[StBernard] LRA Statement re Status of Road Home Housing Program

[Westley Annis]

Good info and I have a question; while reading the befuddling LRA plan I got
confused (how odd) it stated that to be the first-qualified, you had to 1.
Have lived within a FEMA-declared flood plane that was flooded and 2. Be
below a certain income level. Does this mean and, or and/or? We qualify for
the 1st but not the 2nd, so are we second qualified or what? Just wondering
about anyone's insight on this riddle! Thanks, Mudpie 



	----- Original Message -----
	Statement of Dr. Norman C. Francis, LRA Chairman, Regarding the
Status of 
	The Road Home Housing Program 
	
	The Louisiana Recovery Authority thanks all the citizens of
Louisiana who 
	made comments and suggestions on The Road Home. On behalf of
Governor 
	Blanco, I want to assure our citizens who are working to rebuild
their lives 
	that their voices are being heard. 
	
	
	The LRA will incorporate many of the suggestions for The Road Home
housing 
	proposal collected in the public comment period and since Governor
Blanco 
	introduced the plan in February. After consideration and approval by
the 
	Louisiana Legislature, it will go to the U.S. Department of Housing
and 
	Urban Development for final approval. 
	
	There has been considerable discussion in recent days about the pace
of the 
	approval process for The Road Home. What people need to know is that

	Louisiana is facing the largest recovery, redevelopment and planning
effort 
	in American history. Our levees were breached and our homes were
sitting in 
	water for up to a month. 
	
	To get homeowners the help they deserve, we first had to go to
Washington to 
	fight for our fair share of federal resources. Fortunately, under
the 
	leadership of Governor Blanco, we were able to reach an agreement
with the 
	Bush Administration that will provide Louisiana with $4.2 billion in

	additional funds -- enough to fully fund The Road Home Housing
Program. That 
	request is moving through Congress, and we expect to see legislation

	authorizing these funds on its way to the President by the end of
May. 
	
	To kick-off the process for getting homeowners the help they
deserve, we 
	created and launched a registry and a comprehensive program that
addresses 
	the needs of every homeowner affected by the hurricanes. So far,
nearly 
	60,000 Louisiana families have signed up. 
	
	To speed the delivery of assistance to homeowners, we have issued a 
	Solicitation for Offers (SFO) to hire a private firm by May 15th
that will 
	implement this program when it is approved by HUD and fully funded
by 
	Congress. We will put the power, speed, and efficiency of the
private sector 
	to work for us in getting assistance into the hands of homeowners. 
	
	This is a complicated, time consuming process. We want to do
everything in 
	our power to get this right. The public comment period, legislative
review 
	and federal oversight take time but will ensure the program is
comprehensive 
	and properly addresses our needs. We are confident Congress
understands 
	these needs and the magnitude of our challenge. Governor Blanco and
the LRA 
	will continue the fight to make sure Louisiana's funding request is
approved 
	by Congress. We are hopeful that Louisiana's housing plan will be
fully 
	funded no later than Memorial Day. 
	
	No one wants to get checks into people's hands more than the
Governor and 
	the LRA, and we will have a federally-approved plan and a contractor
on 
	board when Congress fully funds our plan. 
	
	-end-