Katrina
- Thread starter Toxick
- Start date
in some office in DC
kwillia
n/a
Katrina Evacuees on the Clock to Appeal
Thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees whose federal housing funding was cut off this summer may be eligible for renewed payments, but face a tight deadline to seek them.
Under a court order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent letters to about 4,000 storm victims in Texas last week, explaining why they were deemed no longer eligible for aid. A federal judge ruled the original letters unconstitutional because they contained only hard-to-decipher computer codes and agency jargon.
With the new letters, storm victims can appeal the decision to FEMA and may be eligible for renewed housing payments of about $750 a month.
But the program is set to expire at the end of February and the appeal process can take up to three months. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who has called the agency's housing program a "legal disaster" said Wednesday that he wanted to speed up the appeals.
"This is not going to be a run-out-the-clock operation," Leon said. "I have no reason to believe FEMA wants that, but if this court gets the impression for one second that FEMA is trying to run the clock out, this court is not going to tolerate that."
First, the agency must locate the victims. After the housing aid was cut off, many families moved or were evicted. So far, only 32 letters were confirmed received and 174 were returned as undeliverable.
Leon gave FEMA until Thursday morning to come up with a way for local governments and social services groups to use the federal aid database to notify victims that they might be eligible for housing assistance.
"It's not enough to have FEMA doing this. We need others helping," Leon said.
Leon originally ordered FEMA to immediately restore the housing program and provide back pay to people who were denied it but a federal appeals court put that ruling on hold last week.
Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now said families should appeal as quickly as possible because, if FEMA extends the housing assistance past the end of February, only those families already in the program will receive money.
FEMA has said it appropriately denied aid to ineligible families, such as those whose houses are livable or those who have other homes to live in.
Thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees whose federal housing funding was cut off this summer may be eligible for renewed payments, but face a tight deadline to seek them.
Under a court order, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent letters to about 4,000 storm victims in Texas last week, explaining why they were deemed no longer eligible for aid. A federal judge ruled the original letters unconstitutional because they contained only hard-to-decipher computer codes and agency jargon.
With the new letters, storm victims can appeal the decision to FEMA and may be eligible for renewed housing payments of about $750 a month.
But the program is set to expire at the end of February and the appeal process can take up to three months. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who has called the agency's housing program a "legal disaster" said Wednesday that he wanted to speed up the appeals.
"This is not going to be a run-out-the-clock operation," Leon said. "I have no reason to believe FEMA wants that, but if this court gets the impression for one second that FEMA is trying to run the clock out, this court is not going to tolerate that."
First, the agency must locate the victims. After the housing aid was cut off, many families moved or were evicted. So far, only 32 letters were confirmed received and 174 were returned as undeliverable.
Leon gave FEMA until Thursday morning to come up with a way for local governments and social services groups to use the federal aid database to notify victims that they might be eligible for housing assistance.
"It's not enough to have FEMA doing this. We need others helping," Leon said.
Leon originally ordered FEMA to immediately restore the housing program and provide back pay to people who were denied it but a federal appeals court put that ruling on hold last week.
Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now said families should appeal as quickly as possible because, if FEMA extends the housing assistance past the end of February, only those families already in the program will receive money.
FEMA has said it appropriately denied aid to ineligible families, such as those whose houses are livable or those who have other homes to live in.