Houston Chronicle - Cornyn Tells State Officials to Speed up Hurricane Aid

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Houston Chronicle - Cornyn Tells State Officials to Speed up Hurricane Aid

By: SUZANNE GAMBOA

Sen. John Cornyn told Texas officials Thursday their slow pace of distributing federal aid to Hurricane Rita victims is unacceptable.

Cornyn sent a terse letter to Michael Gerber, executive director of the Texas Housing and Community Affairs Department, about the unspent aid.

"This inability to provide timely assistance to Texans in need is unacceptable," said Cornyn, who was in Texas on Thursday for campaign fundraisers with President Bush.

He said the agency has taken an "overly cautious and bureaucratic approach" to getting the aid to homeowners.

"The go-slow mind-set at (the department) must be reversed, and I urge you to streamline and expedite the process," Cornyn wrote.

Cornyn's letter came after State Auditor John Keel found that more than 4,000 families applied for aid, but the department had built only 13 homes and spent $1.1 million as of mid-September.

Hurricane Rita hit the Texas coast at Sabine Pass on Sept. 24, 2005. The hurricane lashed parts of East Texas and destroyed thousands of homes.

Gerber said Texas didn't get enough money to set up a hot line and cut checks to people in need as Mississippi and Louisiana have done. The state requested $2 billion, but received only $500 million.

With such limited resources, the state has to make sure the money goes to real recovery projects, Gerber said. He said the storm left about 75,000 to 80,000 in need. He also said the department is spending another $82 million to repair apartments.

"With the funds we've got, we are doing the best we can to make sure all those funds are used," he said.

Cornyn also has contacted federal officials about the issue. Spokesman Brian Walsh said Cornyn phoned Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who told Cornyn he is sending a team to Fort Worth soon to help resolve the issue.

Don Powell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding, also told Cornyn his staff is looking into Texas' slow spending of the money.

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