It Took a Few Days: Obama and Perry Release Funds for Wildfire Relief

While Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was reportedly tapping his fingers until late Friday waiting for President Obama to extend a State of Emergency to include the entire state, it also took Gov. Rick Perry until Friday to release up to $250,000 from the Texas Disaster Relief Fund.

I guess that's what happens when the boss travels. It's most likely that the state GOP, who claims to have been begging for more disaster relief from the President since last April, has been holding the state's purse strings with white knuckles while getting sticky-fingered for federal disaster relief.

Distributed through Combined Community Action, Inc. (979/540-2980, 800/688-9065, 165 W. Austin, Giddings) the TDRF funds will provide seven-day hotel vouchers for those displaced by wildfires in Bastrop County. Volunteers will take applications at each Bastrop shelter beginning at 10am, Saturday, September 10th. Perry's office also announced that up to $350,000 from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs would be used to administer flexible assistance cards to cover essential out-of-pocket expenses for those affected.

As to the Federal funds, according to a statement issued by the White House, "Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster."