Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and other members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation urged Deanne Criswell, Administrator to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to provide data on natural disasters last year as quickly as possible to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD needs this data in order to calculate the allocation of the funding appropriated by Congress for New Jersey and other states to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Ida.
“Many reconstruction and recovery efforts in New Jersey cannot commence until HUD allocates this funding, and the months of delay have had a deleterious impact on the families and communities in our state,” Senator Booker and his colleagues wrote to Deanne Criswell, Administrator to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “Many of our constituents were displaced when their homes were destroyed by the storm, including hundreds living in public housing. Housing shortages compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic have left many residents in hotels and motels at government expense to this day, with no expectation of when they will be able to return to their homes. Under any circumstances, this uncertainty would be difficult to bear, but during the current pandemic, the impact is magnified. Moreover, with each passing day, the mold and water damage to the impacted properties, as well as the expense to mitigate the damage, only increases.
“We appreciate all that FEMA has done already to help New Jersey residents get back on their feet, but we need a better understanding of when these calculations for relief awards will be completed,” Senator Booker and his colleagues concluded.
The letter was co-signed by Senator Bob Menendez and Representatives Frank Pallone, Tom Malinowski, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Donald Payne, Josh Gottheimer, Mikie Sherrill, Donald Norcross, Albio Sires, Andy Kim, and Bill Pascrell.
The full text of the letter can be found here.