Where Exactly Did my Katrina Donation Go?
Nov. 21st, 2005 03:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonniegrrlI gave roughly around $200 this year to Red Cross and FEMA-approved charities, but after reading stories like this I wonder if my money just lined the pocket of some idiot that made a decision like this:
FEMA Not Using Rent-Free Units
WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the nation's largest home lenders offered 1,500 housing units for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far failed to put families into any of them, a Democratic congressman said Friday.
Responding to concerns raised Friday by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., mortgage lender Fannie Mae confirmed it offered the housing units - rent-free for up to 18 months - to FEMA two months ago.
Though the units could house only a small fraction of Katrina victims in need of long-term housing, the accusations come as FEMA prepares to stop paying hotel bills of an estimated 53,000 families who lost their homes in the Aug. 29 storm.
"The department's failure to act expeditiously in this matter represents yet another lost opportunity to make things right for the people of the Gulf Coast," Thompson said.
FEMA housing spokesman James McIntyre acknowledged that the agency has so far not put any storm victims in the housing Fannie Mae has offered, citing disagreements with the lender over certain conditions.
Fannie Mae is the second largest financial institution the United States.
Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said the mortgage company offered the housing units not only to FEMA, but also to state agencies, charities and other relief groups seeking temporary homes for evacuees.
In a letter to FEMA acting chief R. David Paulison, Thompson wrote that local organizations have placed 18 families into housing offered by Fannie Mae, while FEMA has not placed any.
Faith refused to comment on FEMA's performance, saying only that Fannie Mae and the agency are still discussing the matter.
FEMA's McIntyre said his agency and Fannie Mae in recent weeks "agreed to disagree" on the housing offer.
McIntyre said Fannie Mae wanted to let potential buyers into the housing units while the evacuees were there - violating their privacy. That was one of several requirements by Fannie Mae, McIntyre said, that "placed an undue burden on families."
The evacuees still in hotels will lose direct FEMA payments for their rooms by Dec. 1 - less than two weeks away, as FEMA pushes them to find more stable, permanent housing in time for the holidays.
Thompson said the Fannie Mae units are in nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Thompson was one of a few lawmakers Friday, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who criticized the agency's hotel policy.
FEMA Not Using Rent-Free Units
WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the nation's largest home lenders offered 1,500 housing units for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far failed to put families into any of them, a Democratic congressman said Friday.
Responding to concerns raised Friday by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., mortgage lender Fannie Mae confirmed it offered the housing units - rent-free for up to 18 months - to FEMA two months ago.
Though the units could house only a small fraction of Katrina victims in need of long-term housing, the accusations come as FEMA prepares to stop paying hotel bills of an estimated 53,000 families who lost their homes in the Aug. 29 storm.
"The department's failure to act expeditiously in this matter represents yet another lost opportunity to make things right for the people of the Gulf Coast," Thompson said.
FEMA housing spokesman James McIntyre acknowledged that the agency has so far not put any storm victims in the housing Fannie Mae has offered, citing disagreements with the lender over certain conditions.
Fannie Mae is the second largest financial institution the United States.
Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said the mortgage company offered the housing units not only to FEMA, but also to state agencies, charities and other relief groups seeking temporary homes for evacuees.
In a letter to FEMA acting chief R. David Paulison, Thompson wrote that local organizations have placed 18 families into housing offered by Fannie Mae, while FEMA has not placed any.
Faith refused to comment on FEMA's performance, saying only that Fannie Mae and the agency are still discussing the matter.
FEMA's McIntyre said his agency and Fannie Mae in recent weeks "agreed to disagree" on the housing offer.
McIntyre said Fannie Mae wanted to let potential buyers into the housing units while the evacuees were there - violating their privacy. That was one of several requirements by Fannie Mae, McIntyre said, that "placed an undue burden on families."
The evacuees still in hotels will lose direct FEMA payments for their rooms by Dec. 1 - less than two weeks away, as FEMA pushes them to find more stable, permanent housing in time for the holidays.
Thompson said the Fannie Mae units are in nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Thompson was one of a few lawmakers Friday, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who criticized the agency's hotel policy.
