Landrieu to Hold Hearing on Sandy, Sends Letter to President with Tools for Smart, Strong Recovery
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that she will hold a hearing on December 5, 2012, to assess the federal response to Hurricane Sandy and the need for additional funding for the recovery process. Sen. Landrieu has been calling for a disaster supplemental during the lame duck session, not only for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund - which currently has a balance of just under $5.1 billion due to Sen. Landrieu's work to provide robust funding - but for other agencies with dwindling disaster program funding, including HUD, DOT, USDA, SBA disaster loans, the Economic Development Administration and the Corps of Engineers.
"The devastation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy makes the need for a disaster supplemental abundantly clear. We owe it to the people affected by Sandy - and by all disasters - to work together to ensure a strong immediate federal response and to fully fund a recovery," Sen. Landrieu said. "I have called this important hearing to assess the response to Hurricane Sandy and its ongoing challenges, as well as examine the funding need for the recovery process. I look forward to hearing from local leaders and key agencies on the ground about their specific needs and to help inform the congressional response."
In Sen. Landrieu's letter to the President, she outlines five key tools that Gulf Coast leaders have successfully utilized in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that are not available under current law and could be used to help rebuild stronger, safer communities along the East Coast after Sandy. She also reiterates the need for a disaster supplemental before the end of the year.
"I understand that your administration plans to submit a request to the Congress for supplemental appropriations as a result of Hurricane Sandy. I support that initiative, and I have been a strong and vocal proponent of the need to enact supplemental disaster assistance legislation before the 112th Congress adjourns. Money is extremely important to recovery efforts, but so are the sharper tools that promote smarter rebuilding and benefit survivors and taxpayers alike. With that in mind, I would like to share several examples of recovery tools that Gulf Coast leaders found useful in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita, which you might also consider for Hurricane Sandy," the letter reads.
Specifically, Sen. Landrieu urges modifications to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) so that it can function as a Disaster Recovery Block Grant Program (DRBG) and provide affected states and localities the flexible funding they need to meet the needs of their communities. She also recommends ways to streamline FEMA's Public Assistance program, including providing grants based on estimates, eliminating the penalty on flexible reconstruction and alternate projects and authorizing global settlements, so that affected communities can rebuild smarter and with more flexibility. She also urges supporting temporary child care services in communities that have lost the ability to provide them, as well as eliminating the current $5 million cap on Community Disaster Loans, which can render the program essentially useless to cities the size of New York or Newark.
Read Sen. Landrieu's full letter here.
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