The Long Run

On Aug. 3, several nonprofit groups co-sponsored a forum in Houston on forming "a long-term housing plan for hurricane survivors in Texas." One product of the event was the letter below to President Bush, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, and members of Congress, laying out a "five-point plan for long-term housing."

Dear Mr. President, Members of Congress, and Mr. Secretary:

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita handed the state of Texas an unprecedented housing challenge. To date, there are no long-term affordable housing resources for Hurricane Katrina victims in Texas, and grossly inadequate resources for the 75,000 victims of Hurricane Rita.

Reclassifying Katrina evacuees in Texas as refugees and transferring them to an 18-month resettlement program, a strategy that has proven successful in other disasters of this magnitude, is a good approach for evacuees who have decided to stay. It is also important that evacuees have clear choices about returning to home. The decision to resettle or return should be up to the evacuees.

We support a five-step plan to provide housing to the more than 100,000 families living in Texas who are victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

1. Transfer long-term housing responsibility from FEMA to a government agency that understands housing: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

2. Settle the elderly and people with disabilities who will require on-going government housing subsidy into permanent housing with Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.

3. Provide temporary Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers to other families renewable at six-month intervals as a part of the resettlement plan.

4. Develop affordable rental housing and build and repair owner-occupied housing.

•Rental housing production: Texas needs an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits coupled with a rules waiver that allows the state to increase the level of tax credit subsidy per development. This will provide at least one affordable apartment for every three evacuee households.

•Owner-occupied housing production and rehabilitation: Using a special Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation of $10,000 per evacuee household, fund owner-occupied housing repair and construction programs.

5. Establish a housing counseling program so evacuees can understand their housing options and make intelligent and informed choices.

To carry out this plan, we call upon the federal government to provide Texas with:

•36,000 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers,

•$97.5 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and

•$822 million in CDBG funds.

Sincerely,

[See www.texashousing.org/hhforum/Conference/
5%20point%20plan.html for the list of endorsers.]