U.S. House Passes Legislation to Provide Recovery Assistance to Remaining 2016 Flood Victims

Strategic Insights -

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that will provide recovery assistance to the remaining 2016 Flood victims deemed ineligible by federal bureaucrats. This comes after a six-year-long fight led by Congressman Garret Graves, who fought against the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) flawed interpretation of the law that prevented some flood victims from receiving recovery aid.

Key Takeaways:

  • The legislation aims to release remaining funds to flood victims who were previously denied recovery assistance due to a flawed federal policy.
  • The policy, known as "duplication of benefits" (DoB), equated a loan and a grant as the same, preventing homeowners with a household income above $60,000/year from receiving recovery aid.
  • Congressman Garret Graves introduced legislation to fix the flawed policy, which was passed in 2018 and signed into law by President Trump, resulting in millions in critical federal rebuilding funds for DoB homeowners.
  • Despite this victory, HUD bureaucrats created new income thresholds, preventing many disaster victims from receiving recovery funding.
  • The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision that would prohibit HUD from using the made-up income threshold to determine eligibility for a CDBG-DR grant.
  • Congressman Graves fought for the rights of flood victims, securing $1.7 billion in recovery assistance within months of the 2016 Flood, but only $700 million was released through the Restore Louisiana program.
  • The legislation would block arbitrary restrictions and release remaining funds to flood victims.

Statistics:

  • $1.7 billion in Community Development Block Grant -- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant funding was secured for flood victims to rebuild their homes within months of the 2016 Flood.
  • Only $700 million was released through the Restore Louisiana program, leaving many flood victims without aid.
  • 80% of DoB homeowners received critical federal rebuilding funds as a result of the Disaster Reform and Recovery Act of 2018.
  • The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision that would prohibit HUD from using the made-up income threshold to determine eligibility for a CDBG-DR grant.

Sources:

  • United States House of Representatives -- Congressman Garret Graves (6th District of Louisiana) July 26, 2022 Press Release
  • MIL OSI USA News (http://milnz.co.nz/mil-osi-aggregation/) - Copyright 2022 Multimedia Investments Ltd, distributed by Contify.com