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FEMA Encourages Katrina Victims Back Home NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON -- The government must help persuade Hurricane Katrina victims to move back to disaster-stricken areas, FEMA's chief testified Thursday, reminding Congress that states hit by the storm "are suffering tremendously." Officials "cannot compel any citizen to move back to the disaster-affected region - nor should they," Federal Emergency Management Agency acting director R. David Paulison said in testimony prepared for a Senate panel. "However, we must work with our state and local partners to develop opportunities that will facilitate their return, and provide help to those who choose to do so." "Over time, and with encouragement, the good people of the Gulf Coast will return and make the region better, safer and less vulnerable if disaster strikes again," Paulison said. The FEMA chief was one of a a bevy of Bush administration officials appearing before a half-dozen hearings to update Congress about the government's long- and short-term concerns in Katrina's aftermath. Housing assistance is a top priority as the administration grapples with finding homes for evacuated victims, even as it moves refugees out of shelters and considers ending a program to pay for hotel rooms arranged by the Red Cross. "These states are suffering," Paulison said. "It will take years to truly recover, and there will be countless hurdles to be overcome along the way."
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, noted that hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims remain in hotel rooms and emergency shelters _ despite more than $2 billion already spent by FEMA for 120,000 temporary trailers and mobile homes. Only 109 Louisiana families have been put in those homes, while tens of thousands of state residents remain in shelters, she said. "More than a month after Katrina's landfall, frustration, concerns and questions about FEMA's responsiveness and planning persist as Gulf Coast residents work to put their lives and communities back together," said Collins, who chaired the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing. FEMA estimates that just over 68,200 refugees remain in shelters, down from a high of 300,000 after Katrina hit Aug. 29 and Hurricane Rita's Sept. 17 arrival. Last month, FEMA launched a $2 billion program to pay three months of upfront rental costs for homeowners or renters whose residences were destroyed by Katrina. Eligible victims can receive $2,358 per family to rent anywhere in the country, and could continue to get assistance for up to 18 months as FEMA works with state and local authorities to rebuild the devastated communities. So far, FEMA has spent $1.3 billion to help Katrina victims find homes, and 600,000 have registered for the rental program.
But victims still in shelters face an Oct. 15 deadline, set by President Bush, to find more stable housing - including apartments, trailers and in some cases, hotels. Meanwhile, FEMA is weighing whether to extend a program that reimburses the American Red Cross for the cost of hotel rooms for victims. That program is set to expire Oct. 24. The Red Cross has spent $112 million on hotel rooms for 464,560 people since Sept. 3, said spokeswoman Carrie Martin. "No decisions have been made if there will be a need to continue reimbursements beyond the 24th," said FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule. Red Cross spokeswoman Carrie Martin said it was unclear whether the charity would continue paying for the hotel rooms without FEMA reimbursement. "Our understanding is that it will continue until we are notified by FEMA," Martin said. Under an agreement dating back to 1997, FEMA typically reimburses the Red Cross special accommodations program when other housing isn't quickly available for disaster victims, Rule said.
© 2005 The Associated Press
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