Additional Disaster Housing Recovery Updates, January 27
Federal Action & National News Acting FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor was officially sworn in as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Administrator Gaynor discussed…
HUD Announces Completion of Grant Agreement with Puerto Rico to Make Nearly $8.3 Billion in CDBG Disaster Mitigation Funds Available and Issues Notice Containing Conditions
After many months of delay, HUD Secretary Ben Carson formally announced a grant agreement with Puerto Rico on January 16, making an additional $8.285 billion in Community Development Block Grant…
Earthquake and Subsequent Tremors Rock Puerto Rico, Local Advocates Call Initial Federal Response “Unacceptable”
Puerto Rico continued to experience tremors after a deadly earthquake struck the island’s southern region in the early morning of January 7. The quake demolished homes, destroyed infrastructure, and…
FY20 Spending Bill Contains Measures to Expedite Disaster Recovery in California and Puerto Rico
The FY20 spending package Congress successfully passed on December 19 and the president subsequently signed into law included two important disaster recovery measures benefiting California and Puerto…
Disaster Recovery Advocates Voice Concerns about Puerto Rico Recovery Plans
Disaster recovery advocates in Puerto Rico and around the country voiced concerns about the Puerto Rico Department of Housing’s (PRDOH’s) main recovery program in a statement released by Disaster…
HUD Releases New Recovery Dollars - But Continues to Illegally Withhold Funding for Puerto Rico
HUD announced in a December 3 press release that it had allocated over $2.3 billion in federal funds to support long-term disaster recovery in fifteen states and four territories. The funding, which…
Additional Disaster Housing Recovery Updates - November 18, 2019
The following is a review of additional disaster housing recovery developments since the last edition of Memo to Members and Partners (for the article in the previous Memo, see 11/11…
From the Field: Puerto Rico Think Tank Hosts Conference on Affordable Housing
Centro Para Una Economía Nueva (Center for a New Economy - CNE), a Puerto Rico-based, nonpartisan think tank, hosted the second conference in their Blueprint initiative series. The purpose of the…
Joint Congressional Letter Raises Concerns About Puerto Rico Recovery Program
In a joint letter to the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, the House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and…
DHRC Releases New Fact Sheets on the Housing Impact of Recent Major Disasters
The Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) – an NLIHC-led coalition of over 800 organizations collaborating to ensure equitable disaster housing recovery, especially for the lowest-income people…
HUD Ignores Deadline for the Release of Disaster Funds; FEMA Officials and Contractor Indicted for Fraud
HUD continues to delay the release of disaster mitigation funding for Puerto Rico even after the expiration of a statutory September 4 deadline set by Congress. Congress approved $16.5 billion in…