FEMA Breaks Promises- Cities Stuck With Apt. Rental Costs

The Philadelphia Inquirer ( www.phillynews.com/inquirer ) today had a front page article about how the City of Philadelphia may get stuck paying apartment rental costs for Katrina evacuees because FEMA is breaking an earlier promise to cities that they would reimburse one year of the cities' costs to rent apartments for evacuees.

The article said that the problem was much worse in Houston, which may get stuck paying for the remaining months on 24,000 apartment leases. I then found the following December 2, 2005 article about the problem in the Houston Chronicle.

Excerpt:

"FEMA squeezes city over apartment leases
The agency's demands could make Houston break promise to 100,000 exiles

Unless federal policy changes soon, Houston will find itself in an embarrassing position three months from today — breaking a key promise made to hurricane evacuees in their most desperate hour. Despite written statements to the contrary, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cease honoring the 24,000 year-long leases, backed by the city, signed between hurricane evacuees and local apartment landlords.

As a result the city could fail to deliver on a promise made to nearly 100,000 storm-ravaged evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita — a safe roof over their heads for a year. Landlords, who are accepting tenants without a security deposit or credit checks, would be left with scores of families unable to pay their rent.

...The city paid the landlords directly, and then received reimbursement from FEMA....But then, last month FEMA announced a dramatic change — instead of reimbursing Houston for the 12-month leases, it would terminate the program on March 1."

Bill White is a Dem (who acts Independent, doing well).

Is the mayor of Philadelphia a Dem?

Sue

John Street, Democrat.

That is exactly what the Republicans are counting on, people will blame bloated government agencies instead of Republican politicians. It is not FEMA, this never would have happened under a Democratic Administration's FEMA. This is Republicanism. And we need people in the south to draw that distinction most of all. If Democrats in red places don't start telling the truth to their friends and families, we'll be stuck with dumb ass Republicans forever.

Blame Grover Norquist for this, not the concept of FEMA.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3497624.html

FEMA squeezes city over apartment leases

Connected contractors get billions while everyone else gets screwed.

Compassionate conservative -- The ultimate oxymoron.

:kick:

The only way they could get cities to accept them was to promise them re-imbursement.. Once the people were relocated, the backpedaling began..

Anyone would be thankful to be saved, but once the initial fear has subsided, most people only want to reunite with family and friends, and find a way back home.. This will be denied them.. They have effectively been "relocated".

Surely there were some people in NOLA who were looking for a way out, and the relocation might have been a blessing in disguise for them, but most people are probably chomping at the bit to go home.. The rub is that the "new folks in charge", do not want them back.. For these people to return will be an exercise in futility..