Hutchison, Edwards, and Culberson Secure Millions in Additional Hurricane Ike Funding 6/12/09

United States Congress News Release
June 12, 2009

Washington, DC - Today U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), U.S. Representative Chet Edwards (D-TX), and U.S. Representative John Culberson (R-TX) announced that they have secured a provision in Fiscal Year 2009 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill which will allow the Texas counties impacted by Hurricane Ike to access millions in additional Debris Removal and Public Assistance reimbursements from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Prior to the inclusion of this provision, 100 % Debris Removal reimbursement ended on April 26, 2009, and Public Assistance funding was reimbursed at only a 75%/25% rate. The new provision does away with the April 26th deadline for 100% Debris Removal and increases the federal costshare for Public Assistance funding from FEMA to 90%.

“The damage inflicted by Hurricane Ike was done in only hours, but the reconstruction process will take months and years. This provision gives Gulf Coast communities affected by Ike time to rebuild and access to continued and improved federal funding,” said Sen. Hutchison. “Coming one day after we learned that Texas will receive $1.74 billion in disaster recovery funds from HUD, this is more great news for those Texans fighting to rebuild.”

“Families and businesses along the Texas Gulf Coast are still rebuilding their lives after the devastation of Hurricane Ike, so it is vital that this funding moves quickly toward those communities,” said Congressman Chet Edwards, a member of the conference committee who helped negotiate the final bill. “Those who lost their homes, businesses and their livelihoods, need all levels of government to continue to work together diligently to get back on their feet. I want to commend Sen. Hutchison and the Texas delegation for their hard work. Without their determined efforts, this would not have been possible.”

“Hurricane Ike was one of the most destructive storms to strike Texas and residents of District Seven are still recovering,” said Congressman Culberson. “This provision will assist in that recovery and help us rebuild stronger than ever.”

Immediately after the FEMA Disaster Declaration, Senator Hutchison convened “Team Texas,” which brought the Texas delegation members together in a bipartisan fashion to coordinate their efforts to secure federal funding for the recovery from Hurricane Ike before Congress adjourned for the election season.

Last November, Senators Hutchison and Cornyn secured a 180-day extension on the 100 % Debris Removal reimbursements (Category A), which covered all reimbursements from October 26, 2008 through April 26, 2009. Before this provision was secured, debris removal projects submitted after April 26 were only reimbursed at 75%. Today’s news will allow those projects, and any Hurricane Ike-related debris removal project, to receive the full 100% reimbursement going forward.

Prior to the inclusion of this provision, Public Assistance projects were reimbursed at a 75% federal/25% non-federal split. The State of Texas requires local communities to bear the non-federal percent entirely.

On June 10, Sen. Hutchison announced that Texas would receive $1.74 billion in CDBG disaster recovery funding. This funding came as part of the second allocation of funding from the $6.1 billion that she secured in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Emergency Supplemental. Of that $6.1 billion, more than $3 billion of that went to Texas communities and counties.

 

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