[StBernard] Governor, LRA, Legislature stand united in Louisiana's Housing Recovery

[Westley Annis]

Governor, LRA, Legislature stand united in Louisiana's Housing Recovery 

BATON ROUGE-Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, the Louisiana Recovery
Authority and members of the Louisiana Legislature stood united today in
their commitment to move forward with Louisiana's recovery and The Road Home
housing program. 

Governor Blanco and the leaders announced at the state capitol today that,
working together, they have reached consensus on four cornerstone principles
of the housing plan. The LRA Board of Directors held a special board meeting
today where they formally gave final approval. Following a presentation by
Housing Task Force Chairman Walter Leger, the Board voted unanimously (17-0)
in favor of the revised action plan. 

"While the check is not yet in the bank, we want everyone to know we are
moving as quickly as we can to get them back into their homes," said
Governor Blanco. "To those displaced, we want you to come home. We want you
to rebuild. And we are doing everything in our power to make it happen." 

Louisiana lost more than 200,000 homes to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Governor Blanco, the LRA and members of the Louisiana Legislature have
stated their commitment to restoring Louisiana's neighborhoods and
communities and returning people to their homes-as this is the foundation of
a strong recovery. The Road Home provides opportunities for homeowners to
get back into their homes, creates powerful incentives to rebuild rental
properties and includes special provisions to restore Louisiana's homeless
shelter capacity. The revised plan also provides choices for all homeowners
impacted by the storms to repair, rebuild, relocate elsewhere in Louisiana,
or sell their homes. 

Governor Blanco, legislators, and the LRA's agreement includes the following
tenets: 

1) Eligible Homeowners Deserve Up to $150,000 in Federal Relief

The Action Plan includes a resolution endorsing the fully-funded housing
program that allows homeowners to qualify for up to $150,000 in federal
relief. 

In order to fully-fund Louisiana's program, Congress must deliver the
promised $4.2 billion in additional funding included in the President's
Supplemental appropriations request. The President's Supplemental Budget is
under consideration by the United States Senate this week. 

Louisiana's citizens deserve the same hand up as our Mississippi neighbors.
Any amount of federal funding less than the $4.2 billion needed to run our
$150,000 program is unacceptable. 


2) All Affected Citizens Who Meet the Program's Damage Requirements Will Be
Eligible

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did not discriminate by income, race or
geography in the damages left behind, and this program must not
discriminate. There will be no means test employed to narrow the universe of
eligible applicants for the first phase of available housing funding. 


3) Program Launches with Partial Funding in Anticipation of Full-Funding

The state will adopt a phased approach in order to hit the ground running
before all of the federal funding becomes available. During Phase I of the
partially-funded program, homeowners will be eligible for 50% of the amount
they will eventually qualify for under the fully-funded program. For
example, a homeowner who qualifies for the full $150,000 will be eligible
for $75,000 in the first installment. A homeowner who qualifies for $84,000
will be eligible for $42,000 in Phase I. 

It is hoped that Phase II of the program, allowing up to the full-funding
amount of $150,000, will quickly follow Phase I. 


4) Revision Clause

The resolution specifies that if Congress fails to approve the promised
funding required to run The Road Home Program, we will be forced back to the
drawing board to devise the fairest possible solution under conditions that
would be anything but fair. 


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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's
People www.louisianahelp.org