President Barack Obama announced on November 15 that HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is to be the administration’s point person for Super Storm Sandy recovery efforts. HUD Senior Advisor for Disaster Recovery, Fred Tombar, is expected to have a leading role in the administration’s recovery activities as well.

On November 19, the Stafford Act Reform Group (formerly the Katrina Housing Group) sent a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee leadership urging a lame duck session markup of S. 1630, the Disaster Recovery Act. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) hopes to advance S. 1630 during the lame duck session of Congress, or include provisions from the legislation in a broader recovery package.

The signatories said, “The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the housing stock of affected states underscores the importance of this legislation. While the full impact of the storm is still being assessed, it is evident that tens of thousands of households will require medium and long term federal housing assistance. It is critical that lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita be incorporated into the Hurricane Sandy response and recovery effort.”

While there are sufficient funds in the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to address immediate Sandy-related needs (see Memo, 11/2), discussions are underway in Congress to advance a supplemental appropriations bill for long term needs. A supplemental could include funds for programs in a variety of agencies, including HUD and the Army Corps of Engineers.

A copy of the Stafford Act Reform Group letter is attached.

A copy of S. 1630 is attached.