Mitch Landrieu: “there are countless examples of times when FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, did more harm than good in the…”

“there are countless examples of times when FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, did more harm than good in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricanes. While they could not avoid some of the problems and better planning could have helped avoid others, FEMA's lack of expertise in one area in particular has been especially problematic: disaster housing. Today, I am introducing the Natural Disaster Housing Reform Act of 2006 to put long-term disaster housing in the hands of the agency with the appropriate expertise: the Department of Housing and Urban Develpment, HUD. Congressman Baker introduced this legislation in the House of Representatives. I congratulate him on his leadership. I am not introducing this bill simply to gang up on FEMA. One could argue that the Agency is an easy target. Let me assure my colleagues that this is not my intention. I simply believe that for future disasters, the Federal Cabinet Agency with the expertise in housing should run disaster housing assistance. HUD has housing expertise. FEMA does not. HUD oversees 1.2 million public housing units. It administers the section 8 rental assistance program for 2.1 million families. They provide supportive housing for 320,000 senior citizens and people with disabilities. HUD also has a network of more than 3,000 public housing agencies in cities and counties across the country, so it has the infrastructure already in place to meet emergency housing needs.…”