[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H2762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              FEMA HOUSING

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration failed the people of 
the Gulf Coast before Hurricane Katrina and continues to fail them 
today.
  Now, people who were abandoned and left to fend for themselves are 
about to get kicked to the curb again.
  First, we had to fight and force FEMA to allow survivors to 
temporarily stay in hotels and motels. Now, survivors may be on the 
streets again.
  On May 31, 55,000 displaced families could lose emergency shelter 
assistance, even though it was promised to them for at least a year.
  FEMA says that these families are supposed to apply for a different 
kind of assistance, yet four out of five applicants reportedly are 
being turned down. Those who do receive assistance have to reapply 
every 3 months. Why are we messing with these people who deserve to be 
treated better by their own government?
  FEMA has failed to submit its plan for permanent transitional housing 
for Congress, which was due in January. Instead of assistance, they 
have offered incompetence. In the place of aid, they have offered 
nothing but bureaucracy.
  Why in the world are we adding insult to injury? Katrina survivors 
deserve better.

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