HUD announced approval an allocation of more than $2 billion in long-term disaster recovery funds to 10 states struck by disasters last year. These funds constitute a little less than half of the $5 billion in recovery funds approved by Congress in the bill extending government funding on September 30, 2021–funds passed thanks to your advocacy and the ongoing work of the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition.
The bill required HUD to appropriate $2 billion out of the total amount for recovery efforts stemming from 2020 disasters – including the 2020 wildfire season, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Zeta, Hurricane Sally, and the 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes. These funds will be provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. Louisiana, which was struck by multiple severe hurricanes in 2020, will be receiving over $500 million. Notably, this will be Oregon and Michigan’s first appropriation of CDBG-DR funds.
Grantees now await the release of HUD regulations governing the use of the funds – a result of the program’s lack of formal authorization. The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2021 – supported by the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition – would formally authorize the program, ensuring that funds reach disaster survivors more quickly. That bill, introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Representative Al Green (D-TX), would implement important safeguards to ensure that disaster funds reach those most in need.
Read the announcement at: https://bit.ly/3BNXFhA
Learn more about the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2021 at: https://bit.ly/31pbma8