WASHINGTON, October 27, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to hard-hit communities in southeast Texas recovering from Hurricane Ike is “unacceptably slow” and said he will continue to press for housing assistance for victims in that region. Earlier today, an official for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs testified before a State Senate Committee hearing that more than six weeks after the hurricane fewer than 200 temporary housing units are available for people to live on their property while their homes are being repaired.
“FEMA’s failure to deliver housing assistance in a timely manner to southeast Texas is absolutely unacceptable. I personally spoke with FEMA Administrator Paulison earlier this month and urged him to immediately address this problem. Since then, all I’ve continued to hear are excuses. People in southeast Texas are suffering and government red tape is standing in the way of the assistance they need now,” Sen. Cornyn said. “My office was assured by FEMA today that they will have 400 families in mobile homes by the end of the week. I was also assured that in the days soon-after, there will be a major ramp-up in the delivery of more temporary housing assistance. I will continue to closely monitor this situation to ensure those promises are met.”
Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.
