Press Releases - Congressman Al Green Introduces Bill to Offer Housing Assistance to Low-Income Katrina Survivors

Congressman Al Green Introduces Bill to Offer Housing Assistance to Low-Income Katrina Survivors
One Year After Hurricane Katrina, Many Residents Left Without Access to Affordable Housing

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Al Green (TX-09) today announced that he will introduce the Gulf Coast Housing Accessibility Act to address several of the housing issues faced by survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The bill, which is companion legislation to a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), would specifically provide funding for project-based housing vouchers, offer greater flexibility for disaster assistance, and reorganize housing assistance. Green has visited New Orleans five times since Hurricane Katrina struck last year, and has witnessed first-hand the residents' need for affordable housing. The legislation is an attempt to bring immediate and long-term assistance to individuals who lost their homes to the hurricane. Green's legislation would be funded by offsetting spending cuts to prevent increasing the deficit.

"One year after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, it is unconscionable that many survivors remain homeless, residing in temporary housing situations due to shortages in affordable housing," Green said. "My legislation would provide immediate and long-term housing assistance to the most vulnerable victims of Hurricane Katrina - the working poor, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and others who have been unable to replace the homes they lost as a result of the hurricane."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/tx09_green/2006_09_18_katrina.html