U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced Monday that “he is approving a disaster recovery plan to help Texans recover from Hurricane Harvey.”

 

“The Texas plan is funded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program which requires grantees to develop a thoughtful recovery program informed by local residents,” the release to the Daily Business News said.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping Texans impacted by Harvey to rebuild their homes and their lives,” said Secretary Carson. “As the State now turns to the long-term recovery of its communities, Texans can be sure that HUD will be there to help in any way we can to make the state whole again.”

 

HUD Disaster Recovery Video in English

 

HUD Disaster Recovery Video in Spanish

 

 

An extended quote from the HUD statement is found below.

To address remaining needs in hard-hit areas of the state, the Texas recovery plan includes:

• Single-Family Homeowner Assistance Program ($1.1 billion):Provides assistance to help homeowners with rehabilitation and reconstruction after Hurricane Harvey.
• Buyouts and Acquisitions ($275 million):To allow certain eligible homeowners to sell their damaged home to a local government.
• Affordable Rental ($250 million):Provides funding for rehabilitation, reconstruction and new construction of affordable multi-family rent properties.
• Homeowner Reimbursement ($100 million):Homeowners may be reimbursed up to $50,000 for certain out-of-pocket expenses incurred for home repairs, including reconstruction, rehabilitation or mitigation.
• Partial Repair and Essential Power for Sheltering ($73 million):Provides immediate, temporary repairs to homes that sustained less than $17,000 in FEMA-verified loss. CDBG-DR will be used as matching funds to FEMA expenditures.
• Local Infrastructure ($413 million): Supports infrastructure repairs and enhancements for local communities as part of a comprehensive long-term recovery program along with FEMA funding.
• Economic Revitalization ($100 million):Offers interim assistance up to $250,000 to small businesses in exchange for job creation or retention.
• Local, Regional and State Planning ($137 million):The State will fund planning studies on disaster mitigation in the impacted areas to promote sound long-term recovery.
• Allocations to City of Houston and Harris County ($2.2 billion):  The State of Texas will provide $1.1 billion each to the City of Houston and Harris County, allowing these jurisdictions to address their unmet recovery needs.  Plans for use of these funds will be submitted by the city and county to the State for approval.
• State Administration ($251 million): Funding set aside for the State’s program costs, including contract administration, compliance monitoring, the provision of technical assistance to applicants and subrecipients, etc.

“Last April, HUD also allocated an additional $4.726 billion of CDBG-DR funding to Texas for unmet need and mitigation purposes.  HUD will shortly issue requirements governing those funds, and Texas, along with other states, will be required to submit plans addressing the use of those funds,” HUD’s statement to MHProNews concluded.

While the hurricanes of last year are largely out of the headlines, the aftermaths of the storms – particularly Puerto Rico – are still being dealt with, as this release suggests.  To learn more, see the related reports, linked below. ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)

(Third party images are provided under fair use guidelines.)

Related Reports:

$27+Billion Authorized by HUD, Available for Disaster Recovery, Which Manufactured Home Operations Will Be in Line?

A “Ghost,” Named “Wolf,” “Disaster Capitalist” and Post-Maria Puerto Rico

The Masthead

When money is earned, it can be spent. So it may seem odd to discuss profits as “false.” As anyone who’s watched the movie Scarface knows, crime is a business. It may be illegal, but it’s business. The risk/reward equation for a criminal enterprise is different than for a legal business.

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Submitted by Soheyla Kovach to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.com. Soheyla is a managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.