistance Program. Members of Congress said an earlier formal request from Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in December was denied.
“The agency’s decision to ignore that request forced families to either double or even triple up with other families,” the letter states, adding that its signers were “disappointed that this concern has since been abandoned.” Among those to sign Wednesday’s letter was U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee.
The letter comes amid Nelson’s own push for activation of the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, after filing a bill last month to push for housing assistance through February 2019.
Nelson, a Democrat, addressed the U.S. Senate on Thursday to ask for “unanimous consent” to pass his legislation. If no senator had objected, the bill would have been approved without a vote. But Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin objected, noting that FEMA has urged against activating DHAP. After the objection, Nelson questioned why the emergency program was used to respond to previous natural disasters, but not to help those displaced by Hurricane María.
“If it was good enough for the people fleeing New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina, why isn’t it good enough for the people that are equally devastated now in Florida having fled the deplorable conditions in their native island, our fellow U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?” he said.
Abrazo Boricua, a coalition of 10 Central Florida advocacy organizations, also asked Gov. Rick Scott to “take executive action” Thursday and address the housing needs of Puerto Ricans in the state ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
“Governor Scott has the power to address this critical housing shortage and has failed our Puerto Rican evacuees and all Florida families currently on waiting lists for affordable housing,” the groups said in a statement.
In a press release Thursday afternoon, Scott did not directly address Abrazo Boricua’s request, but said Florida “has done everything possible to help our neighbors both on the island and here in our state.”
“After multiple extensions, FEMA’s TSA program is ending this week and Florida does not have the authority to extend this federal program; it is a decision that must be made by the government of Puerto Rico,” he said. “We are committed to taking every possible action to ensure every family displaced by Maria in Florida receives the best possible care.”
National advocates for affordable housing also criticized FEMA’s aid deadline.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a statement Thursday in support of the DHAP and condemning the federal government for “refusing to activate tried-and-tested longer-term housing solutions.”
NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel said the decision to “cut off” aid for survivors was “callous and cruel.”
“It is unacceptable that FEMA is choosing to retraumatize these U.S. citizens and put them at increased risk of homelessness,” she said.
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“The agency’s decision to ignore that request forced families to either double or even triple up with other families,” the letter states, adding that its signers were “disappointed that this concern has since been abandoned.”