NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel testified at a hearing of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to discuss the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The hearing, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, included members of the NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition, including Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, Hispanic Federation, and Fundación Fondo de Accesso a la Justicia. Additional panelists included former Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto, and representatives from Taller Salud, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Centro PR, Liga Ciudades PR, Center for a New Economy, and la Comisión de Derechos Civiles de Puerto Rico.
In her testimony, Diane highlighted how the failed response to Hurricane Maria exemplified how America’s disaster recovery system exacerbates the struggles faced by low-income households, rather than assisting them. Focusing on FEMA and HUD’s response to the housing needs created by the hurricane, Diane highlighted the failures of the FEMA Transitional Shelter Assistance hotel-stay program, which was ended prematurely by the Trump administration.
Diane highlighted the role that FEMA title requirements played in preventing over 77,000 Puerto Rican disaster survivors from accessing assistance and called for applicants from Hurricane Maria and other disasters to have their assistance applications rereviewed. “The Biden administration recently made long overdue changes to this process, but more action is needed,” Diane said. “FEMA must now allow survivors in Puerto Rico and across the nation who were previously denied by FEMA the opportunity to reopen their cases to access the assistance to which they are entitled.”
Read NLIHC’s written testimony at: https://bit.ly/33ld4KM
View a recording of the hearing at: https://bit.ly/3pNINMg