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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast on August |
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25, 2017, causing an estimated $125 billion in damage; and |
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WHEREAS, The second most destructive storm in American |
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history, the hurricane impacted approximately 30 percent of the |
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population of Texas, destroying homes, damaging infrastructure, |
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and displacing thousands of families along the coast; and |
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WHEREAS, The Federal Emergency Management Agency received |
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nearly 800,000 applications from affected Texans for some form of |
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assistance; as many as 83 percent of the people whose homes flooded |
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did not have flood insurance, creating unprecedented demand for |
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state and federal disaster recovery assistance; and |
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WHEREAS, The FEMA application process is so duplicative and |
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confusing, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development |
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regulations are so complex, that many survivors give up trying to |
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navigate the system and, therefore, receive no assistance; and |
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WHEREAS, Consolidating funding for recovery housing programs |
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into a single Disaster Housing Response and Recovery Block Grant |
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would increase efficiency, save taxpayer dollars, and speed the |
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recovery process by combining FEMA's short-term programs and HUD's |
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long-term programs; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to |
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enact legislation to consolidate disaster recovery housing funding |
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into a single Disaster Housing Response and Recovery Block Grant; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of |
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Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the |
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president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and |
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the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States |
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Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress |
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with the request that this resolution be entered in the |
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Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United |
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States of America. |